My wife’s car is having engine issues. The service engine light is on, the car runs rough at times (but runs). Our mechanic says about $1900 to fix. It’s a 10 year old Infiniti she bought last year for $7000. She hasn’t been particularly happy with it, specifically, she wants to go back to an SUV, so we’re thinking it’s time to do it now instead of sinking another $2k into the car.
But what do you do with the existing car? Will dealers even take a trade-in that’s having problems? I know the standard advice is you always get the most money selling a car yourself, but having tried it once, it’s really not worth the work & hassle involved. Apart from the engine issue it’s in excellent shape for a 10 year old car. Any thoughts?
I’ve traded in cars that needed new timing belts (where installing a belt was actually a pretty major project). I’d take it to a dealer or lot and just be honest with them about the problems. If they think they can fix the problem and still make a profit reselling it, they will make you an offer.
The one thing I would NOT do is sell it privately claiming “AS IS.” Every single time I’ve tried this, the buyer comes back angry because he/she optimistically assumed that (a) the problem wasn’t as bad as I had described, or (b) they thought they could fix it for a fraction of the price I had been quoted. In all cases, their pissing and moaning made the sale a big problem. (Once the buyer decides that he/she fucked up, they start doing everything they can to make your life miserable.)
Yes, trading in at a dealer, new or used is a way to do it. They’ll check out the engine and give you a priced based on that. I have sold cars as is with engine trouble, but I told the buyer everything and didn’t ask much because as said above, they’ll come back and make your life miserable if they think they got ripped off.
You could ask the shop you went to if they want to buy it, they may see a profit to be made by fixing the problem.
How many miles on this thing? Did you get any online estimates of it’s value based on a working engine?
98k. NADA guides says trade in values of $3800 for rough, $4700 for average, $5400 for clean.
Can you give some examples?
I once declined to sell an apparently healthy used car to a good friend specifically because I didn’t want the risk of ill will if the car broke down. But I don’t mind taking a risk like that with a total stranger.
Different people, different experiences …yada yada.
That hasn’t been my experience at all. I’ve only had one buyer come back with a complaint after a sale and it turned out I had legitimately screwed up. Then again, the vehicles I tend to sell are usually on their last legs. I’m up front about all the known and suspected issues, tell the buyer it’s not worth my time and trouble to fix it and ask for a price below market value just to get it off my hands and out of my life. I make it clear that if they sign the title and the engine detonates a hundred yards down the road, that’s on them and I don’t wanna hear about it unless my pointing and laughing would somehow be helpful.
Yes, I actually use that phrase.
If I’m selling a car for $500 O.B.O., you pay your money and take your chances.
There are really 3 routes you could take.
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Take it to a dealer/CarMax and see what they’ll buy it for, either as a trade-in or not. Presumably they’ll check the engine computer for codes, etc… and see what’s up. As I understand it, the onus is on them to find any issues.
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Sell it as-is, and be very clear as to what’s wrong. Price it accordingly, so that there’s no question of you trying to rip anyone off.
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Get shady and try to obscure the engine problems before selling it. The bad old put Motor Honey in it and warm it up really good so it doesn’t seem to have clattering lifters or be burning oil, trick for example.
A dealer or lot is a professional & should go over the car to find any issues, including dents & dings & factor all of that into their estimate. You’re only hurting your own pocketbook by pointing out any flaws they may overlook. I wouldn’t attempt to hoodwink an individual in a private sale but a professional who’s going to try to do such to me? I have no qualms not pointing out flaws.
If you take a push/pull/drag it in trade in to a place with a minimum guaranteed amount of $1000 that’s worth about $75 for scrap do you think you might get nearly as good of a deal on the new car as someone who doesn’t have a trade in? Absolutely not because they already gave you $925 on your trade.
I traded in a car that was having major issues. Sometimes it would start, sometimes it would not. Sometimes when it did run, it stalled and would not re-start.
When I drove it to the dealer to pick up my new ride, it stalled as I was driving through their parking lot. Luckily there was an empty parking space close by and I coasted and steered it into that space. Dead on arrival.
Never heard a word about it from the dealer.
I had a pickup that had something go wrong in the gearbox, such that it would go into 2nd and 4th, but not 1st, 3rd or 5th. It had upwards of 230,000 miles on it, had peeling, funky paint and was 11 model years old.
Took it to CarMax, planned to trade it in for whatever they’d give me (was expecting in the neighborhood of $500), and buy another pickup that they had on their showroom floor.
I had to blink and remind myself to keep a poker face when the guy came in and offered $1400 for it. I didn’t conceal the issues, but I didn’t tell them either- there wasn’t a form that said “List all the crap things about the vehicle you’re trading in.” , nor did anyone ask. Had they asked or had it on a form, I’d have been honest.
I sold an MG Midget that had a cracked exhaust manifold a friend had temporarily patched with muffler tape. I advertised the car “as is” and I told people I knew nothing about the car. A guy was interested in the car, but wanted his mechanic to look it over. He left his car/keys/license and took the car for an hour or so. When he returned he gave me my asking price in cash. Never heard from him again, but I always wondered what exactly happened.
Another car I traded in. The clutch was totally fucked; if I pumped it repeatedly, sometimes I could get into neutral. I drove the car into the dealership lot and parked it in an empty area. While I was looking at new cars, other cars were parked around mine.
I expected to get $100 for my trade. When the salesman told me he wanted his guy to take my trade for a spin, I told him that was a bad idea. He insisted, I told him I really thought it was a bad idea and I’d be happy with $100. Nope. So, the guy got in, pushed in the clutch, and turned the key. The car lurched forward and hit another car.
Long story short: I got $100 for that trade.
Update: The mechanic has said it may die “at any time”. I’ll drive it home on Saturday, hopefully it will survive long enough to trade it in.
I appreciate all the advice so far. Selling privately was never in the cards, but I’m glad to hear dealers won’t just walk away from a trade in with mechanical issues. I guess they figure that will just kill the sale. I didn’t think about CarMax, looks like there’s one about 15 miles from me.
My wife is scrupulously honest. I’ll work on convincing her she doesn’t have to go into great detail at the dealer into everything the mechanic told her - hopefully she’ll be willing to leave it at “The check engine light is on” and let them figure out the rest.
The beauty of CarMax is (or at least was, about 15 years ago), is that they quote you a price that they’ll buy it off you then and there, without it being a trade-in.
So not only do you have some indication of what the market price might be for your vehicle, you have a guaranteed sale at that amount.
In my example above, I’d have left 900 dollars on the table had I tried to sell it myself, because I figured it was only worth 500 dollars or so, not the 1400 they offered.
And had I decided to buy a car elsewhere, I would already have a price going in, so they couldn’t low ball me too much on the trade, or I’d just go sell it at CarMax and bring that money as a down payment.