What is up with ebay and salvage titled Prius's

[Ghostrider]

Scanning ebay there are several salvage titled Prius's. Almost all of them say "light" damage. Granted I would never buy one with a slavage title but at elast one states they have a clear title in a different state. However my question is 'how damaged is a Prius" to get a salvage title?

[EricGo]

Flooded ?

[hobbit]

Tap a shopping cart, and it's totaled. Well, not quite that bad,
but minor accidents do seem to carry very high repair costs with
these things.
.
_H*

[fredmertz]

The market is flooded (no pun intended) with cars that were rebuilt after Katrina.

[djasonw]

How is Ethel??

[tochatihu]

Welcome to PriusChat, Ghostrider.

I watch ebay auctions of 2001-2003 Prius. Since Oct/Nov 2003, I have recorded 112 salvage titles sold, and 273 clear-titled. There is a clear depreciation with the clears (selling price falls about 6.5 cents per mile driven), as one would expect.

For salvage that have been repaired, it's 6.8 cents per mile, and the intercept is lower. For an intact vehicle, one might think of the intercept ($16754) as the new vehicle's value when it drives off the lot. This is $13600 for the intact salvage, telling me that as a group those cars have lost that much additional value.

Frankly that seems like a pretty small hit for a "hit", since a salvage title ends the Toyota warranty. Maybe the repairs are viewed well because there is no such thing as an aftermarket (important) Prius part. And it won't start if they're done wrong?

I have only seen the words "flood" or "water" a couple of times in the ebay descriptions, and never contacted sellers for details. The vast majority are collisions. Another few have been called theft recoveries, and since these cars are supposed to be so hard to steal, that might make a good question to a seller.

IMHO title searches and thorough technical checkups are essential for hybrid vehicles. But some lucky buyers may be getting good deals.

Unlike the above, the unrepaired salvage prices (n=23) have no significant relationship with the odometer. They are $5630 +/- 1830, you fix 'em. There may very well be a relationship with the severity of damage; I have not tracked that.

I think of crashed Prius as potential sources for parts I might need someday, not as rebuilding projects. But some people are braver. Ozgrl in Missouri used to fix classic Prius, but has retired. They were great people. Cor Van der Water rebuilt his. IMWoody36 in Ohio (Indiana?) rebuilds the new Prius model, and sells parts.

I have not tracked the new Prius model on ebay, and wish that somebody who needs a hobby would step up. How 'bout you, Ghostrider?

[Begreen]

Originally posted by Ghostrider@Mar 4 2006, 01:33 PM
Scanning ebay there are several salvage titled Prius's. Almost all of them say "light" damage. Granted I would never buy one with a slavage title but at elast one states they have a clear title in a different state. However my question is 'how damaged is a Prius" to get a salvage title?

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I tracked several '05s on eBay and even bid on a couple. I would estimate in December that there were about 5-6 per week. The majority seem to be coming from NY (Brooklyn), TX and CA (LA & Sacramento). The spiel for them is so uninformative that one has to inquire and then good luck getting straight answers. For sure you are not talking to the mechanic that did the work and a car salesman will tell you whatever you want to hear. One fact to know is that the warranty is void on a totaled Prius, regardless of what the seller may tell you.

My experience on bids was not that pleasant. Lost one, because no one met the reserve. I wouldn't go higher because of the high, coast to coast shipping costs. I bid on an LA salvage, the place had 3 listed, but all of a sudden the price on all 3 went up by exactly the same amount and the bidder list was set to private, I withdrew from bidding. The last had only 454 mile on it (Sacramento), Tideland 05 Prius "with warranty". No one got the car, and then I noticed the exact same description in San Fransisco Craigslist. I called and yup, same car. Somehow he kept the warranty papers, but according to Toyota, if the VIN says totated, no warranty. I ran a carfax and it was indeed totaled.

So I gave up on the whole mess. It would have saved me maybe $3000, but I would have no warranty and the nagging uncertainty with every squeak and groan that something wasn't right. Now I'm glad I passed. Our car is squeak and rattle free and I know it's getting good treatment from day one.

[fredmertz]

Originally posted by djasonw@Mar 4 2006, 03:40 PM
How is Ethel??

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She has worked a hard day at the chocolate factory and has a hangover from too much Vitameata­vegamin.