Quesion about how much prep on a car before selling?
Discussion
I'm coming up on a year of Octavia VRS ownership but unfortunately have decided to sell to balance my finances a little better. It's been a superb, reliable, comfortable car but I'm stretching myself trying to keep multiple cars on the road so it has to go.
The car is generally pretty tidy I think however one real sore spot for me is the alloy wheels - when I bought the car from a Skoda main dealer last year they "refurbished" the alloys but within a matter of months the paint used was flaking off and now they all look incredibly scabby.
What sort of levels of prep do you guys go to prior to selling a car - where do you draw the line in how much you sink into prepping it vs what you hope to make back in a sale? I'm about to replace the front brakes, I'm about to retax it, and I'd probably see about getting a valet to give it a thorough going over.. should I think about getting the alloys refurbished as well?!
Cheers.
The car is generally pretty tidy I think however one real sore spot for me is the alloy wheels - when I bought the car from a Skoda main dealer last year they "refurbished" the alloys but within a matter of months the paint used was flaking off and now they all look incredibly scabby.
What sort of levels of prep do you guys go to prior to selling a car - where do you draw the line in how much you sink into prepping it vs what you hope to make back in a sale? I'm about to replace the front brakes, I'm about to retax it, and I'd probably see about getting a valet to give it a thorough going over.. should I think about getting the alloys refurbished as well?!
Cheers.
DocArbathnot said:
You could always do a rattle can job yourself.
I did ponder this - just didn't want to make them any worse. They're not really kerbed or anything - it's just flaking paint everywhere that looks terrible. I don't want it to become a bargaining chip for any potential buyer of the car!
Chicane-UK said:
I did ponder this - just didn't want to make them any worse. They're not really kerbed or anything - it's just flaking paint everywhere that looks terrible.
I don't want it to become a bargaining chip for any potential buyer of the car!
Well, how much did the original refurb cost? The way I see it, you reflect them in the price and announce hence lower price. Or refurb and sell it at full cost..I don't want it to become a bargaining chip for any potential buyer of the car!
In my experience you only really get the money back if the car is perfect otherwise with one highly visible flaw. I used to buy and sell cars quite a lot, and remember particularly one Peugeot 406 I bought which was perfect inside and out, except for a graze on the front bumper. I got a guy to fix this cheaply as I'm crap with body work, cost me about £60, and the car sold for about £500 more than I paid for it.
On the other hand I've had cars I've run myself and poured small fortunes into fixing things only for would be buyers to not give a damn. They only really notice faults.
It's a 7 year old car now, so you would expect a couple of blemishes. If it's in very good condition otherwise then fix the wheels. If it's high miles and got a few chips here and there, then I'd probably save your money and get what you can for it.
On the other hand I've had cars I've run myself and poured small fortunes into fixing things only for would be buyers to not give a damn. They only really notice faults.
It's a 7 year old car now, so you would expect a couple of blemishes. If it's in very good condition otherwise then fix the wheels. If it's high miles and got a few chips here and there, then I'd probably save your money and get what you can for it.
Depends on the value of the car.
There are powdercoaters that will do the wheels for £20 each if you can deliver them.
Alternatively you might find a decent set at a wreckers yard/ebay.
Personally, I wouldn't bother.
I doubt it will make any difference to the sale.
Certainly not anywhere near the money you would be paying out.
There are powdercoaters that will do the wheels for £20 each if you can deliver them.
Alternatively you might find a decent set at a wreckers yard/ebay.
Personally, I wouldn't bother.
I doubt it will make any difference to the sale.
Certainly not anywhere near the money you would be paying out.
Paint wheel refurbs are never great IMO.
I had all my Audi wheels properly refurbed by Lepsons and a week/10 days later the car went in for a rear bumper repair and repaint.
When I went to collect it they had parked it outside the workshop and badly kerbed both nearside alloys.
I was pretty pee'd off as I'd just spent £260 on having them all done.
They denied they'd kerbed them but I pointed out the silver powder coat still on the kerb stone right next to it - they couldn't really deny that and said they'd refurb both wheels.
After just a couple of months, the painted wheels looked aged and not as shiny as the ones the other side and as the months rolled by they began to look quite tatty despite regular washing.
The smart repair paint guys charge nearly as much as proper refurbishers Like Lepsons, the likes of which also x-ray them to check for cracks and they machine them properly (not just run over them with a sander) and they also powder coat them which is far more durable.
I had all my Audi wheels properly refurbed by Lepsons and a week/10 days later the car went in for a rear bumper repair and repaint.
When I went to collect it they had parked it outside the workshop and badly kerbed both nearside alloys.
I was pretty pee'd off as I'd just spent £260 on having them all done.
They denied they'd kerbed them but I pointed out the silver powder coat still on the kerb stone right next to it - they couldn't really deny that and said they'd refurb both wheels.
After just a couple of months, the painted wheels looked aged and not as shiny as the ones the other side and as the months rolled by they began to look quite tatty despite regular washing.
The smart repair paint guys charge nearly as much as proper refurbishers Like Lepsons, the likes of which also x-ray them to check for cracks and they machine them properly (not just run over them with a sander) and they also powder coat them which is far more durable.
take can for a 5 minute thrashing, wash the outside, hoover the inside, job done
unless you are in the trade or are planning to do the work yourself there i no point getting anything fixed up unless it is something which seems much worse than it really is.
You'll never make the money back
unless you are in the trade or are planning to do the work yourself there i no point getting anything fixed up unless it is something which seems much worse than it really is.
You'll never make the money back
A powder coaters in Birmingham are doing refurbs for £20/wheel up to 18" (which my OE wheels are) - the car is still running around on winter tyres so I could try them out. They're powder coating them for that price as well which seems pretty crazy but have only read good things about them.
Anyway - I appreciate the thoughts, etc. I just dislike selling a car knowing that stuff on it needs doing and would rather have a painless / unawkward sale.
Anyway - I appreciate the thoughts, etc. I just dislike selling a car knowing that stuff on it needs doing and would rather have a painless / unawkward sale.
I listed everything I liked and disliked on an ad, not overly wordy, but I put a heading as Bad bits and stuck in things like 3 marks to rear bumper, about the size of a 5p, rear wash wipe temperamental. Warts and all, otherwise you just get a load of questions when they come to pick it up. I wouldnt necessarily refurb alloys or change front discs (pads maybe) because you'll not get it back in the sale price.
One thing I do like to do though is put fuel in. It f
ks me off no end whenever I've bought a car, including a brand new one, I pretty much had to drive it to the fuel station after I'd already had my wallet tickled
One thing I do like to do though is put fuel in. It f
ks me off no end whenever I've bought a car, including a brand new one, I pretty much had to drive it to the fuel station after I'd already had my wallet tickled Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff