I have a car that I want to sell. It has the original front bumper cover on it now but an animal ran out in front of the car and tore up the center area. I have a replacement bumper cover for it but it isn't the same color.
So I have two options that I can see.
1) Put a mis-matached bumper cover on and sell it like that.
2) Put $500 into prep and paint to get it the same color, then sell it.
3) Leave the tore up bumper on but give the new owner the mismatched cover so he can see that the damage doenst affect the safety of the car.

I know that option 2 will net me the least amount of money but it will probably sell the fastest.

What would you do?

 

Take pictures to show potential buyer that the damage doesn't affect the safety(just bumper cover damage).
Then, replace with painted bumper...

Not many people want to buy a project.

Millions of bumpers get repaired/replaced ...it's something used car buyers just have to accept

 

I would have the bumper painted the right color and installed. You'll lose half the money that way, as you can now ask for more $ on the sale.

 

Even though I can ask for more will it justify the expense of having it painted. If I have to spend $500 to only get $200 more in the end, then it really wouldn't be worth it to loose $300. But If I pull the trigger on it and it nets me $700 more then it will be worth it.

 

to me depends on the age/value of the car you're selling. if it's a 20 year old car not worth a lot anyway, then i'm not sure i'd do the work, but people DON'T want to pay much for a 'project', so to make the sale easier, you're better off getting the replacement bumper put on and painted properly. even if you lose a bit in the deal, that's what i'd do. if you're trying to sell a damaged car, you'll be on the defensive in the negotiation.

 

Its my wifes 2000 Buick Regal GS with 173k. Its got its nicks and scratches. It blue books for 3,500-4000 in excellent condition. Id need to drop it to about 3,300-3,600 for its condition. But dropping another $500 is most likely not going to net me anymore money.

I have thought about the exact point you guys have made. Not many people want to buy a project and they'll most likely use it as bargaining leverage. And if I say that I cant go lower and that ive already incorporated the bumper into the price then ill probably keep the car longer than I want.

Stupid catch 22s

 

Bite the bullet and get it repaired. You'll sell it quicker. Also, if you leave it as is, even though your asking price might be lower and factor in the damage to attract potential buyers, they will use it as a bargaining chip against you to drop the price since they have to repair it and be inconvenienced.

Same with selling a house. You always want to have it as pristine as possible so as to give the prospective buyer less leverage to find issues and bargain you down to a lower price.

 

Make the animal pay for it.

(just kidding)

No, seriously, if selling it privately is top priority, I'd go with option 2...paint the replacement bumper cover, install it, and get whatever you can for it. That way, you can figure on probably selling it without much hassle, (and getting at least something for it) even if you are out several hundred dollars after the painting. leave it damaged or unpainted, and, as some other posters have correctly pointed out, there's no guarantee you will even sell it, much less get what you want for it.

But you also have a couple of other potential options. You can donate it to a charity and take a big itemized deduction off of your taxes next April (the KBB value of the car)....although how much you will actually save in taxes from that depends on whatever your tax bracket is. Or can sell it outright to a used-car or new-car dealership....who probably won't give you a whole lot for it, but at least take it off your hands, as they will have to repair it and recondition it to sell it if it has any life left in it. Doing it at a dealership, of course, also has several advantages. There will be a Notary Public there to handle title-transfers. You won't have the issues you would have with a stranger as to who is going to drive the car home on who's license-plates. You won't have to worry about a bounced-check or bank-fraud from a stranger. And, of course, for safety reasons, you won't have the carjacking/theft hazard that can sometimes come with dealing with total strangers.

Good Luck.

 

Id go with option number 2, I mean its just the right thing to do and it will sell alot faster

 

If you have the time, patience, tools, etc to work on it, do all the prep work yourself, get it sprayed, and bolt it on yourself. You should drop that $500 bill down to about $200, as most of the cost in body work is prepping it.

There are numerous guides/tutorials on the web and you tube about how to get decent results. If it doesn't come out 100% perfect, its a cheap 14 year old car, it looks better than it did before. Just keep some pictures of what it looked like before to show the buyer.

 

^ BTW, post some pics of how bad it is . . .

On a $3000 car like that, if its just a small dent or it just took out the little lower portion of the air damn, ie you wouldn't notice it from 10-15 feet away, I'd just leave it as is.

 

At that price point I believe most folks are buying transportation, and not as concerned with looks. I would sell as is knowing they may use the issue as bargaining leverage.