Need help appraising dented Solara

[Jon11582]

I'm trying to see how much my cars worth, or how much I can expect for it.

Problem is that it will still have slight modifications, and has paint and body damage from some guy sideswiping me January. Mechanically, its still great. I was looking into selling it and getting a Black V6, so I can remove and still use 90% of my mods, and finally have V6 power, and have a perfect paint job (I waxed the car religiously before the incident, I dont think its gunna be the same to me after the repair no matter how good of a job they do)

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Black Exterior
Tan Interior
2000 Solara SE I4
57K

Has ABS, Power seat, Moon roof

Maintenance:
Oil changed w/ Mobil 1 every 3K and fed premium since birth. Had water pump and timing belt replaced and coolant refill at 50K or so. Will get brand new OEM Rotors and Pads.

Left over mods will be:
Injen Short Ram Intake (No longer have stock box, will take off CAI for V6)
Cali Dream Spoiler
Wood Dash Kit
Debaged emblems (I could try reattaching these, but not sure if itll look right)
15" stock alloys with Kumho All season tires - 90% thread on on front, about 60% on rear.
I can leave the modded guage cluster in too, but I can restock that if necessary.
Everything else would be stock.

Interior - Perfect except rear cup holder doesnt retract

Exterior - Besides the dent from the accedent, just door dings and minor rock chips on the hood.

Heres are some old pics of the paint and body damage (Door still opens and closes no problem, its just outside panel costmetic damage):
http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/511218/8

Heres the imagestation if you have an account with much better pics:
http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=2131405426

Repair quotes have it between $1,700 and $2,500. Average was around $2,000.

KBBed at $9,000 for excellent, $8,400 for Good, and $7,600 for Fair.

The guy paid out of pocket for damages incurred, so I can afford to take some loss on the prices above, but how much would you think its worth? Wheres a good place to sell a car with body damage? Thanks in advance.

[RichD978]

I would fix the damage and sell it privately. Selling it fixed will benefit you more. Most likely you would get between 8,000 to 8,500 IMO. Your car has low miles, well maintenanced, good options, and is in excellent condition but all those will be overlooked when a buyer sees the damage

[1st Gen Sol]

Hmmmm, wonder how much I'd get for mine........

I'd get the damage fixed then sell it, plus your car has low mileage and is routinely maintained.

Good Luck

[Jon11582]

Thats another issue. Do I go for the 1,700 job or the 2,500 job if I get it fixed first? Its all cosmetic, and its very low on the body, (All damage is under the door trim) so theoretically, whoever gets it could just get it painted to keep it from rusting, and it wont be too noticable unless your looking for it. Should I just get it painted?

Honestly, I wanted 6-7K for it to save me the trouble of having to go through all that decision making and getting a rental, etc. but if its that hard to sell a damaged car, then I guess I have no choice.

[Jai_Jai_Binks]

8K-9K i'm guessing MAX (when fixed), w/o it being fixed..you get close to 5 if your lucky!

[RichD978]

8K-9K i'm guessing MAX (when fixed), w/o it being fixed..you get close to 5 if your lucky!

^^ True
Try to look for a buyer without fixing it, there should be a buyer that is willing to fix it themselves. Just make sure you set a good price because they will surely try to low ball you because of the damage

Also keep in mind Jon, its graduation time and many parents would be getting their kids a car for college. Its a good time to sell right about now

[frohboy33]

I dont think it should be to hard to sell a damaged car. People think they can get a good deal when it has some damage. I bought my car with a salvage title. There was a fire in the car and the back seats had to be replaced. The car booked for $16,000 at the time and I got it for $12,000.

[Jon11582]

I dont think it should be to hard to sell a damaged car. People think they can get a good deal when it has some damage. I bought my car with a salvage title. There was a fire in the car and the back seats had to be replaced. The car booked for $16,000 at the time and I got it for $12,000.

So where the best place to look for a buyer for a damaged car?

I'll probably start at $7k and work my way down to $6K if I need to.

I think it falls into the lower end of KBB's "fair" condition right now ($7,600), which allows for mechanical and cosemtic interior and exterior defects that needs work done by a professional, balded tires, and repairable rust damage, but still in reasonable running condition.

I think it would be a little over over KBBs "good" condition ($8,400) if it were repaired well. At $6k, its well under "fair" value, and they could repair it fully and still have a few hundred left over.

Even if I did fix it, intakes still on there, which could be a problem to people looking for a non-fixer upper.

I may have a Black V6 lined up already, so I'm looking for a private buyer if at all possible. I assume the best market to look for would be DIYers who do thier own body work. So back to my question - wheres a good place to find a buyer for a damaged car?

[Jai_Jai_Binks]

When are you planning to sell, cus i'd love that injen...(and you would love my stock box). Unless you planning on hitting the junkyards!

[Fenix]

Hey bro Jon,

Wanna trade with my black on black V6 5spd?

lol...

[Jon11582]

Hey bro Jon,

Wanna trade with my black on black V6 5spd?

lol...

haha hell yes but I doubt you would want my dented wonder. Most people lookin to get rid of thier solaras either 1) Graduated to a different car, or 2) cant be drivin, or don't need to be driving in the next few years..or in my case 3) have a dent in the side.

[1st Gen Sol]

I'd say just sell it the way it is because your asking price is reasonable and from what your saying the damage isn't that bad.

Either way your gonna break just about even if you fix the car and get a higher asking price, deduct the cost of the repairs and having to get a rental. Just avoid all of that and sell it the way it is.

Fenix already offered to trade with you, I'd say take him up on his offer.

Good luck with your sale

....some links to sell it on....

www.cars.com
www.autotrader.com
www.buylines.com

[Jon11582]

Yea Ive been talkin to Thai (Fenix) lately. I'm pretty sure he was jokin.