How much would you offer?

Maintenance/Repairs
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21

I would get a CarFax report on this vehicle. Go get the VIN and spend the little money it costs, many states have requirements for salvage vehicles and even if the title is clean, checking FOMOCO and CarFax for a title history can give you an idea of what this thing’s been through.

What it sounds like to me is a story I heard on the radio: host’s wife has wanted a Prius for years but he refused to pay a premium price for one. Earlier this year the new models were coming out and he was able to get last year’s at a discount. While on the lot, there was one a couple years older for several thousand more. A few weeks later this host was looking at the dealer’s site and saw the same car deep discounted because it wouldn’t sell. About a year ago, gas prices in our area shot way up and drove demand for hybrids way up. Once the gas supply got back to normal and prices dropped, the dealers almost couldn’t give the hybrids away.
Probably the dealer bought it thinking they could get a premium price and they still want to make every penny they can rather than taking a reasonable offer to move the inventory.

22

Figure 2 years of depreciation at 15% a year, so take 30% off the MSRP and you have $21,700. If the full new car warranty is still in effect then the car is worth a bit more than a low mileage used Mariner. An offer of 21K or 22K seems reasonable to me. As others have mentioned insurance replacement value of the car is an issue, so if the dealer can’t see your point of view they can sit on the car forever.

Go in, make an offer to a different salesperson than the one you’ve talked to before. When they counter give the sales person your name and number and tell them to call you when they are ready to really make a deal - then leave. If they call you in a few days you’ll have a shot at getting a decent deal.