After 4 years, it's time to sell my 98 QX4

[Freeze Time]

I've decided to sell it and get a Toyota Prius. Gas is just getting too high and this car is too big for my needs. Since I bought it in March of 2014, it has gotten a new distributor, new air flow meter, a new rack and pinion, a new battery, semi new tires, new front brakes and just recently a new bank 2 rear oxygen sensor and new air intake hose to pass smog and I've taken care of the death sway by getting all the bushings replaced so needless to say, the car cost me a lot more than I was hoping for and definitely more than my research suggested it would cost. It has some cosmetic stuff which I will try to fix because it will hurt the resale value like a broken passengers side rear door, ripped front seats, the speaker system on the drivers front side cuts in and out and the paint is chipping so that's more money I'll probably have to put into the car before I sell it. Other than how expensive it was, I did like the car. I've spent close to 2 grand in this car and it cost me a little over 2 grand so I am hoping to at least get close to 3 grand for it. It only has 151,400 miles on it.

Anyway, my question is for those that have sold or bought one recently. How long did it take to sell and did you get or buy it for the price you were looking to get for it? I don't want to get a Prius and then be stuck with this car for months so might wait to sell it and then get a Prius. If this car wasn't so dang expensive to upkeep and got better gas mileage, I would probably keep it. Thanks in advance.

[macgiver]

mac,hello , good luck on whatever new vehicle you get , a suggestion on the "ridding" of the Q , and I'm not pretending to have experience with a Q specifically. Objectively , mostly with cosmetics you mentioned.
And I ve sold many cars , consider letting it go - I'll just say ,really closer to low $2000 ,,$2450 and you can move on , not bust your butt whereas the upside of fixing up TWENTY year old vehicle negligible. I think you would see, appreciate the feeling of quick cash , no fuss , no toil, you say to potential buyer "yeah I wanted to get like $3000 , ..." THEN you'll sell any day of the week for what I suggested - MONEY in HAND -GO concentrate on your NEW purchase , know what I mean? Am I right or wrong .

[Freeze Time]

I kind of understand your post. I put a lot of money into this car so I am hoping a buyer will take into consideration that they are getting newer parts and a permanent death sway fix that most other QX4's won't offer them.

[yeldogt]

I sold my 02 LE back in 2011 w/145k .. in perfect condition for $4500. Buying a 2k car and having to put about that into it is to be expected over 4 years and then some .... I'm not sure I would put much into it in the hope of getting 3k. Basically it's what you bought .. a 2k vehicle 4 years older w/ more miles. You kept it going.

[Freeze Time]

I was assured here and from other research that it's a very good car with little maintenance to be done and I got the opposite. That's all in the past though. I am just hoping to sell it for as close to 3 grand as I can get. It's not a common SUV though so that's both good and bad. Not a lot of competition as far as other sellers but not as popular means more difficult to sell. I went ahead and ordered seat covers for the front 2 seats. Something I should have done a long time ago.

[yeldogt]

They are very good trucks .. but like anything ease........ need to be bought correctly .... inspected.

There is no such thing as a great 3k truck -- as an example. I paid $9500 for the 02 LE I bought at the same time I sold the other 02 for $4500. I still needed to do a full fluid service (everything) brakes and tires.

Do your diligence with the Prius ... I have many of them in the company fleet .. reliable. But whenever you buy used you have to inspect and know all the common problems.

[Freeze Time]

I get that and no need to dwell on the past. I am merely stating that this car cost me WAYYY more than I anticipated and was told it would cost me is all. I live in Southern California so there are a lot of different models of Prius for me to look at. Found some great deals on clean titles and salvaged ones(due to theft) but have not pulled the trigger just yet. Still not sure if I want to wait to sell my QX4 first or buy a Prius and then just own 2 cars until it does sell.

[macgiver]

mac, one advantage to holding your old car , I've been there , is IF threre's something like a hidden problem in that new car , info held back by seller , or just some "catchup maint . " you decide you want to do and be comfortable in that the new car has been passed a kind of probationary time that has your confidence FINALLY.
Then you sell the car and break the "ties" with it.

[yeldogt]

Nobody can tell you what it's going to cost in the future ... especially when buying and old car with lots of miles. Same with the Prius .... every car has common faults. Unless you know they have been addressed .. plan on doing them.

The O2's and Suspension bushings are well known problems with the R50 ... same with aftermarket belts and brakes. The engines have a couple of other sensors that typically go -- same with Evap valve. All of them eventually need the fan module.

Same with the Prius. The Gen 3's have been very reliable .. our oldest are 2011's. The EGR system on some can be an issue and it's about a $800 fix .... some have hub issues. We have been lucky .. only one issue with one fuel pump. We have a bunch of 2016 -- they are very nice. The Gen 2's are still a bit of a science project. We take good care of our cars .. so things are looked over. Some people never look at the brakes and 100k later wonder why everything is messed up -- a little maintenance goes a long way

[Freeze Time]

My mechanic told me the Prius is a great car and cheap to own. That's exactly what I am looking for. There is a 2015 Prius with only 4800 miles on it on CL for $9500. The reason is it's a salvaged title due to theft. He hasn't gotten back to me when I asked for the VIN number. I do want to get a car soon and am pretty set on getting a Prius. I haven't gotten any responses for my QX4 yet but it's still early.

[yeldogt]

2015 would be last year of generation #3 (2010-1015). I bought a couple 2011 to test them for the company and we also have a couple of 2014. They have been very good cars .. we have level five .. so the best ones with most of the options (no sunroof). Any car with a salvage title need to be fully inspected .. especially one that was damaged enough by theft. That's a lot of damage to total a 2015 -- pay particular attention to suspension damage. There is a lot going on -- packed in a tight space with a Prius.

I would have to be very sure of the condition. Also -- cars with salvage titles are very hard to sell .. and when they do .. sell at bargain prices. It's fine if you keep them for a long time ... our older 2011's now have past 200k. I don't; know what they are worth .. but sill more than many cars.

[macgiver]

mac, Prius batteries an issue ? Toyota stands behind them - to a degree. Sometimes warrantied for well over 100k or pro-rated maybe - but what will toyota warranty do for this "salvage title " car as far as the , survey says #1 concern of battery longevity ??

[yeldogt]

The batteries carry a 10 year 150k warranty in CA emission states ... this warranty covers many items associated with the engine and hybrid system. Salvage title and warranty is interesting question .. I guess as long as no physical damage to parts they would still be covered.

[macgiver]

mac, absolutely ,yeldogt , you and I are "guessing" , I'm guessing that if Freeze Time is buying- HE shall not guess on that one

[Freeze Time]

I will call Toyota and ask about the warranty on a salvaged car. I called the DMV and the guy told me if the car has a salvaged title, the owner already did all the work necessary to get said title and so I would just have to pay the transfer and registration fee. Yes, salvaged cars are tough to sell but the cars are already well under bluebook value so if I ever did decide to sell, I would then just pass the savings on.

[yeldogt]

Salvage titles are handled differently depending on state and insurance company .. in some States when an insurance company "totals" a vehicle that you own outright ... and is not damaged in a way that's unsafe ..... the insurance company and State will allow you to buy it back from the insurance company and nothing happens with the title. They call it uneconomical to repair. I did this recently with an old MB wagon. Car worth 6k and they said 6k in damage (my sister hit a deer) ... it needed a hood /grill / bumper cover -- a few other metal parts -- radiator and condenser. They wanted $350 for the damaged car .. so they took $350 and $500 deductible off the 6k. I found a matching silver car in the junk yard for the body parts and ordered about 1k of other parts for it .. 3k later-- back on the road. I had to remove it from my Insurance and reinsure w/o collision. In other states -- once the insurance company calls it "totaled" it has to go through motor vehicle and get the salvage tile in the Insurance company name .. You sign it over to them and they sign it back over to you ---- you then have to get it back in your name from DMV. A real pain -- and waste of money. In both of the above situations -- the owner will have the estimate from the insurance company on what was damaged and the cost.

All of the above is for the original owner. All bets are off if the Insurance company took the car and sent it to an auction or specialized salvage company ... you have to make sure if it went this route that you understand exactly what's going on with the car. Cars can be put back together -- from multiple cars with all manner of problems down the road.

[Freeze Time]

Toyota's warranty won't cover a salvaged car. The 2 Prius's in question that have salvaged titles are due to theft(took a bunch of stuff like headlights, nav system etc) and an accident involving the front bumper. Both cars have passed all inspections. Both cars are also asking more than I want to spend so I will have to do some haggling if I decide to buy either of them.

[brickbox]

Not sure where the OP, but with that user name, I would think somewhere where it snows. Prius winter traction doesn't come close to the ATTESA. Winter tires will help some.
That being said, with gas prices going up so much, your wallet will be thankful. Happy miles on the Prius!

[yeldogt]

While we have not had any issues with our cars battery/ charging system -- no warranty on a damaged vehicle would still make me pause. Cars get totaled for a reason -- Insurance companies are not stupid. Also -- knowing what the salvaged value is -- even with those low mies ... someone is making a lot of $$.

If you look at the cost of used Prius mechanical parts -- including batteries. The cost is surprisingly low -- because more are damaged in accidents vs needing those parts. The engine/tans axel/ batteries are all very reasonable. One can purchase a rebuilt battery w/ 1year warranty for a bit over $1200 installed ... Toyota is about $2500 w/ three year. I believe Toyota is also doing rebuilt. Used I see for $600-$800 w/o install. They are not hard to install. Some Prius have been known to use oil as they age .. but this is 200k range -- and people put used engines in them. They are unbelievably reliable cars w/ extremely low maintenance costs.

We get typical snow in the mid-atlantic and I find the Prius to be quite good -- better than most FWD cars. Maybe because of the weight distribution and low center of gravity? ours have 17" wheels w/ all season tires.

[Freeze Time]

I live in Southern California.
Both cars have low miles. The Prius C has 4800 miles and the owner is asking $9950 and the Prius 3 has 31000 miles and the owner is asking 10900. I don't want to pay a dime over 8000 so that's the highest I would offer them if I did decide I wanted one of them.

[Freeze Time]

Well, I bought a Prius on Saturday and just sold my QX4. I want to thank everyone that helped me over the years. It was kind of sad to see it go but I sold to a guy whose QX4 needed a new Transmission and had over 240,000 miles on it. He knew a lot about the cars so it's going to a good home. I've been going through hell with the DMV. Was there 5 hours yesterday only to be told I needed to have the CHP do an inspection. I paid my registration and fees but was not given plates, a permit or the title until I get an inspection which I can't get done until Aug 1st. Long story short, the DMV messed up and was supposed to give me my permit and I tried calling 4 times today only to find them incompetent and hanging up or not calling back. I have try again tomorrow. The previous owner told me he took care of everything. Sad.

[doldfiel]

I'm the guy who bought the 98 QX4, and I am very pleased with it after two days. Thank you for being so accurate/honest in describing the car. I got the rear door open by following some tips on this forum:)

[fueler]

Cars get totaled for a reason -- Insurance companies are not stupid. Also -- knowing what the salvaged value is -- even with those low mies ... someone is making a lot of $$.

Cars get totaled when the cost of a claim meets or exceeds 50% of it's estimated "value." People have no idea what salvage means. I currently have two QX4's - one salvage and one clean title. Guess which one hasn't been crashed.....