Waiting for newPrius, how to time sale of old car?

Hey there,

I bought a Prius yesterday and I need to sell my car that I'm driving now. You're lucky that you only have a few weeks to wait... I have to wait three months!

Anyway, what I'm doing is listing it now, advertising etc etc, and if someone happens to buy it then great, I'll just go and rent a car for a few weeks, otherwise I risk not being able to sell it and I'll be forced to sell it to the dealer at a much lower price :-(

I would just list your car on the market and see what happens. If it does sell, you'll just have to be prepared to use public transport, taxi or rent a car temporarily.

Cheers,
Kent

 

I got my Prius off the lot so there was no wait like that (I did wait for a few months before I found one, but that's another story). I donated my old car to charity.

If I were you I'd wait until you actually got the Prius, as there's no guarantee the dealer won't say you have to wait longer.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(aaf709 @ Jun 29 2006, 09:44 PM) [snapback]278977[/snapback]</div>

I bought my Prius about 6 weeks ago, and still haven't sold my old car (Jeep Grand Cherokee) yet. But I will do so very soon.

I have a home equity line of credit that I used to buy the Prius. When I get the proceeds from the Jeep, I'll put that in to pay down the loan.

That way there is no timing issue and everything is very simple. The only cost is a little extra interest, but I bet that's smaller than renting a car for a month or more.

 

There was a horror story about a dealer some time ago (in Phoenix, I think) who lied to the purchaser about the arrival date of the Prius, and let the buyer sell her old car knowing full well that the Prius wasn't going to be in anytime soon. If sell you car and your Prius is delayed, you could spend as much in rental fees as the difference between the private party price and a dealer trade in.

I would definitely wait until you get your Prius before selling your old car. The only exception would be if your dealer gives you a VIN and the arrival date of your Prius. If they're willing to give you a VIN, they're not going to sell it out from under you, and there's only a VERY slight chance that it will be damaged enough in transit that you'd have to wait for the next allotment.

 

My dealer gave me an estimated delivery date about 3 weeks from when it actually arrived (with a VIN, so I knew there was an actual physical car out there with my name on it!), and that's when I started making arrangements to sell my old car. As the estimated delivery date approached, my old car buyer started getting antsy about taking delivery of the old car, so I just called the dealership and explained the situation. They offered to give me a loaner, on them, for every day between the estimated date they gave me and the actual delivery date. I didn't end up taking them up on it, because the car came in the day after the estimated date.

Anyway, I guess I'm saying that if your dealer gives you an estimated delivery date, you can start using that to make arrangements to sell your old car...assuming your dealer is as cool as mine was!

 

My dealer actually started offering me a loaner on the day i ordered the car, with an estimated 6-8 week delivery time. of course, the car came in a week and a half later, and i hadn't gotten around to trying to sell my old car yet, but i still thought it was really top notch of them. just wish i hadn't moved 5 states away 3 months later...

 

I'd go with the "When you have a VIN" date. When I bought my Prius, the dealer gave me the VIN 2 weeks before the car arrived. That gave me time to clean up the old vehicle for sale. My 1 complaint about the dealer we got my wife's car from last month is that she didn't give me the VIN at all until the car had arrived. It was WAY inconvenient (being a Monday) and I didn't have time to clean up the old car until 2 weekends later. Just make sure anyone who agrees to buy the car knows the availability date is 'give or take' a couple of days.

I don't know if this is true everywhere, but in Vermont, you have 60 days to sell your old vehicle and get a sales tax refund on the amount you sell it for. If you don't make it in 60 days, the state gets to double tax: full tax on your new car and full tax to the buyer of your used car.

I did not have luck, but others have, listing on Craig's list (just put craigslist in the URL and go from there). DO be careful as there are scammers out there (and Craigslist warns you). I had one 'buyer' that turned into the classic "I'll send a cashier's check for $xxxx, you cash it and send $xxx to the shipper who will pick up the car" scheme. Of course with these, the cashier's check is bogus, you have deposted ZERO and mailed YOUR money to some sleazeball.

 

Hi Andy --

Welcome to the forums. Like most everyone else has recommended, I would wait until you have the VIN number. At that point, the car is pretty much on the way.

Prior to the VIN, the dealer has an idea of when they vehicle may come in, but there are several factors that are out of their control. Sometimes the ship that is bringing the car over from Japan is delayed. Storms, broken ships, etc. are contributing factors. Then there is the port. How soon before they get it on a truck for delivery? And then how about the truck? Sometimes a truck may take cars to 3 or 4 states. Are you the first stop or the 4th? So, as you can see, it's hard to predict.

I just got my new Prius last night. I was told a 3 to 4 week wait, and it was exactly 4 weeks and 1 day when my Prius came in. I too am selling the car that it is replacing, but I'm fortunate enough to do it on my own timing.

Once you get the VIN, I would consider trying to sell the car. Advertise well, present your car well, and be willing to price it competitively, and you shouldn't have a problem selling your in 7 to 10 days.

Good luck!

Bryan

 

Arrgh!! Had Dealer call and say he had found a car we wanted and that estimated ETA was today. So Monday I put my old car up for sale on Craig's List. I had eight responses in an hour. The first guy who called, came and made me an offer which I accepted. Then I decided to call the dealer to confirm ETA. I was told the car was still at the port in LA. No definite ETA, no VIN. They hope it will be here by the end of the week. Luckily, I didn't turn over my old car yet, but I don't want to mess up the sale, if the Prius gets delayed anymore. Kinda bummed.

 

I can relate, Andy!

We ordered with a deposit on the first Saturday in December 2005 (3rd or 5th maybe?) and were originally told end of April for delivery. Then got a call at end of January that our car was on the boat and would arrive within two weeks. Had a VIN and I checked the boat schedule online. All was looking good, so I put out an email to everyone I know in my county and next one North of us. Got three responses that night and the first person who looked at it wanted it and paid me with a cashier's check the day she test drove it. Friend of a friend and her test drive was to her bank! This happened a day before our car was supposed to arrive, after several calls to our salesperson.

Well, oops! Car did NOT arrive and I no longer had a car. In the end, though, it all worked out. I got the dealer to pay for the $700 3M Paint Protection Film for my trouble and the car arrived Thursday (after weekend delivery was promised). I never had to rent a car and the dealer offered to give me a loaner on them if I jumped through some hoops I wasn't willing to jump through. (I managed with friends and relatives for those few days.)

Good luck!

P.S. I forgot to mention I had a 1995 Toyota Corolla!