Selling my minivan (questions)

R

rstype

New member
I no longer need my '03 Odyssey EX-L (9000 miles), and I'm wondering how much should I sell it for. I did some research:



Edmunds TMV Private Party: $25,699

KBB Private Party: $27,250



Edmunds TMV NEW: $26,660

CarsDirect NEW (special pricing until July): $25,722



I bought the van new for $30,000 (tax, license, etc, included), so my goal now is $25,000. The only way I can do it is convince the buyer that my old van is every bit as nice as a new one, except that now he'll save some money. My Odyssey has several dents, however. Are they worth fixing to help meet my goal, or should I price the car lower instead?



Any help or comments would be appreciated.
 
I'd get an estimate from a paintless dent repair facility, then make your decision from there. Eye appeal is important, and I think you'd have a hard time justifiing the dents if your goal is to convince the buyer your van is as good as a new one. It shouldn't be that expensive to fix with PDR.



My 2 cents.
 
Another vote for paint-less dent removal. It will increase your value pretty well. When the prospective buyer sees the dents, think discount. Another thing to keep in mind is that the new Odyssey is RIGHT around the corner so you do need to act fast. Used market for Odysseys in CA has the 2000's still fetching high teens if that is any indication of how well you will do. :)
 
Contrarian here.



I vote to NOT fix the dents, unless they are visibile from, say, 10 feet away--or you can get the work done for free.



It is tough to get people to come out to see your used car in the first place. Before they even call you, they assume the car looks like crap and just go on price. So keep your prep costs down as much as possible so you can advertise lower.



When they see the car, they will be blown away by its overall condition. Then, to close the sale, use the dents as a negotiation tool and knock a few hundred off the price if you must.



-Charlie
 
Probably the best thing to do is not to fix the dents and then see how potential buyers react. If you find that it becomes a major sticking point to closing the sale, get them fixed. Get an estimate though before you start showing it to buyers. You don't want to knock $500 off the price of the car for something that could have been fixed for $200.





Mike
 
I would not worry about fixing at this point. Get an estimate of the cost to fix so you have a general idea for when people want to haggle over them.



Also, get that thing sold quick! The new style is coming in 2-3 months and the old style brand new ones will be discounted heavily!



2004 EX-L with DVD is already $3000 off sticker where I live.
 
Other ppl may have more experience, but I sold my 2001 Accord recently private party.



Maybe list it for ~$26,000? When I was selling my car ppl were asking up to $2,000 less than my asking price. I wanted to sell it for $12,000, listed my car for $12,800, and sold it for $11,700 :).



How big are the dents? It shouldn't be that big a issue for prospective minivan buyers.
 
I tend to agree with the 'take it to the PDR' crowd. The reason why is this: You want the first impression of the van to be as good as it can be. Every person that looks at the van is a potential buyer.



It's not much different than the 'curb appeal' mantra for real estate. That condition of the van is going to be the one thing that separates yours from all the others that are for sale out there. And as an Autopian, you've got the skills to really make your vehicle stand out.



Best of luck,



DavidM
 
are these autopian visible dents or regular people dents? if they're not horrible, I say let them go. People are going to lowball any price you list becasue

1) it's used and used is not the same as new no matter what

2) people just like to try getting a better deal

3) a redesigned oddssy is coming out so even delers are lowering prices
 
Fix the dents. I sold cars for ten years. Also ask more than you want for the van. People will always ask for less. Make sure it is clean and that there is no "junk" in the van. If you have records of maintenance done make them available.
 
:( I haven't had much success, and I can see why. Even if I were the consumer, I'd rather purchase a brand new Ody for $24K instead of some guy's used one for $21K. For now, I'll drive it around until the warranty is over.
 
Ah, yes, this is the "Autopian dilemna" I keep bringing up. If you'd treated the car like crap, you'd have asked for 18K, and people would be jumping to see the car. At 21K, which is fair for an immaculate car, no one will even look at it or call.



I just sold my Boxster, the only caller basically stole it for $29,500. That was only maybe $2K than I could have done in trade-in. This for a car that was nearly ready to win a "best in show" in a regional PCA division. But what could I do? I tried $32K for weeks and weeks and got no calls. Next time I'm buying used, that's for sure. I'm looking at 1999/2000 911's, those have plummeted as well.



I would have kept the car like you, but that wasn't an option. I needed cash to move cross country.
 
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