Hi there, about a year ago I bought a used 2010 ford escape hybrid. The car ran fine at first, I got it from a woman on craigslist and it was a state vehicle before it was hers. After owning it for about 4 months, the breaks got spongey, I took it to a mechanic and what followed was nearly 6 months of insanity. He would deem the car fixed, I would pick it up, and within days the ABS light would come on, the car would vibrate, and I would take it back. At this point, my whole break system has been replaced and this issue is still happening, it’s not worth it anymore, I want a Subaru haha.
I need to sell this car first though, and I’m really unsure about what I should price it at, it has around 160k miles, Bluetooth, the engine and both batteries work fine, and a brand new brake system… it’s just not working inside this hybrid car. I bought the car for $8,000
We have no idea where you are . Prices are different in different places . Go to the Kelly Blue Book web site and enter your vehicle to get some idea of the value .
Trade it into a dealer that sells you your new, or new-used car.
Don’t try to dump this turd on some unsuspecting rube… They will HAVE your address and phone number from the sale so the risk of them coming back at you HARD is pretty good.
A year ago, used car prices were in a major bubble, and prices have declined significantly since then. A quick look at Kelley Blue Book (kbb.com) shows that this vehicle with a mileage of 160,000 has a dealer retail price range of $4600 to $7200 depending on options and condition, and a private party price range of $3500 to $6700. So there’s no $8k for this vehicle, even if fully loaded and in museum-quality condition.
With all due respect, this is a “mechanic special” and not a turn-key drivable car. You can post it on Craigslist with an honest description of the problem, and maybe get $2500 for it. I would ask for $3k or best offer, and be prepared to go as low as $1500. If you can’t get this fixed easily, and are tired of dealing with it, why would you think someone else can fix it cheaply or easily?
Do not be tempted to lie about the condition of this vehicle. This can result in a lawsuit, or worse. The buyer is going to know your address, since that is on the title, and someone who feels ripped off badly enough might be willing to go after you and/or your family.
Escape Hybrid ABS systems can be quite costly to repair, often running in thousands. I think you would be lucky to get $2000 for the car, and that’s selling it to someone who can repair it themselves.
I understand the frustration. I had a spongey pedal on my truck, took me quite a bit of time investigating to discover cause was just a broken spring. What parts from the list below were replaced ?
pads , if replaced were oem pads used?
discs, if so from ford?
rubber brake hoses
calipers
master cylinder
The vibration symptom (if only noticed during braking) could be caused by the brakes not being bedded in correctly after pads or discs were replaced.
geez man I’m not a souless a-hole, of course I want to be 100% honest with whoever takes the car, I just want to know what I could get for it. Besides, its VERY easy to tell something is wrong, it would be way harder to lie about the issues.
Thanks for the advice, this was very helpful. I swear I wouldn’t even think about lying about this issue though, even if that were on the table, the issue is extremely noticeable when you turn on the car and I doubt anyone would fall for that