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Old 10-21-2014, 11:38 PM   #18 (permalink)
War_Wagon
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Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Vancouver B.C., Canada
Posts: 1,230

Spunky - '90 Honda Civic CX
90 day: 35.56 mpg (US)
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Some good replies here. Cowmeat has done this once or twice before I'd hazard to guess, do pretty much all the things he said.

On an inexpensive car like that, I'd just make sure it's clean - wipe down the doorjambs and inside the gas filler door, make sure the wiper blades aren't rotted off it, and spray paint the wiper arms if they are peeling. Clean the inside of the windows!! You'd be surprised what a difference that makes on someones impression of a car - if they have to look through streaks and fingerprints on the test drive it just looks bad. If you smoke, take the ashtray out and scrub it clean. Make sure the spare tire and jack are where they should be and tightened down so they don't bang around on the test drive. I always wash/wipe off the channel around the trunk seal too, lots of gunk tends to collect there and everyone pops the trunk to look inside when they check out a car.

Small cars tend to get 2 kinds of buyers - someone that just needs cheap wheels and sees yours is half decent and just buys it, or people that look for any reason to take money off the price. "Has it had any accidents?" and has it passed any local inspection your area requires will be the first thing those people will ask, looking for an edge. Cripes I have been doing this too long haha, when I sell one of my eco cars I can pretty much finish peoples sentences for them when they call me. As long as it's not a pieced together salvaged car just remind your buyer that it's an inexpensive car that's been on the road for a lot of years, it and it's history aren't perfect. I have actually said "Sounds like you need a new car with a warranty, there's a Hyundai dealership 5 minutes from here." Basically the car guy version of pi$$ or get off the pot, it works surprisingly well! Good luck with the sale.
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