Value of 2006 Corolla?

dishdude

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MIL just bought a new car a couple weeks ago and the stealership only offered her $500 for her old 2006 Corolla with 267k on it. She wasn't willing to give it up for $500 (wise) and doesn't want to deal with selling it private party. No one in the family wants it, so the plan was to ship it cross country from PA-AZ to me but that is turning out to be a PITA. Since I don't really want it I am thinking of offering to sell it for her when I am back in PA in 2 weeks.

Getting a value on this thing is tough...one owner car that she kept spotless and maintained BITOG style. She has a stack of receipts the size of an old phonebook. It's starting to get a little rust on the left strut tower and rockers, interior is showroom. She had a minor accident with it in the LR but that was repaired and other than the rust that's starting the paint looks good, tires are good, all maintenance is up to date. What would you recommend listing this for?

This is how she drove it around! :oops:

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Man is your MIL my grandmother in law? The roll of paper towels in a ziploc, towels everywhere... seriously. I hope my wife doesn't inherit that habit.

Around here if the body is in passable shape, it's not insanely rusty underneath, and it has a recent inspection you could probably get $2500-3k for it.
 
I would go to Carvana website and see what their on line estimate brings up. Be brutally honest with your evaluation. We did this with daughter's Subaru with CVT trans problems (156K mi) and came up with twice the cash as the dealer offer.
 
I wouldn't think a car this old with this high of miles would fetch anything on Carvana. They're going to wholesale it.

It does have a recent PA safety inspection, April I think. I haven't been under the car to see if it's a rust bucket but from what I saw it looked okay.
 
As a random data point, I got rid of my 1994 BMW 530i with 265,000 miles for $430 and they even came and picked it up. It had a leaking head gasket, coolant in the oil, a cracked windshield, a leaking evaporator, pretty pervasive underbody rust and a hundred other minor issues common to a 27 year-old car. I even took the stereo out since the scrapper said he didn't care.

So that $500 seems a bit low.
 
man with the crazy used car prices these days $3000 to $4000 would not surprise me at all , looks like fairly new snow tires, and if the rest of the car looks as good as the sill plates and the interior should be an easy sell.
 
Median Private Party KBB value for a silver 2006 Corolla S in "good" condition with standard options and 267,000 miles in my area is $3,233 and trade-in value is $1,922.

I'd split the difference and list it at $2,750 on Craigslist or FB Marketplace and it'll probably sell quick with the maintenance records
 
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With the amazing condition, 1-owner and big stack of service receipts, that car is worth at least $1500, especially in today's insane used car market. Here is the question: is the car worth the effort to get $1500 for it from a private party? Hagglers, low-ballers, no-shows, etc. Only you (or your mom) can answer this question.
 
I think protecting your seats isn't a permanent condition. You can uncover seats whenever you like. Put 'em back on when you bring the dog or go fetch 4 sandy children from a beach.

Cleanliness sells cars.

I have never understood why people use floor mats so they can't enjoy it but somebody who buys a fully depreciated car for $1,500 can.
 
Two weeks ago my son purchased 2010 Accord LX-P 93800 miles in very good codition from NJ Chrysler dealer for $6,525.
 
man with the crazy used car prices these days $3000 to $4000 would not surprise me at all , looks like fairly new snow tires, and if the rest of the car looks as good as the sill plates and the interior should be an easy sell.
that's some kid's pizza delivery rig. Money maker. It's $3,500 all day long.
 
$1,000 min on private market, you'd get that offer by the end of the day sight unseen.
But easily ~$2,000.
As others have said it would not surprise me if you could fetch $3,000 given current market.
 
I think protecting your seats isn't a permanent condition. You can uncover seats whenever you like. Put 'em back on when you bring the dog or go fetch 4 sandy children from a beach.

Cleanliness sells cars.

I have never understood why people use floor mats so they can't enjoy it but somebody who buys a fully depreciated car for $1,500 can.
A car for $1,500.00 to $3,000.00 is going to sell anyway.......
 
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I would list it for at least $3k to start. Even with those miles, it's going to be in better cosmetic condition than just about everything else in that price range. I think people buying used are pretty accustomed to high miles these days, but an interior that is spotless on a cheap car is pretty hard to find. A lot of the cheap cars I see for sale look like the seller dumped their kitchen trash all over the interior, then took a pry bar and clawed at/smashed all the surfaces.
 
i'd sell it for 7 to 10k , looks very nice, and is probably very well taken care of.

You should try to push that you have done alot of maintenance on it and cared for your car.

I would love to buy this car, but i live all the way here in georgia ):
 
I mean if you would pay $7-10k, maybe ask dishdude if he wants to drop it off in GA? 🤣 It might even be worth dealing with a shipping company at that price, though I'd just drive it from PA to GA, then fly or rent an interesting vehicle back to AZ.

The mileage and minor rust means this car really tops out at less than $5k in the craziest of markets, and I think there would have to be a gas price spike to get anywhere near that.
 
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