Don’t expect perfection at Khodas used car lot behind the old DMV building on Church Street.
Most are covered with a thin layer of dust. Some have small nicks and scratches. Others have been the objects of target practice, plopped with white missiles dropped by marauding seagulls and sparrows visiting the recycling center next door.
And many have more miles than you would expect from even a used car—100,000 or 200,000.
But, says owner Page Khoda, what you are willing to give up in cosmetics you will make up for in dollars and value. Khoda is the first lot in the area specializing in hybrid cars, specifically for now, Toyota Priuses.
“I don’t know any other car that lasts like this,” he says, stepping out of a brown 2006 model with 217,000 miles on it. “I want to find one with 400,000 miles so I can let people drive it and see how well they hold up. I’ve seen them with 750,000 miles.”
At 25, Khoda, who went to Leland High School in San Jose and moved his business to Gilroy because it’s more affordable, is one of the youngest car dealers around. He got into selling cars because he loved them, particularly those that last a long time. He studied hard and learned everything he could about the Prius, which sometimes confounds other mechanics because, as hybrids, they combine advanced electric and gasoline technologies.
He started with two Priuses two years ago; then added several more each month. He’s now got 25 ready for sale. His goal is to have more than 50 on the lot a year from now.
He buys them at auctions, for wholesale, paying less than their Kelley Blue Book value. He carefully checks each one’s history, preferring those that have only had one owner. He repairs what is needed, has them detailed and still sells them for less than the listed value.
He makes a small profit on each because he has so little overhead. He’s got an office at 8325 Church St. and a fenced lot half a block away. He lives with his parents, an engineer and a nurse, and is totally devoted to selling cars. He doesn’t finance cars, preferring to sell someone a car they can afford or let them find funding elsewhere.
Most cars on his lot sell from $7,000 to $10,000. He doesn’t fix scratches or dents, but he gives his customers something they won’t find elsewhere. He drives his Priuses for a week, so he can learn their quirks and fix any problems.
He goes to Sacramento every week to buy more cars, driving in one of his recent purchases before he sells it.
Khoda is off the beaten track in Gilroy, away from the popular auto row off 101. He operates out of a small office and leases a parking lot behind the old DMV. He cleaned and cut back the trees on the lot himself to make it usable.
“Some people complain that they have to drive two hours from San Francisco to buy my cars,” he says. “But I tell them, that’s two hours of driving to save $1,000. Do you make $500 an hour at your job?”
He has some other models, including a Honda CRV that a customer couldn’t drive home after buying a Prius. His goal, however, isn’t to broaden into carrying gasoline or electric cars, but to specialize in hybrids, the place in the market with the most potential for affordable growth and cars that not only save gas but are designed to last a long time.
He’s dubious about all-electric Teslas, which aren’t as road proven as the Priuses which have more than a decade of reliability under their belts.
He rents the land from Ed Howson, whose family owns the DMV building and the lot behind it. On weekends Khoda pulls some cars out in front of the DMV at Church and Howson streets to let people know where he is.
“I think he’s a great kid,” says Howson. “He’s got a lot of ambition and he’s very enterprising. It’s hard to fix that area up and the fact that he wants to start a business in Gilroy and he’s making it work, really says a lot.”
Howson says he’s not sure what will happen with the DMV building, but Khoda imagines it could be his headquarters if his business grows.
He’s living his dream.
“I always wanted to own my own business. That was my main goal, to save money and buy a business. And cars are something I enjoy and people always say do something you enjoy. If you are going to do a job for the rest of your life, if you don’t enjoy it, you are going to dread it.”
