Repairs on car before sale... yes or no?

[Princesca]

I am looking at selling my 2003 Honda Civic, which has about 122k miles on it, and has been an incredibly reliable car. I just need something a little more comfortable for a long commute and something that handles better in messy road conditions, as our neighborhood is hilly. I also have a big dog that doesn't share a Civic well with me.

There are currently two things wrong with the car:

1) The driver's side door lock is stripped, or the key is, so the key doesn't work in the lock, and keyless entry didn't come standard on this model.

2) The car has never been in an actual collision with another car, but was involved in a small altercation with my garage. I cut it too close pulling in and dented the rear passenger door and it left a paint scuff on it.

I want to get the most sale/trade-in value I can, so is it worth fixing these two things? I got a quote from my Honda dealer on replacing the lock, and that would be about $300. I'm not sure how much the bodywork would cost, but it appears to be a simple dent that just needs to be sucked out, and the paint buffed off.

I don't want to fix these things if I won't recoup the value in the sale. What do you guys think? Should I do both, one, neither?

Thanks!

 

[Sadie22]

I think you need to get the key problem fixed. You might get a second estimate on that work and compare them. You could probably let the dent go.

 

[Darcy03231]

Any needed repairs will detract from the value of your car. I always drive mine till they're ready to die before I trade them in so the value really is much no matter what shape they're in (I kept one car for 18 years).

Body work can get expensive really quickly, but I wouldn't buy a car with a dent in it because its definitely been in some kind of an accident.

I'd go to the dealership and see what they will offer you as is and then what they will offer if you fix it. You might find it will cost you more to fix the problems than what you will get for it.

 

[bumbershoot]

If you're selling it to a dealership with a bodyshop, they will be able to fix body stuff at a way lower cost than they would charge to do it. So take that into account when accepting an offer from a dealership with a bodyshop.

Not sure about the key problem though.

 

[fireflymedic]

I am looking at selling my 2003 Honda Civic, which has about 122k miles on it, and has been an incredibly reliable car. I just need something a little more comfortable for a long commute and something that handles better in messy road conditions, as our neighborhood is hilly. I also have a big dog that doesn't share a Civic well with me.

There are currently two things wrong with the car:

1) The driver's side door lock is stripped, or the key is, so the key doesn't work in the lock, and keyless entry didn't come standard on this model.

2) The car has never been in an actual collision with another car, but was involved in a small altercation with my garage. I cut it too close pulling in and dented the rear passenger door and it left a paint scuff on it.

I want to get the most sale/trade-in value I can, so is it worth fixing these two things? I got a quote from my Honda dealer on replacing the lock, and that would be about $300. I'm not sure how much the bodywork would cost, but it appears to be a simple dent that just needs to be sucked out, and the paint buffed off.

I don't want to fix these things if I won't recoup the value in the sale. What do you guys think? Should I do both, one, neither?

Thanks!

there are trade in caluculatora out there, even co. that give a price for your car, you could put in for a estimate using your true cars condition and one that has it fixed and see what the difference is.

I'm thinking with all the miles you have it may not matter

 

[Sandy321]

google Blue Book -

then you add your car make model, miles, etc... and it will give you the option of a "private" sale or "trade-in" Since I dont know all those details, I did just the basic and it said your car could be worth $4,700 in a private sale - for that, I'd get the key fixed, but not the dents...

Good luck!

 

[tinan]

First of all, if you are patient, you will get more by selling it yourself vs. trading it in. Secondly, I wouldn't worry about the paint scuff as the cost vs. what you would recoup would not be good enough to justify the cost. The lock on the other hand, some people may be willing to over look it, but that would be what I consider fixing if the cost wasn't too bad. Honda's keep a lot of value even as they are older and higher in mileage. I was really shocked to see some of them on the market and what they were asking for the condition so I wouldn't think you'd have a hard time selling it as long as it was priced correctly. I always take a look at Kelly Blue Book value and look at all three values retail, private owner and trade in value. This will give you an idea of what you can kind of expect to get. I always try buying my vehicles around the trade in value and have been very fortunate, but have to be patient there too. If you price it somewhere in between the trade in value and private party value you should sell rather quickly and get more than you would on trade.

 

[scrapquitler]

I am looking at selling my 2003 Honda Civic, which has about 122k miles on it, and has been an incredibly reliable car. I just need something a little more comfortable for a long commute and something that handles better in messy road conditions, as our neighborhood is hilly. I also have a big dog that doesn't share a Civic well with me.

There are currently two things wrong with the car:

1) The driver's side door lock is stripped, or the key is, so the key doesn't work in the lock, and keyless entry didn't come standard on this model.

2) The car has never been in an actual collision with another car, but was involved in a small altercation with my garage. I cut it too close pulling in and dented the rear passenger door and it left a paint scuff on it.

I want to get the most sale/trade-in value I can, so is it worth fixing these two things? I got a quote from my Honda dealer on replacing the lock, and that would be about $300. I'm not sure how much the bodywork would cost, but it appears to be a simple dent that just needs to be sucked out, and the paint buffed off.

I don't want to fix these things if I won't recoup the value in the sale. What do you guys think? Should I do both, one, neither?

Thanks!

How do you get into the car? The driver side lock not working would be a deal breaker for me. I wouldn't consider buying a car without keyless entry if I couldn't unlock the drivers side door with my key.

 

[Princesca]

How do you get into the car? The driver side lock not working would be a deal breaker for me. I wouldn't consider buying a car without keyless entry if I couldn't unlock the drivers side door with my key.

I basically open the passenger side, lean in and unlock it. Kind of a pain, yeah.

 

[SandrA9810]

I basically open the passenger side, lean in and unlock it. Kind of a pain, yeah.

I get to climb in from the passenger side...

Had the same problem when we bought the car used from a guy. He didn't really tell us before we purchased, other than he normally kept the door unlocked. For the most part, my bf would get in and unlock the door for me to get in. Then it got stuck in the locked position. I did manage twice to get it opened after accidentally locking it, now it's stuck in the locked position again.

It's a major, major pain, and it's not in the actual lock, it's in the whole mechanism. I tried using AAA to get some one to pop the lock the first time, and only by luck did he get it open, but it had nothing to do with jimmying the lock. Plus it was a tow company not a locksmith company (kinda wish I was in Orlando with Gary's, they answer the calls to Disney and they're great).

I would get it fixed, even if you don't totally recoup the cost of it. But I'd take it to a locksmith prior to the dealer, they might be a little cheaper.