Am I being too "honest" while trying to sell my car?
09-20-2006, 05:46 PM
#1
Doesn't Rice His Car
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Am I being too "honest" while trying to sell my car?
Car: 1997 Mits Eclipse RS 106K miles (fair condition)
I'm trying to sell my old car. It's got quite a bit of wear and tear. Anyhow, I've never sold a car before and really only have a general knowledge of "under the hood" mechanics. In all actuality, the I've driven the car for months and months and it's worked perfectly fine mechanically (except for leaking head gasket... which I remedy as of now by keeping the oil level up). What should I say when someone calls and asks? When someone calls and asks about it, I pretty much tell them the following (somewhat paraphrased).
Granted.. I'm only 5 days into selling, but you'd think that someone would at least throw me an offer.. "hell i'll give you $1 for it" etc etc. Is my price to high? Am I being too wordy? Should I leave some stuff out?
Any tips from the pros?
I'm trying to sell my old car. It's got quite a bit of wear and tear. Anyhow, I've never sold a car before and really only have a general knowledge of "under the hood" mechanics. In all actuality, the I've driven the car for months and months and it's worked perfectly fine mechanically (except for leaking head gasket... which I remedy as of now by keeping the oil level up). What should I say when someone calls and asks? When someone calls and asks about it, I pretty much tell them the following (somewhat paraphrased).
Code:
1997 Mitsubishi Eclipse RS Fair Condition. $3,000 OBO 106K Miles Green exterior Gray Cloth Interior Power windows/doors with an alarm and keyless entry (aftermarket) Automatic Transmission Kenwood CD/MP3 Player (aftermarket) Everything works great except it leaks oil from the head gasket. I just took it into my mechanic and he assessed anything that may need fixed which includes. Head Gasket, Head Bolt, Timing Belt, Water Pump, Window Switch (windows roll up and down fine, however) A/C and Heater work fine. The passenger side quarterpanel is dented as well as the rocker panel. All tires are pretty new.
Any tips from the pros?
09-20-2006, 05:58 PM
#2
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wow, that is pretty detailed. I wished atleat my dealership would have atleast to me that the car was in an accident.I think i would leave out the things that are wrong, just put down that some minor work needs to be preformed, normal maintainance.
09-20-2006, 06:23 PM
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Your price is too high. There are A LOT of used cars on the market right now. My former manager sold his mid/late 90's AWD 5 speed eclipse turbo - with quite a few mods and a newly rebuilt tranny for $1000. He was also asking $3000.
The used car market sucks right now.
The used car market sucks right now.
09-20-2006, 10:04 PM
#4
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honestly it's up to the buyer to find out what's wrong. if they ask you then youc an tell them, but don't tell them anything they don't ask about.
fixing a head gasket is expensive. that alone will dwindle the price of your car significantly.
fixing a head gasket is expensive. that alone will dwindle the price of your car significantly.
09-20-2006, 10:17 PM
#5
One on the right for me
I'd personally stay away from a car for sale with head gasket problems. That will probably scare a few buyers away and only attract the mechanics - who will then see the price is too high. Give it a few more days, I waited a week before I got an offer when I was selling my integra.
09-20-2006, 10:25 PM
#6
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Originally Posted by fla-tls
The used car market sucks right now.
i've had my truck up on the net for about 2 months and had it out front of my house for a while and now i am driving it around with sighns on it, because i have to drive it. not to mention i lowered the prics a few grand already, and not one call...........starting to get 
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10-05-2006, 12:43 PM
#8
Doesn't Rice His Car
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Update.
I sold the car for $2,500. It told the buyer that the repair bill would be $1500 if he wanted to fix the gasket, front strut, inner tie rod, and CV boot (<--- if any of that makes sense... I sure as hell don't know what most of it is).
My conscious is clear too because we took it to a mechanic again to make sure everything was covered repair-wise. Not to shabby eh?
I sold the car for $2,500. It told the buyer that the repair bill would be $1500 if he wanted to fix the gasket, front strut, inner tie rod, and CV boot (<--- if any of that makes sense... I sure as hell don't know what most of it is).
My conscious is clear too because we took it to a mechanic again to make sure everything was covered repair-wise. Not to shabby eh?
10-05-2006, 03:00 PM
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It's always good to disclose everything. Too many people would just go about it with nothing said. People value honesty and are willing to pay more for it.
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