So my sister and I desperately need another van, and the volunteer coordinator at the hospice where I volunteer has one to sell. Here’s the situation with it:
2000 Nissan Quest GXE
Issues:
left side mirror missing
No AC
Needs alignment and maybe new struts and shocks
Everything else seems to be good-- I saw the maintenance records
200,000 miles
What he wants for it and what his wife thinks they can get for it are two different numbers, shall we say…
I am absolutely NOT going to try to talk them into anything, etc-- a lot of problems could come from someone not being happy with seller’s remorse, which I’ve really tried to make clear.
HOWEVER… the question is, what’s this used van really worth? The blue book value is meaningless because of the mileage and things that need to be fixed, which he understands. So what’s a range for the real value? Does anybody have any suggestions?
You’d be lucky to get $1000. It’s near the end of it’s life. It may be fine for a while, but there’s no way to tell. A high percentage of those cars wouldn’t last much longer. Even needing as little as an alignment and a mirror a smart buyer wouldn’t pay much for it.
ETA: I see TrueCar price is $1292, and that would assume no repairs required.
The site PastTense linked only goes down to “fair” condition, and the van is a good bit worse than that. Try putting the details in here and seeing what you come up with.
Listen. With 200,000 miles on the engine and transmission, there’s no way that car isn’t facing major expenses sooner than later. Factor that into the price.
Yeah, there’s no way around that. If you plan to do the work yourself, you should also factor in the fact that working a van is about ten times more difficult than any other vehicle. Honestly, I wouldn’t take that vehicle if you offered it to me for free.
So this link shows $715 private party for rough condition. It could be in better condition based on appearances and just need the mirror and alignment which are known prices, or it could be much worse. Just hearing that it needs an alignment means there’s obvious tire wear and least two new tires are needed. Notable at the link is the dealer trade-in value of $315 which means it’s nearly worthless.
Thanks! I was trying to find that kind of info myself and having NO luck. His (okay, let’s just call him “T”), T’s wife wants $1400 for it in present condition, without anything else being done. She thinks that she can get blue book value for it if they just do a few things, maybe five or six hundred dollars’ worth. I’m trying to be both fair and nice here… they just put a lot into it, and they have elderly relatives at home and a child with special needs. I understand the sheer frustration of just having spent money on a vehicle and not really seeing great results. But I thought even at the time that $1400 is not reasonable. Especially because I don’t care all that much about air conditioning, but most people do!!
What would be the best way to tell T this? Maybe sending him to the most useful site? All ideas appreciated!
OK, first off: don’t buy it. They want way more for it than it’s worth. Just tell them that it’s really not what you’re looking for, and you wish them good luck finding a buyer.
As far as the disagreement between Mr. T and Mrs. T, I pity the fool who steps in the middle of that. The best thing you can do is stay far, far away from that conversation.
That might be best. Also, I have to keep working… well, volunteering… with T every week. (I think that T’s wife is unrealistic about the price, and T is maybe unrealistic about how she would feel if he got a fair price for it. I mean, 5 or 6 hundred dollars IS basically just a little over scrap value around here… but I doubt she would be happy with that. ) I was also thinking about telling T that they should try to sell it themselves, and if they can’t, then get back to me. Thoughts?
That bolded part is as good as offering to buy it - there’s no way they’ll get what they want for it, and if they’re thinking that you’ll eventually pay for it they’ll refuse any reasonable offers. Just say “no,” wish them luck, then go looking for your next vehicle.
I would tell them that I’d hate to have something harm your friendship if something went South with the van and you’re left feeling taken. Your friendship just means too much to you to enter into a business deal with them.
For what it’s worth, I have to coworkers who exchanged money and a pontoon boat. The seller was up front about issues he knew about the boat. The novice boat buyer took it to a shop who convinced him he needed all kinds of work done. Now there are hard feelings between them.
One word in the other direction-- the vehicle might take quite a bit of work to get up to the point where you’d feel good taking it on the highway. But if you’re driving it just a couple miles around town, it might be fine for a couple years. Still, I wouldn’t pay more than $500.
Yep-this van could give you two years of good service…and it could die tomorrow. The important thing is, if you buy it, don’t dump a lot of money into it. The engine, transmission, and vehicle systems are nearing the end of their life-and a major repair is sure to be followed by another major repair.
If you are looking for a minivan in the $1000ish range, this probably isn’t a terrible one. I agree price should be around there, based on your description.
But I mostly agree with what StGermain says. Buying a super-cheap car is always a gamble, doubly so with minivans which are prone to transmission failures. Even if you’re fine with taking that risk, it always leads to at least some level of discomfort when you sell a car to an acquaintance and it promptly decides to have a bunch of expensive problems.
(Slightly off-topic, but if you are looking for a super-cheap and thus super-old van, IMHO you’re better off looking at truck-based vans. Minivans get great mileage, but they put a lot of strain on their front-drive car based drivetrain and suspension components. Truck-based vans include the big 3’s full-size vans, but also now-defunct minivans like the Ford Aerostar, Chevy Astro, or the Toyota and Mitsubishi nameless vans.)
I’d go around $1,000. I sold an SUV in worse shape* for about $700, and had multiple interested parties at that price, and literally dozens of scrap guys willing to give me $500 to tow it away for me.
I wouldn’t sell anything for $500 to a private party that I know when a scrap guy will give me the same amount and never complain about what just broke on it.
That said, when you decide on your price, give it to them. Say that you won’t be offended if they sell to someone else, that your bid is good until you pull the trigger on another car, but you absolutely will not pay a penny over your price.
1996 Explorer with 200,000 miles, no A/C, lots of rust, needed new 02 sensors, and frame work, and had cosmetic damage.
I have not had a car payment in over 15 years. I pay cash for inexpensive vehicles, drive them until they die, and then scrap them. Even including the bad deals and maintenance costs, I still come out way ahead versus a $300-$500 monthly car note. My rule of thumb is this - I expect a net minimum 10-to-1 miles to purchase cost ratio. For example, the last vehicle I had to replace I bought for $1500 and scrapped for $350, net purchase cost $1150. I had the car for 2 years and got about 25,000 miles out of it. That is a miles/net cost ratio of over 20. In other words, it cost me 5 cents per mile to purchase the car. Note: I would include any necessary repairs known at time of purchase in the purchase price.
It’s hard to estimate the value of a vehicle without inspecting it, but based on what you outlined in the OP for the van in question, you need an alignment - figure $80-100. If it needs alignment it probably needs at least 2 tires. Figure $30 each for decent used tires. Shocks/struts generallly run $150ish each installed. Budget for 2. Put in $20 for a junk yard mirror if you can install it yourself. You’re up to $480 in known repairs and still have a very high mileage vegicle. 200,000 miles is a lot for an engine/transmission. My inclination would be to pass. This from a guy who once bought a 1988 Olds Cutlass with 250,000 miles because it had been meticulously cared for and needed nothing. That is the exception, not the rule.
It really depends on how bad you need a van, how quickly you need it, how long you expect it to last and your budget. If I had to have a van today, needed it to last 10,000 miles or so, had $1000 budget and this van was available, I’d offer no more than $500.
Thanks, y’all! I also talked to my next door neighbor who ran a body shop for 30 years-- he completely agreed with the $700 figure. I think what I’m going to do is to at least let T know that $700 really is what it’s worth-- I think that he’d feel better if he at least could have a more accurate idea. Beyond that (especially after talking with ndn), I’m leaning towards no.
I was trying to find that kind of info myself and having NO luck. His (okay, let’s just call him “T”), T’s wife wants $1400 for it in present condition, without anything else being done. She thinks that she can get blue book value for it if they just do a few things, maybe five or six hundred dollars’ worth. I’m trying to be both fair and nice here… they just put a lot into it, and they have elderly relatives at home and a child with special needs. I understand the sheer frustration of just having spent money on a vehicle and not really seeing great results. But I thought even at the time that $1400 is not reasonable. Especially because I don’t care all that much about air conditioning, but most people do!!
But I think you’re right.