# Should I fix my car before selling it? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 1, 2012, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-fix-my-car-before-selling-it/614456 "2012-03-01T16:08:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![FlyingDragonFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c89c15/32.png) [@FlyingDragonFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingDragonFan)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-fix-my-car-before-selling-it/614456/1 "2012-03-01T16:08:26Z")
I’m getting ready to sell my car soon, a 2006 Mustang. It’s got a few minor things wrong, the predominant ones being a CD stuck in the player (OEM) and some minor body damage from parking lot dings and the like. So what I’m wondering is, is it worth it to get these things fixed, or just sell as is? Will the perceived devaluing of the problems make it harder to sell? Or will getting them fixed more than make up for the effort in terms of resale value? Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-fix-my-car-before-selling-it/614456/2 "2012-03-01T16:17:58Z")
Things you can fix yourself are worth doing. As well as spending time giving it a thorough cleaning and taking it to a picturesque setting for photos. Paying someone $100 to remove the CD is probably not worth it or paying someone to professionaly remove dings and scratches. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-fix-my-car-before-selling-it/614456/3 "2012-03-01T19:38:18Z")
You are not going to re-gain value that will recover your costs of fixing these minor things. Say that the person who wants to buy your car goes to a bank to finance a loan, the bank will not make a distinction between ‘CD stuck in player’ or ‘CD player works’, the car is either in poor, fair, or good condition, period. Just be honest with the buyer and let them decide. They may prefer to put an after market CD player in it anyway. And to fix the parking lot dings will likely involve a complete re-paint in the thousand dollar range to bring it back to stock. And new paint will not move the car from good condition to excellent. Don’t bother. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-fix-my-car-before-selling-it/614456/4 "2012-03-01T20:11:24Z")
I would check online for a Mustang owners site and see if anyone has ideas on how to get the cd out. Don’t bother with the other stuff. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-fix-my-car-before-selling-it/614456/5 "2012-03-01T21:09:33Z")
I agree you’ll never make back the cost of repairs in the sale price, but here’s a big but - what’s the market for used cars like in your area? If there’s a glut of Mustangs the dinged one will just sit there while the problem free ones clear a lot faster. And I’m a definite +1 for giving the car a good grooming. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-fix-my-car-before-selling-it/614456/6 "2012-03-01T22:00:19Z")
I think there’s a difference between an uncertain fix, like a mystery check engine light, and a dented fender. With a dented fender, I can choose to fix or not fix, and I know exactly how it will play out. The light, who knows, it could be a bad gas cap, oxygen sensor, or something really horrible and expensive. I would try to fix the CD myself, because that’s either no/low cost, or replace the whole unit, and the buyer has to figure on replacing the whole unit when he values the car. May as well give myself the chance to get that value back. ---
**Author:** ![diggerwam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/919ad9/32.png) [@diggerwam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diggerwam)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-fix-my-car-before-selling-it/614456/7 "2012-03-01T22:54:02Z")
Detach battery and cd player will probably come back. Worked for my toyota a couple years ago ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-fix-my-car-before-selling-it/614456/8 "2012-03-02T00:12:02Z")
I had a car a few years back that had a minor crunch in the back - I could have fixed it for about $800. I eventually traded it in with the crunch intact - I got $1500 on the trade, and I’d never have gotten $2,300. The dealer can fix it for a lot less than I can. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingDragonFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c89c15/32.png) [@FlyingDragonFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingDragonFan)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-fix-my-car-before-selling-it/614456/9 "2012-03-02T23:32:30Z")
> [@lisiate](#): > > I agree you’ll never make back the cost of repairs in the sale price, but here’s a big but - what’s the market for used cars like in your area? Judging solely by what I see on Craigslist, there aren’t a lot for sale here, and the ones that are seem to be asking quite a bit more than blue book value. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-fix-my-car-before-selling-it/614456/10 "2012-03-04T21:19:08Z")
In that case not fixing the problems shouldn’t be too much of a risk from your perspective. Personally I’d disclose them though, so you don’t get an irate buyer later on. Have you tried disconnecting the battery to get the CD out as **diggerwam** suggests? You should probably check that doing so won’t cause some other problem though.