Used Scions... I hate them. The reason these things are so expensive on the lots is because the dealers pay stupid money at auction. Used car lots see the chance to get a late model Toyota that they can sell for under $20K and run the bids up. Meanwhile, used car managers from Toyota/Scion stores see the prices going up and figure its a high demand unti so they end up bidding as well.

the problem happens when the car hits the lot. There are two kinds of buyers for used Scions. The first is a buyer who is just looking for good transportation. The used car salesman shows them some Camrys and Accords. The customer notices a Scion and asks "how much?" Salesman tells them $19995. They look at the car and the customer compares features and performance to the Camry and Accord and decides that isn't a bad deal. The "market" has determined that the value exceeds the price of a new one and I have no problem with that.

What I have a problem with is the person who is looking for a used Scion in partiuclar. They see that we have three Scions in our used car lot and pull up to check them out. They are expecting them to be less expensive than a new car. They wouldn't be looking at a used one otherwise. They run into Mr. Slickyboy used car salesman and asks them how much. They hear the $19,995, see the slik shirt and gold chains and realize they've stumbled into some Bizzaro World. They leave the dealership and tell their friends how stupid that dealership is because of its Scions. That impacts me directly and it drives me nuts.

The other problem happens when we get a trade-in. We don't pay as much for trades as we do at auction. I know this doesn't sound right, but on a car that we don't have to compete with every idiot on the planet to get we pay what it really should be worth. Also, auction cars do come with certain garauntees that give us some protection against cars with problems. That doesn't make the customer very happy though when he sees used Scions selling for stupid money and we offer him just good money for the trade. It really contribues to a bad feeling.

 

Also everyone has to remember at some scion dealers, espesially the ones around me there aren't a ton of new or used scions on the lot. Most people like me had to wait 6-8 weeks for our cars to get here. Some will pay more to get the car right now. This is the same reason Harley's used to sell for so much used. 4-5 years ago you had to wait 6 months to get the Harley you wanted or you could buy a used one right there for the same price. It's all in how fast you want it.

 

ummm maybe i should sell my RS1.0 for 19,0000

 

hey scooby!

and maybe it's because it's an indigo ink pearl!! scion discontinued that color to 2006 and now it's a "rarer" color so they can sell it for more!! right??.....

 

I could see if this vehicle had a supercharger but I doubt it does. Does anyone have the # to this dealership. I want to call and ask a couple of questions

 

as a former employee of Toyota Motor Sales, USA... I would say that the dealer expects to get 14k or 15k for it, but they keep the price high so when the customer tries to talk them down, they lower the price and the customer thinks they got a sweet deal...