Advice on selling a car

[Argo]

I have a 97 Toyota Camry LE that I might be selling soon. The car is in pretty good shape but there are a couple of problems:

1) Rear bumber has a tiny crack from a minor fender-bender I had 1.5 years ago.
2) One of the back doors doesn't open from the inside.
3) Car has 62,000 miles on it and it's about time for getting new tires and timing belt replacement.

Should I do all those things or leave it up to the buyer? What's my best strategy?

 

[stebesplace]

Don't worry so much about the rear bumper. I WOULD fix the rear door problem. It may be something simple. If you want to get new tires, you can, but a good shopper knows wether new tires are needed. They may doc you cost on it. If you replace the timing belt, you should make sure to document that, and include that in your final cost price. OR you can leave it out, and deduct 1/3 the cost on the final sale.

Hope this may help

-Steve

 

[squirrel dog]

Trade in or sell out rite to joe blow?Trade it in and you walk away from those problems.Lemon laws can be used to make you fix all those things and or get the sale revoked.The door thing will cost some bucks to have a shop do it.The timing chain is a major expense for a car that old.I would explain in detail to a joe blow buyer all of what you've listed,and stick to whatever price you have in mind.A dealer is used to taking care of that sort of thing.More than likey your car will go to auction thru a dealer trade~in.

 

[Ness]

Originally posted by: Argo


2) One of the back doors doesn't open from the inside.

Me thinks you accidently hit the child safety lock.

There is a small circular lock on the door well. Turn that, fix this.

 

[Argo]

Originally posted by: ness1469

Originally posted by: Argo


2) One of the back doors doesn't open from the inside.

Me thinks you accidently hit the child safety lock.

There is a small circular lock on the door well. Turn that, fix this.

That was the first thing I checked - that wasn't it. Unless the child safely lock itself is broken.

 

[BooneRebel]

You're only looking at about $1000 difference between the lowball trade-in a dealer will give you and the higher value you could get from a private seller if you fixed everything. Based on the list you've given, I'd say it's not worth the trouble to try to fix everything. You could either do a trade-in or auction it yourself on Ebay.

 

[vi edit]

One thing to remember with a trade in, is that you don't have to pay sales tax on the amount that the trade in reduces the purchase price by.

If your trade in is $6,000 then you could be looking at a tax reduction of up to $400 or more. Then your difference is only $600, not $1000.

 

[notfred]

Originally posted by: squirrel dog
Lemon laws can be used to make you fix all those things and or get the sale revoked.

Where do people come up w/ crap like this?

The timing chain is a major expense for a car that old.

It's a 97! It's not "that old", It's practically brand new!

More than likey your car will go to auction thru a dealer trade~in.

Most dealers will have NO problem selling a nice looking 97 camry off the lot. What makes you think it would go to auction?

 

[farmercal]

1) Rear bumber has a tiny crack from a minor fender-bender I had 1.5 years ago.

Big deal, most buyers won't care about that and if they do then they will try to talk you down on price.

2) One of the back doors doesn't open from the inside.

This could be something as simple as the wire came out of the latch mechanism. You will need a something like a Haynes manual explaining how to dismantle the panel (without tearing it up) to fix the problem.

3) Car has 62,000 miles on it and it's about time for getting new tires and timing belt replacement.

New tires could actually sell the car faster but is not required (as somebody else said they might talk you down on price for that). As far as the timing belt (if it has a chain, then no replacement is necessary), it is recommended that you change the timing belt at 60K miles but it is not mandatory. I have seen cars go farther than the 60K with no problems. The risk with not changing it is that if it breaks it could warp every valve in the engine. Cost for having the belt changed usually runs around $150 to $300 depending on where you live. If you decide to have it done get quotes from different sources.

 

[CraigRT]

id fix the problems and clean up the car as best as possible.. will help alot IMO.

 

[Argo]

About the timing belt, I spoke to the sales person about that and he told me that usually people don't do it until 70,000+ miles. He's seen people wait as long as 80,000. He also told me that apparently when Camry's timing belt breaks there is absolutely no damage to the engine. Don't know how much truth is in that, though.

 

[codeyf]

Originally posted by: Yield
id fix the problems and clean up the car as best as possible.. will help alot IMO.

May help sell it quicker, yes. But the amount he'll pay in fixing/replacing everything will be way more than the increase of money he could get for it.

Also, Toyotas = Timing Chain = No need to replace. At least one of the big japanese auto makers figured that out.....

 

[d33pt]

Originally posted by: codeyf

Originally posted by: Yield
id fix the problems and clean up the car as best as possible.. will help alot IMO.

May help sell it quicker, yes. But the amount he'll pay in fixing/replacing everything will be way more than the increase of money he could get for it.

Also, Toyotas = Timing Chain = No need to replace. At least one of the big japanese auto makers figured that out.....

That is untrue. his camry has a belt

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: codeyf

Originally posted by: Yield
id fix the problems and clean up the car as best as possible.. will help alot IMO.

May help sell it quicker, yes. But the amount he'll pay in fixing/replacing everything will be way more than the increase of money he could get for it.

Also, Toyotas = Timing Chain = No need to replace. At least one of the big japanese auto makers figured that out.....

You cannot make blanket statements like that. In this case, you're wrong too (dealership says belt, dealership knows). Also, chains need replacing at between 100,000 and 150,000 miles.

As for the belt: Get it changed NOW! Do not ever go more than 60,000 miles on a timing belt. Even if it doesn't damage then engine (eg, a non-interferance engine) you will be stuck when it snaps. Going more than 60,000 miles between belt changes is just asking for trouble.

ZV

 

[ElFenix]

the door is gonna need fixin'

 

[Argo]

Cool, thanks for advice fellas. I'm definitely replacing the timing belt (a friend offered to hook me up - I'll end up paying less than $120). I'll try to fix the door myself, hopefully I won't have to take the panel off. I'm gonna miss her - we spent good times together

 

[Scootin159]

Originally posted by: Argo
Cool, thanks for advice fellas. I'm definitely replacing the timing belt (a friend offered to hook me up - I'll end up paying less than $120). I'll try to fix the door myself, hopefully I won't have to take the panel off. I'm gonna miss her - we spent good times together

Not sure of your car specifically, but they generally are quite easy to take off. Takes me about 10min to do mine. Definatly fix the door though, worst case it's probably a $10 part, but someone may want $500 off the purchase price for the doors not working (it'll just give them a whole "bad feel" for the car).

As for the timing belt, fix that now. You'll never sell a car with a blown engine (unless your dealer is right in that it's a non-interferance design, but still I wouldn't risk it).

As for the bumper, depends on how bad it looks. If you can't see it from 10' away I wouldn't even worry about it.

As for tires...just leave them. If the new buyer really wants tires, just knock a couple hundred off the purchase price & let them buy whatever ones they want. Will probably make you and the buyer happier.

Other than that...do the obvious things...CLEAN IT! A clean car really does look better. I wouldn't bother with a full detailing, but I would spend a few hours cleaning it inside & out (don't forget underneeth & the engine bay). Also gather up as many reciepts as you can find for every little repair you've had done (including oil changes), show proof that you kept it in good repair.