Hi, I'm the proud owner of an 05 TL base but I'm looking to upgrade to a newer 3G TL-S and so I'm going to be selling my car. The only problem with this is that right after I bought this car I got into a minor accident in which I scraped up my left door and panel. (pictures: https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-problems-fixes-114/scratch-dent-repair-cost-reasonable-%5Blarge-pics%5D-803169/). I was quoted 1200 initially for the repair but have found a place that can do it for around 1000.

I've yet to go get my car appraised by a dealership to see if I should sell there or private party (My first car that I've owned). The car has 106,000 miles on it but is in otherwise perfect condition.

Now, do you think that I would be better off repairing the side of the car before selling it or should I lower the price of the car and sell it as is? KBB says the car is worth around 13,000 in perfect condition but I wanted to see what some experienced sellers think.

(If this is in the wrong location I'm sorry, couldn't decide where it should be.)


Summary:
05 TL Base w/o nav
106,000 miles
Large gash on driver side.

Worth repairing side before selling or not?

 

Taking it to the dealership for appraisal will result in a really low trade in value based on age, damage as you describe, and mileage (I will assume well below $10k) in trade in value. With over 100k miles, it becomes a little more difficult to sell, as it will need the 105k service if it hasn't had it done already. That's about $1000 someone has to put in the car after purchase. Plus, if you don't want to get the door damage fixed, that'll drop your car's value even more.

You can get the Type S, but realize they will cost at least $23k for a decent condition car. If your car is in pretty good shape for age and mileage, would it make sense for you to get the damage repaired, do the 105k service, and maybe add the A-Spec kit and fog lights/ TL-S taillights? This is what I did (modded mine a bit) to keep my interest), and now I have a great interest in keeping it past 200k.

Unfortunately, buying cars is always a losing proposition. The Type S is a great car, and if I was in the market, I'd get one as well. Just be aware that the depreciation on what you have will be substantial. It comes down to how bad you want 'new' vs keeping/improving what you have.

Best of luck with your decision.

 

^^^^ Well said

 

That's what I expected from the dealership. I'll likely take it anyway just to see. I know I'll likely end up having to do the repairs, and the A-spec kit will run me around 850 which may not be worth it.

I am prepared to pay what I have to for a TL-S, I just like them much more and have more incentive to keep that than my current base model. If I sell third party with repairs then I'm thinking somewhere around 12 to 12,500. When I get back to the dealership I got it from I'll have the service done on it and see what they say about it.

The main problems I have with my TL over the TL-S is mainly the power and the nav. I understand that I can replace any external parts of the car but by the time I've modded the car to a decent standard I'll be close to what I would have paid for a TL-S. Oh well.

I still would like to see what some other AZ members think about this.