Car Owner Incurs a Loss Selling Toyota Prius Due to Mechanic's incorrect Diagnosis!
In the world of car ownership, selling a vehicle at a loss is a common occurrence due to factors such as depreciation and market conditions. However, a recent case highlights the potential impact of inaccurate repair diagnoses by mechanics on resale value.
A Toyota Prius owner, for instance, had to sell the car at a loss after a mechanic's mistake in diagnosis. The car's owner, who remains unnamed, was left with a vehicle that required costly repairs, leading to a significant drop in its resale value.
This scenario underscores the importance of seeking a second or third opinion, especially when faced with an expensive or engine-killing misdiagnosis or mis-repair. The host of a popular car-related video series, who also encountered a similar issue with a Prius, shares this advice.
The host, in this case, replaced the bad relay in the Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) inexpensively, saving the car and its owner from potential financial loss. The replacement usually costs around $100, a far cry from the potential cost of major repairs or the loss in resale value.
While there is no direct data indicating how often car owners sell their vehicles specifically due to inaccurate repair diagnoses by mechanics, the effect of misdiagnoses on resale losses appears to be an under-researched or unreported area.
Cars typically lose significant value over time due to depreciation. Most vehicles lose about 20% of their value in the first year and around 30% over two years. Within five years, cars can lose about 55% of their value[1]. This depreciation is a major factor in owners selling at a loss.
Negative equity (owing more on a car loan than the vehicle’s worth) is increasingly common. In the U.S., 26% of trade-ins involve negative equity, often leading to losses when selling or trading in[3].
However, these losses are generally linked to factors like market demand, model popularity, loan terms, and economic conditions rather than inaccurate mechanic diagnoses.
In the face of potential financial loss, the host offers practical advice. He suggests that sometimes, a high repair cost on a low-value car still makes sense. He also recommends using repair estimator tools like RepairPal or Kelley Blue Book to give a rough cost estimate for common repairs.
Moreover, owners often assume repairs must cost more than the car's resale value without doing a proper valuation of the vehicle in its current or repaired condition. The host recommends using valuation tools like Edmunds or NADA Guides to determine what the car is worth both with and without the repair.
The host's advice is particularly relevant for car owners who rely completely on the word of their mechanic and have no way to challenge or validate the diagnosis without enough automotive knowledge.
In the end, the new owner of the repaired Prius paid $100-200 to have the car correctly diagnosed and fixed, turning it into a fine running used Prius with just under 162,000 miles on it.
In the fast-paced world of car ownership, it's easy to get caught up in the pressure to resolve a situation quickly. However, taking the time to seek a second or third opinion can prevent unnecessary financial loss from selling a vehicle based on an inaccurate or incomplete diagnosis.
Sometime, inaccurate repair diagnoses by mechanics can lead to significant drops in a car's resale value, as shown in the case of a Toyota Prius owner. Seeking a second or third opinion can help prevent such financial losses, and tools like RepairPal, Kelley Blue Book, Edmunds, or NADA Guides can assist in evaluating a vehicle's value both with and without repair costs.
