Well the circumstances that dragged me into car ownership have evaporated as of September. I changed my field of employment to IT, and I'm now living and working in downtown Toronto. My car sometimes sits for weeks unused at a time. I even had some repair costs on my last maintenance service that are typical of underutilized cars. In the 5 years I've owned it, it hasn't even seen 40,000 km. I pay monthly for insurance and parking that I'm not using and I want out of car ownership. So off I go towards my final Prius C adventure: selling the damn thing. Dealerships don't want it unless I'm trading in for something new, which I'm obviously not doing. Nobody in the family wants it. So I guess that means posting an ad and selling to a stranger. Any advice? I have this sense of dread that it'll be a lot of work and kind of demoralizing.
Well of course make sure your c is presentable - nice car wash, full claybar and wax (or sealant), spruce up the interior and have the service records ready. Check prices around the GTA for an idea of what they're going for. If all else fails, post it in French and maybe someone from QC will bite (they seem to buy small cars and hybrids in larger numbers per capita compared to other provinces so someone might be willing to travel to Toronto to pick one up if pickings are slim in QC).
Thanks for the advice. Regarding service records, I did write down in my owner's manual which dealers I took it to from which regular services at which kms, but no signatures. Is there a printed record I can get from Toyota? I see there's also a few of these "sell my car quickly" companies in town. I wonder how much of a hit I'd take on the sale price if I went with that. I might consider the difference in cost to be worth the reduction in hassle.
I agree with the poster about clean and presentable. Do the research to know the price (Kelley blue book is a good place to start)you should be able to get for the car, then go visit the but it now place and see what they offer. If you love dealing with people sell it yourself - I got rid of a car via carmax and was very happy with the transaction. Not sure what you have in your area. Good luck. iPhone ?
I think Kelley and Carmax are US things. There are CDN equivalents to Kelley. I think there is no real CarMax equivalent, just some newer local businesses. For example there is one I spotted at: Sell My Car Toronto, Ontario - Sell Your Car For Cash And I do not love dealing with people especially buying/selling. I found the whole experience of buying the car in the first place in 2012 to be really stressful. Had to get a friend to hold my hand throughout the whole process and keep me calm. I honestly never wanted to own a car at all but I got a job that made it pretty lousy not to have one. That job only lasted a year, and the last time in my life when having a car was more help than hindrance ended a year ago. Over the past year I've spent $900 on maintenance services, $1600 on insurance and $1200 on home parking for a hardly used car. For that money I could get pretty good value out of a car sharing membership. Sigh, used car sales guys make me want to vomit. Overall the crux of my problem is that getting out of car ownership puts me through all the stuff I really hate doing.
That's fine (That's what I do in the Supplemental Owner's Manual booklet as well). Yes Toyota has a record. You can ask the dealer to print it out. (You used to be able to get it online from toyota.ca but they cancelled that owner's portal last fall). The service records should also show if any recalls/TSBs have been done to give the potential buyer piece of mind. Now might be a good time since it's almost back-to-school. Maybe university students are looking for a low cost ride and are looking for used vehicles. Post flyers on notice boards around campus, use social media (hopefully your friends & family can help spread the word), that's in addition to CL/Kijiji and Autotrader.ca.
Honestly the universities near enough for me to do so are very transit oriented. I'd be very surprised to see students in the market for a car. There's a more suburban one but I don't have the time to go up there. I did have one recall during the lifetime of the car and got that serviced.
I've sold over 20 cars on craigslist for family members and friends, and myself. Craiglist is easy and there is no shame about it. You get much more money than you would at a dealer, yet you are allowing someone else to buy a car for cheaper.
Well it's done. Ended up getting $11500 Canadian for it, including winter tires on rims. I could have pushed a bit harder but once I got close enough to my "okay number" I didn't have the energy to stick it out any longer. And just in time for the new month. I won't have to pay $100 for parking! So... this is my farewell to fellow Priites. However during the time I owned this car my Mom bought a 2016 or 2017 Prius V, and my Dad just got the 2018 Prius (dumped a BMW for it!). So I might still pop in from time to time.
