I'm sure a lot of you folks follow Ebay-for fun,or because you are bargain hunting.
Has anyone noticed how many salvage Prius are on Ebay?There are usually at least 20-25 Prius on Ebay,and their prices go up and down with the price of gas.There will rarely be fewer than 6 Salvage Title Prius on Ebay-why??
The fact that they are salvage is somewhat obscured by the seller headings"like new 2005 Prius" "Low mile 2004 Prius" etc.The description say Salvage in the "spot" for title type,but the actual descriptions are BS."This Prius was in a light front end collision and sustained fender-bumper damage.There was no frame damage.The damage was professionally repaired with genuine Toyota parts,and it drives like new"These descriptions are outright lies of course.Insurance companies don't total $20000 cars(used value if not wrecked) for $2000 worth of bady damage.
My questions;
1)Is the Prius more likely to sustain "totaling" type damage in a wreck than Corolla or Civic?Maybe the frame is particularily light or constructed in a way that makes restoring it to a safe conditon more difficult?.The lower drag shape and the emphasis on weight might play a role in this??
2)Is the Prius not more likely than a comparably sized car to be totaled out,but since it is a "hot car" folks will actually pay waaaay to much for a salvage car.
3)Who is bidding these POS's up to $17000+??The bids are about 70% of what you could buy a new one for.You can still buy a new Prius with side airbags for under $25000 in many areas($2000 over msrp).Who bids on these?Inside bidding?Folks who are so gas mpg conscious that they believe the sellers descriptions??
4)Has anyone here ever bought a salvage vehicle with the intention of using it for a daily driver?How did it work out?
Now for sellers out there,I have no objection to making a $$.I sell stuff on Ebay-mainly as a hobby-motorcycle stuff,SR500 Yamaha stuff-.I do think EBAY should have a special section for Salvage vehicles.The descriptions on these Prius are outright lies-insurance companies aren't stupid-if it is totaled,it is because it is sustained severe-expensive-damage(say 75% of value),or because it can't be repaired to safe condition.The "light damage" description the sellers frequently is a lie!Thanks.Charlie PS I'm not sure how to make Prius plural Priuses??Looks funny.??