Advice wanted: should I fix my car before trading it in?

[HersheyPAGreg]

I would like some advice please, would it make more sense to fix two issues on my wife's 2001 Nissan Altima before trading it in or would it be better to trade it in as is? The car has about 140,000 miles on it and I'd say it's in fair condition. It needs rear brakes (rotors and pads for sure) and we've just discovered this morning that it's leaking gasoline. (Not sure yet if it's leaking from the filler neck or the tank itself) I won't be doing the repairs myself and haven't gotten an estimate from a shop yet.

Needless to say it's parked until we decide what to do with it, we're probably looking at trading it in for a new or late model Honda. Thanks in advance folks!

Greg

[RRoller123]

11 year old car and 140,000 miles, won't make any difference in what you get if you repair these items. Certainly won't get back the repair cost.

[azruss]

you will never get the repairs cost out in trade. trade it is as is.

[narfire]

If you can't take it for a test drive, might have more difficulty selling it.

[TX82FIAT]

Your not going to get more than $3500 for the car as a trade. I would put money on a low ball number like $2500 from most delaers. The retail for a clean car with that kind of mileage is about $5300. So, if you are going to trade the car I cant say you should spend the money or time. However, if the car is not too rough I bet you could find a college kid or someone that could give you $4,500 - $5K for a car in decent working condition. That mnakes selling it yourself a 2K to 3K winner less parts and time for the fix.

Hope that helps. I'd fix and private sell unless you are in a hurry. 21 years in car business. Ray

[FulviaHF]

One more vote for not throwing good money after bad. If you're talking about laying out cash on a car you're going to trading in to a dealer, you'd get a better rate of return by using the money to play the lottery. Or--more seriously--using that money on the downpayment to knock down the interest.

[maytag]

I think all of these posts are correct.
I also spent some time in the car business, and would recommend you private-sell the car rather than trade, unless you're in a hurry.
But I'd start by getting an estimate on the repairs. Whether DIY or from a shop, you need to know what the cost of those repairs will be.
Maybe then the math looks like this:

as a trade (as-is, no repairs made) you get ~$2500k. If you make the repairs, maybe ~$2800. DON'T repair if trading!

Private sale value with the repairs completed is ~$4500
so that means ~$2000 in the balance, as compared to the trade-value.
If the repairs cost you $400, then it's smart to repair and sell. assuming you have time.
But f the repairs cost you $1500, then it's making less sense.

ya feel me?

[baltobernie]

First, I'd at least have a mechanic look at your fuel issue. Modern EFI systems are under considerable pressure, and we don't want you driving around in an "Altimov Cocktail".

Selling a car yourself is a major PITA. The sheer number of idiots surfing Craigslist would be enough to dissuade me from trying this route.

In addition to private sell vs. trade, there's another possibility. Donate the car to a charity of your choice. While the IRS does not specify how much you can deduct for this contribution, the general rule of thumb is the "private party" rate shown by Kelly and others. In your case, as much as $4,000. If the dealer trade-in (the real trade-in value, not subsidized by discounting the new car) is $2,000, you may very well come out ahead next April. When you're buying a new car with cash, you are in the best possible negotiating position. Start from published "invoice", and go down from there. Keep twisting until you hear tendons popping, then ask to speak with the general manager

[spidernut]

I'm a financial counselor and teach car buying and selling classes. I agree with the majority of the advice that has been given. There are some smart people on this forum!!!

For reference, most dealerships use the National Automobile Dealers Association pricing guide at http://www.nada.com

Note the trade in value. You will get next to nothing no matter what the condition. Here's what I recommend based on the info you provided:

Do not trade in your car. Trade-ins complicate the car buying transaction, dealerships really don't want a trade-in that is in this condition and will not give you anything near what the car is worth if you sold it yourself. If you really just want to get rid of the car via trade-in, negotiate the price on the new car first without the trade-in. Once you settle on a fair price, then and only then should you bring up the trade-in. You will then be able to see exactly how much you're really getting for the trade-in. Most dealerships will manipulate the sales price up or down depending upon what you want for your trade-in and try to make the trade-in look better than it actually is. Always bring up the trade-in AFTER you negotiated your best price on the vehicle.

Most of the repairs you mentioned would likely be fairly minor do-it-yourself jobs. My brother has been working in the service department for Nissan for almost 30 years. The Altima is an excellent car and can easily remain reliable up to about 175,000-200,000 miles if maintained properly. If those are the only real issues, you might consider fixing it and continue to drive it until you can save a larger downpayment - in the meantime you can list it for sale for a more reasonable price for you. You can use the downpayment and sales profits to put down on the next car.

Here's some info of my website: http://bealeafrc.org/mypersonalfinances/carbuying.html
Here's another great piece of advice: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKyV8CTHeJ0

[HersheyPAGreg]

Thanks to everyone who replied with all the helpful advice. Right now my wife is busy trying to decide what kind of car she wants to buy and after that she'll decide what to do with her Altima. I think she’s leaning towards trading it in without any repairs, but the advice posted here has helped her see all the options and will help her make an informed decision. I agree with Maytag, I think all of the posts are correct, it’s just a question of what’s the best option to her.

And no worries Bernie, the Altimov Cocktail (love that by the way) has been parked since we discovered the gas leak and will remain so until it’s fixed where it sits or is towed somewhere.

Any recommendations on what she should buy? She’s looking for either a mid-size or compact and right now her head is spinning with all the possible choices and all the information she’s finding online.

Although the Altima was our daily driver we’re not in a big rush to buy. We’re using my 06 Civic to commute to work with our 80 Spider ready as a backup if needed. Unfortunately for her both those cars have manual transmissions and she can’t drive them. Unfortunately for me, I don’t have free parking where I work (downtown Harrisburg PA) while she does. That’s why her Altima has racked up 148,000 miles while Civic has around 44,000.

I should send her the link to the Automatic vs. Manual Transmission thread on the other page. She can learn to safely drive a stick in an hour right? On second thought, she’ll want to drive the Fiat then. Never mind.

[spidernut]

It depends upon how much you want to spend. Generally speaking, Consumer Reports (the largest survey that tracks long term reliability) will advise Toyota, Honda, Acura, and Lexus as your best mid-sized cars for long-term reliability. The Ford Fusion has held up well too. Most American cars have done very poorly in reliability. GM (Chevy, Cadillac, GMC, Saturn, Pontiac, etc.) and Chrysler (Chrysler, Dodge) are at the bottom of the list for long-term reliability. There was a reason they had to file bankruptcy and it was because they were building junk. Sure, they slipped up and built a good one here and there but it is unlikely that you'll find one used that is any good. Most of the cars that I've helped clients return under the Lemon Law have been GM and Volkswagon.

Honda Accord 2 door is nice, has excellent reliability, sporty enough, luxurious enough, decent economy
Toyota Camry is extremely reliable but a love it or hate it design. It also has reasonable gas mileage

I highly recommend checking out the Consumer Reports Annual Buyer's Guide. Look at the Best and Worst Used Cars section for a good idea of what is and is not statistically reliable.

Avoid considering JD Powers Initial Quality Survey - some cars do very well initially but fall to pieces within a year or two.

Check this out. It will give you an idea of what you'll get in Consumer Reports:

[baltobernie]

It's tough to buy a bad mid-size sedan nowadays. The relentless "sink or swim" pressures have pretty much weeded-out the weaklings. Just remember never to buy an "A" model from anybody.

Don't forget that all auto manufacturers are still very focused on the USA market, and continue to enlarge their cars to keep pace with our expanding waistlines. The 2012 Sentra, for example, may be the same size inside as your 2001 Altima.

[Daniel]

keep pace with our expanding waistlines

are you calling us fat in a less then rude manner

[maytag]

keep pace with our expanding waistlines

are you calling us fat in a less then rude manner

ya know, that's what I understood from this post too!
And I was chapped, and getting ready top say so!

But as I was belly-ing up to the keyboard, my new app on my android device which sends me an alert every time the hot-light is on at Krispy Kreme started sounding at me.
And by the time I got back, I had forgotten about how bugged I was that bernie called me fat.

[Daniel]

So on this consumer report was Jaguar's Best and Worst Cars both considered un reliable ???