Major car dilemma -- need advice urgently!

kissenger

kissenger

kissenger

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10 Apr 2008
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2,491
Took my 06 Prius into my local Toyota dealer today with a leaking inverter coolant problem expecting a couple of hundred quid job at the most... Turns out my car is a write off (i.e., it will cost at least what I paid for it to fix the problem they've identified). Only had it 2 months as well.

My dilemma is that the dealership has offered me £1000 trade-in value on the car if I buy one of their used Toyotas -- I'm looking at either a 60 reg Prius T-spirit (£225 per month at 5% for 5 years with a 1 year warranty) or a 64 reg Auris Hybrid (£271 per months at 5% for 5 years with a 4 year warranty) -- but I have to make up my mind by the close of business today (so within about an hour!).

Should I accept that offer and, if so, which is the better deal? And do I have any other options? I.e., would I get more than that if I took it to a garage that does auctions?

The car runs fine but it is losing coolant daily so it's not going to last long.
 
Where did you buy it from and isn't it covered under a warranty at only 2 months since purchase?
 
LiE said:
Where did you buy it from and isn't it covered under a warranty at only 2 months since purchase?
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This. Also, the dealer you're talking to is trying to strongarm you into a deal, usual sales bull****. Don't make a five year finance decision today whatever you do.
 
kissenger said:
Turns out my car is a write off (i.e., it will cost at least what I paid for it to fix the problem they've identified). Only had it 2 months as well.
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That is not the definition of a write-off. A write off is where a vehicle has been accident damaged beyond safe and/or economical repair. Something wearing out that costs a lot to fix is not a "write-off", otherwise every cheap car that wore out a set of tyres would be a "write off". That's not how it works.

Why is the dealer trying to force you into a commitment? Tell them to jog on.
 
I should have mentioned, I bought the car second hand for just £2500. So basically there's no warranty and I've been conned by a private seller. The mechanic took me into the work shop and showed me everything that was wrong with it. It is borked. Coolant all over the underside dripping out of the transmission. I strongly believe the mechanics were not bull****ting me.

Having put the used cars Toyota have through a price checker, the 60 reg Prius seems like a decent deal. It's on sale for £10,000, but the price valuation online is £11,500-12,710. I'd also be getting £1000 for my knackered 06 reg Prius, which is probably more than anywhere else. I might be looking at less than £100 in a week if it dies completely.
 
So basically, you don't know exactly what's wrong with the car and the dealership are trying to force you into a finance deal by saying you need to do it by close of play today.

I imagine the batteries in your current car are worth more than 1000 right now.

Find out EXACTLY what is wrong, then take your time and find the best option. This dealership sounds terrible.

http://etereman.com/blog/toyota-tra...e-prius-transaxle-inverter-cooling-loop-works

Could simply be a pipe and they want the second hand car and the finance.
 
kissenger said:
I should have mentioned, I bought the car second hand for just £2500. So basically there's no warranty and I've been conned by a private seller. The mechanic took me into the work shop and showed me everything that was wrong with it. It is borked. Coolant all over the underside dripping out of the transmission. I strongly believe the mechanics were not bull****ting me.

Having put the used cars Toyota have through a price checker, the 60 reg Prius seems like a decent deal. It's on sale for £10,000, but the price valuation online is £11,500-12,710. I'd also be getting £1000 for my knackered 06 reg Prius, which is probably more than anywhere else. I might be looking at less than £100 in a week if it dies completely.
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Hang on a minute, so this garage is telling you "It's borked" and there is water dripping out of the transmission (how?! transmissions contain no water) and plucked a figure of over £2500 to repair it out of the air? You sound like you are begging to be ripped off, take it somewhere else and ask them to tell you EXACTLY what is wrong with it.

EDIT
Sorry just noticed it's a Prius! The majority of my comments still stand, get a proper diagnosis from someone who is not trying to pressure sell you into a finance deal.
 
Drive away, get a 2nd opinion from a decent reputable local garage who aren't interested in pushing you into a new car purchase.
 
Several things to do

1 - Take it to an indy mechanic and get a price to fix it. There's no point spending £14k upwards (payments with interest) to avoid spending a grand or 2. Chances are a decent indy will fix it for a lot less than a main dealer

2 - Ignore them trying to push you into a deal. You bought a car for £2500, presumably that budget was set for a reason, why do you now want to spend 4-5 times that on a whim?

3 - If you really want to now commit £200+ a month on a new car, why does it have to be a hybrid? Do you need the economy? I'd not commit that much for 5 years, instead borrow £7500 from M&S loans @ 3.3% over 36 months (£218 per month). Chuck your Prius into an auction and probably get the £1000 back that the garage is offering, or punt it to WBAC. Use the funds to go buy something like a Civic or a Gold.


Start with 1. If you really dont think it should be fixed, do 3.
 
Also if the prius they have offered is 10k and they are offering 1k off for your current car, 225 sound wrong for a 5 year deal. A loan at 5% would be about 170 a month for 9k.
 
Did you get any paperwork / service history with the car? Any work done at Toyota should be guarenteed for a year.

Are you dead set on a hybrid? There is a serious 'Prius tax' being applied. If saving money, rather than the planet, is your primary motivation -being tied into a finance deal on a much newer car for 5 years is not the way to go about it.

A 2010 Honda Insight (I have one), for example, will get 90-95% of the mpg for around £5-7k (on a typical 40-70k mile example). Unless you plan to drive starship mileages in it you will literally never make the difference back in fuel and tax. Something like a Focus of equivalent age and mileage will cost even less up front.
 
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That sounds dubious, definitely get a second opinion on repair for your current vehicle and don't agree to finance a car you had no intention of buying when you went in.

Putting a time limit on this just seems like a pressure tactic TBH.
 
Lopéz said:
Hang on a minute, so this garage is telling you "It's borked" and there is water dripping out of the transmission (how?! transmissions contain no water) and plucked a figure of over £2500 to repair it out of the air? You sound like you are begging to be ripped off, take it somewhere else and ask them to tell you EXACTLY what is wrong with it.

EDIT
Sorry just noticed it's a Prius! The majority of my comments still stand, get a proper diagnosis from someone who is not trying to pressure sell you into a finance deal.
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I appreciate your comment but they didn't just pluck the figure out of the air. The broke down in detail the costs in detail as they showed me around the underside, including probably 8 hours to take apart the transmission and the cost of the components that would need to be replaced, which are far from cheap in that part of a Prius. They also showed me various parts on the underside of the car that were badly damaged.

I should also have mentioned that the car has a lot of miles on it: 210k. I realise now that it was probably used as a taxi at some point and has been treated pretty badly throughout its life. I strongly believe the mechanics were not BS'ing me. On the other hand, the sales people clearly are motivated by making a sale on the best possible terms they can and want to get it done today. I'm not stupid. I'm just saying that I am in an very difficult situation because it is not just BS that the car might be worth next to nothing if it stops working completely in a few days.
 
I don't have any documentation but they specified 8 hours at £75 labour for diagnosis (i.e., taking apart the transmission and they said there's a component in the transmission (the transaxle?) that can't be repaired and costs £1500 to replace. It is something to do with the hybrid technology.

They also did not try and sell me anything right away. The issue of trade-in came up after the conversation about the car had ended and I asked them what my options were in terms of scrapping it or whatever. That was when they brought it up and said I would get a certain amount in trade-in. I only got the £1000 figure later when I spoke to a salesman.

So what should I do? Take the car home put it on Gumtree? Take it to an auctioneer? Take it to another Toyota mechanic? I did look for alternative Toyota mechanics and I could find any in Birmingham (not just any mechanic can go into a hybrid engine) and I do have faith in what the mechanics told me already.
 
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kissenger said:
I appreciate your comment but they didn't just pluck the figure out of the air. The broke down in detail the costs in detail as they showed me around the underside, including probably 8 hours to take apart the transmission and the cost of the components that would need to be replaced, which are far from cheap in that part of a Prius. They also showed me various parts on the underside of the car that were badly damaged.

I should also have mentioned that the car has a lot of miles on it: 210k. I realise now that it was probably used as a taxi at some point and has been treated pretty badly throughout its life. I strongly believe the mechanics were not BS'ing me. On the other hand, the sales people clearly are motivated by making a sale on the best possible terms they can and want to get it done today. I'm not stupid. I'm just saying that I am in an very difficult situation because it is not just BS that the car might be worth next to nothing if it stops working completely in a few days.
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Even if it was worth nothing tomorrow the finance deal they are offering really isn't that good, id forget about the 1k for now. You say the 60 plate prius is marked up at 10k but that fiance deal would be for a car valued at 12 (im not sure what they are charging for warranties etc). Do you really want to spend 225 a month for 5 years for a car you had no intention of buying?
 
Take the car home. Get a 2nd opinion on the repairs. Make sure the coolant is kept topped up.

If you need to change car budget realistically. If you are going to sell privately list as spares or repair, so the next poor bugger doesn't end up in the same situation as you (and you don't get taken to small claims court). Otherwise I would part exchange for a car that's realistically in your budget, bought outright or using a sensible bank loan.

Edit: Also - for a cheaper car go for something with some evidence that it's been looked after (service history with paperwork, decent condition, decent brand tyres matched per axle etc). Any car can throw up some nasty surprises if it's been maltreated - even somethin with a solid reputation for reliability
 
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kissenger said:
I should also have mentioned that the car has a lot of miles on it: 210k. I realise now that it was probably used as a taxi at some point and has been treated pretty badly throughout its life.
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I seem to recall you were warned of this exact possibility when you originally asked about buying one.

kissenger said:
but I have to make up my mind by the close of business today (so within about an hour!).
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Or else they'll take their crappy offer off the table? No loss there.

Get a second opinion from somewhere else and see what they say. It's your first car, they're a franchised dealer and they're preying on you because they know you'll react the way you are. I did a similar thing with my first car when I was met with an absurd quote for a lot of work from a Vauxhall dealer maybe a month or two after I bought it. After getting some advice on here I took it to an indy Vauxhall 'specialist' who were far more honest and far, far cheaper.
 
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