Selling a "Mechanics Special" on craigslist?
 

Anyone have experiences in selling a "Mechanics Special" car on craigslist? Do people really buy and repair cars anymore?

Backstory:
A friend recently rear-ended someone in her '07 Toyota Avalon. She stupidly cancelled her collision insurance a while back to save money. Repair estimate (hood, front bumper, radiator and supports, headlamps) is about $7000, which she can't afford out of pocket. If not for a coolant leak it would run and drive (no apparent frame/suspension damage).

Looking online, the parts cost is about $1100-1500 plus paint for the hood and bumper. Blue book is about $5-7k, so it would seem like there is room for someone to make some money fixing it.
I don't have the space or time, otherwise i might take a stab at it.

Anyone ever try to sell a car like this?

Insurance would not have repaired it.

They would have totaled it.

Yes, she would have gotten the total out value though.

Blue book $5-7k, Parts cost $1,100-1,500.

Taking the low and high $7k value - $1,100 fix it cost leaves $5,900.

What would someone buy it for?

Maybe $2k to make it worth the hassle / risk.

But then they are selling an accident vehicle so would it really be worth $5-7k?

Me thinks not.

The short answer is yes. There is no shortage of people who want a nice car and think it will be cheap and easy to fix. And for a few it very well could be. Apprentice shop boy at a body shop able to use the facilities on weekends... Just don't expect to sell it for all that much unless you fix the coolant leak.

Closest thing (and one of two cars I've sold) was my '99 altima - rode hard, put away wet, leaky head gasket but AC was cold (important in florida) and everything else worked except a few little things (drivers side window switch had intermittent issues, etc). Great first car for someone's kid, IF they were willing to put $1k into it first. Advertised as such, firm price of $500, sold it to a friend of a friend who needed a car for 3 months for $475, was at the tax collector transferring title, etc. and found out how much they were gonna ding him ($125!) I gave him back another $50, so $425. BB was probably around $3k

If you are patient and willing to deal with the BS you could eventually get 3k for it probably.... you may get that money quicker by judicious ebaying and part it out yourself....

Oh, and if there is a local high school with an auto program you maybe could donate to them for a much higher value IF you need the tax write off, etc.

Does it look better or worse than this one?
https://www.copart.com/lot/37350348
Buy it now on this one is $1450.

I can't see her getting more than $2k for it.

Yeah, someone will buy it. Many years ago, one of the kids sold a car that had issues. It just has to be cheap enough.

Bags did not go off. It looks like the fenders are ok (or close enough). I'm good at math but i'm not sure what the derivative of an Avalon would be... maybe a Kia? :D
Local pick and pulls both offered $150(!).

$2k is about what I was thinking.

photo for reference:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1530916405.JPG

As it sits it is a non operable car so without the ability to fully drive it/test systems properly it should be priced as parts/scrap.
Low quote to repair is a story that may or not be accurate to the buyer=risk.
Story about car running fine before is also a story to the buyer=risk.

Now your friend has inside information on the high value of the car, low cost to repair and accuracy of estimate. If she can borrow to pay upfront to fix it, the title does not change so it has no salvage history and she can sell for close to blue book or keep and drive a great car for fix cost. win!

Selling as totalled will be affect title forever keeping value lower. A knowledgeable buyer "mechanic" will price as parts car, assess their own repair cost (higher risk without it running fully) and pay up front to fix it. If she is expecting to gain some of that value of a repaired car (sell more than parts/scrap) yet not take on the actual cost/risk then she is valuing her stories as the gap.

Best move for her is to borrow to repair the car herself, sell a fully working car with clean title OR keep driving it. If she does not want the hassle then she should not expect a premium.

I hope she does repair it, probably the easiest way out if it for her. I just did this recently for an 05 CRV that has been maintained impeccably and had a minor accident that hit the airbag sensor. I repared for much less than I could have replaced it for, clean title and I have all the history. she should consider this.
good luck

Everyone on CL wants something for nothing.........Hate to say it; but don't expect much and in the future, buy insurance if you can't take the "hit".......

That is a daily driver as it stands right now in my area...even with a coolant leak.

It's all about who needs what for how much and for how long. Someone needs to drive to work a mile each way, willing to top it off with tap water twice a day, but can get to work clean and dry? Worth it.

Thanks for the input, everyone.
She found a place to park it and attempt to sell it, so I think i might at least spend a couple of hours pulling the bumper and radiator and see how deep the damage goes.

I've dealt with this a couple times this year. Mom's 2010 Mini S got totaled due to a plugged sunroof drain. Car got flooded as the water got into the electronics. So insurance paid her off and car goes to auction as a salvage flood car. Saw it on CL a month later selling as a clean title car.

My 06 Murano got rear ended 4/13 and it was totaled a few days later. $8k in damage. Someone bought it at auction, fixed it, and sold it on CL as a clean title car for $5k.

Unless the buyer is keeping the car for themselves, and fixing it to drive for a length of time, the salvage title will kill resale price, and make every potential buyer wary of buying it.

I don't know the Avalon market but wouldn't be surprised to learn that it's a "back of book" car, meaning that it's not worth what the online services are telling you.

Also, although I might have missed it while scanning the thread, I didn't see any information about the car other than the tale of damage. Obviously, miles driven, pre-crash condition, equipment, etc. all play a part in value.

Good news is, as I think someone mentioned, without insurance involvement there should be no salvage title issues that would diminish the car's value. That's not to say the seller shouldn't disclose that there was some damage but, if performed correctly, the repairs should have only a minimal negative effect on real-world market value.

Given the almost inevitable cost and time overruns on even seemingly small and simple projects, I'd estimate a self-repair at a couple of grand. Therefore, if the car is worth (again, we're talking real-world, at least somewhat easy to sell pricing) five grand to the market and a guy needs to make a decent return on his time, I'd say an eleven year old Avalon in non-driveable condition is worth somewhere in the neighborhood of a grand to maybe fifteen hundred dollars.

_

If you do choose to sell it, make SURE you get a full release of liability from the buyer--the bill of sale should recite what the damage is and say that the car is being sold as is, where as, blah blah blah.

The missing front end on the Midnight Auto Supply thread reminded me that i hadn't updated this.

Did some shadetree repairs on the friend's Avalon and got it looking decent. Maaco supplied and painted the aftermarket bumper and hood for about $1000. Found a remanufactured HID headlamp assembly on ebay for $190. Total spent was just under $2200.
The fender to hood gaps are not perfect, but seem to be good enough.
It remains to be seen how much it will fetch on CL.


Before:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1530916405.JPG
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1559779635.JPG

During:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1559779448.JPG

After:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1559779448.JPG

You did a nice job on that.

What triggers a salvage title? If you buy your wrecked car from your insurance company and sell it on CL to a private buyer is there some law that says you have to declare it as salvage? Does the insurance company report it to the DMV as salvaged even if the title hasn't changed hands?

It wont have a salvage title because no insurance was involved.

But, as far as how the process goes, if it was covered and totaled by the insurance company, as in they are not going to fix it, and you wanted to buy it back, when they send you the title back, it will be in salvage status. (when they total the car, you surrender the title to them if not in lien status) If you wanted to repair it and drive it, then you would have to get it inspected before you can get a street legal title. Also, most states do not allow a buyer to buy a salvage title vehicle from and individual who is not a state registered used car dealer and be able to fix it. Every state is a little bit different, but in Georgia, the new title will say "rebuilt" somewhere on it. (and that's easily washed out through states like Alabama which don't carry that branding over..)