sold it...

Started driving the new'ish Toyota nearly a month ago. Finally sold the old/gold one yesterday. It has been sitting around waiting for a new home all this time. Got lots of nibbles but no bites, except for this one guy who said he wanted to get it for a son who was about to have a birthday. If anyone had asked my opinion, I would have given it on that score, about what happens when you provide a sixteen year old a free ride. But no one asked, so I kept it to myself.

The old/gold one sat out on the street near the house with For Sale written on the windows for a couple of weeks, generating quite a few calls, but none that had any seriousness to their tone. My spouse told me more than once that I had it priced too high. I didn't disagree. But when people would call and have questions, I would say: 'I am asking $6500'. They did not say 'will you come down?' or 'will you consider less?' or 'can we negotiate?', so they were obviously not really interested.  There were two people who did ask, and I sold it to one of them. The other guy said, 'if I pay cash would you accept less', and I didn't say: 'cash is the only option', but he didn't call back.

So I moved it into town, and parked in front of a State Farm agent's office, where I often see vehicles for sale. With thousands of passers-by every day, causing me to be hopeful that the right person would come along and make the call, want to drive, and own. It finally happened last week, and we made the deal on Monday.

My friend P., who I refer to as the smartest person I know, wanted me to believe it was not my responsibility to warn potential buyers about the imminent possibility of having to replace the very expensive energy-storage batteries. I did not mention it to all the people who called, because their interest cooled as soon as they heard the numbers. P. seemed to think that anyone who was serious about purchasing a vehicle of this type was responsible for doing the due diligence to discover that on their own. And felt like I was under no obligation to share that information with anyone. Which sounds like a good idea, especially when telling them how much the new battery array would cost.

So I didn't precisely tell the buyer what they were getting. But did provide a nice rebate for them to use towards the price of having the storage batteries replaced. And told them about the mechanics in Decatur who reported they could order some that were rebuilt or refurbished for considerably less than the dealer/service dept. would charge. But what they do now, that the title is no longer mine, and the vehicle is in someone else's hands/name is up to the new owner.

I told the buyer, when she met me to get the key, and handed over the cashier's check: that was the first time I had sold a vehicle on my own, and it made me feel like an 'adult'... My conscience would not allow me to feel like I was withholding information. And I know I did the right thing as I slept really well last night.