Fix car before trade in?

[pb4uski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aaronc879 I would not 'fix' the car. Either drive it as is or trade it in as is. ....

+1

[UnrealizedPotential]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aaronc879 I would not 'fix' the car. Either drive it as is or trade it in as is. I have been driving with the air bag light on for over a year. Not worth the money to fix IMO. I wear a seat belt and I have no concerns about my air bag being functional. For about 3 years I have had the check engine light on. It's because of the Cat not working properly. It's a cost of at least $1500 maybe $2K if I need oxygen sensor(s) too. Not fixing it does not affect my ability to drive so it's not worth fixing. YMMV

I had the service light come on in my car. I bought some catalytic converter cleaner at the auto parts store. It wasn't cheap, it's like $27 for a 16 oz bottle. Although skeptical at first, I put it in the gas tank. After about one or two days of driving, which is for me maybe 25 miles a day, the light went off.



So you just never know, it may work , it may not. Well, let me be clear, when the service light came on, I took it into the mechanic in town and the catalytic converter was my problem. One of the suggestions was to try the cleaner .

[RunningBum]

Is the dealer going to be required to fix the issue? Even if they sell at auction, would that buyer need to if they resell? If so, they are going to assume the worst case cost and deduct that from the price.

[LOL!]

FWIW, back in 2002 I bought a used car and traded in a 13-year-old car with about 200K miles on it in the deal. I won't say I got a good deal on the trade-in, but I negotiated without the dealer seeing it.

The trade-in had just been in an accident where another driver ran the front of his car into the left rear quarter panel, the moon roof leaked, and the clutch had some issues, too. The dealer asked "Is it drive-able?" and I said Yes! and would bring it in when I picked up the car I bought. Then, "Do you have all the original manuals?" which we did. The car was worthless to me, so I was glad I could get rid of it this way.

Anyways, the salesman was quite taken aback when he saw the car, but I did not misrepresent it at all.

[Walt34]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RunningBum Is the dealer going to be required to fix the issue? Even if they sell at auction, would that buyer need to if they resell?

If it is a dealer I'd think they wouldn't dare sell it without fixing it because of the downstream liability. For an individual, perhaps it wouldn't matter if the price was right.

[Aerides]

Trade as is, don't put in a penny. If it drives, take it to carmax for a quote. I would bet you 10% of the difference, that repaired or not will not change the quote more than $500.

[kcowan]

The dealer sells the car to an auction house. They auction it off for double, then the auction buyer hopes to pick it up for 20 to 30% off. So think $10k then $7k then $3500. And condition is not a factor.

[Red Badger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelover Seems like engines are good for 250K if maintained, but transmissions can be a weak link.

Particularly mid-2000 Frontier trannies. Had one.

But yeah, OP's is going to auction. Don't spend a dime.

[cooch96]

Only fix a car for trade in if car repair is an enjoyable hobby. You won’t be able to repair it as cheaply as the dealership, so you are not going to get your money back.

[Yarnstormer]

UPDATE - I rolled the dice and had the cheapest of the repairs done this morning and it worked. Airbags are functioning, light is not blinking and bonus - the tire pressure indicator I have been ignoring for years is off too.
I’m sure the tire thing will come back on but I don’t see the need for it.

[Sunset]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yarnstormer UPDATE - I rolled the dice and had the cheapest of the repairs done this morning and it worked. Airbags are functioning, light is not blinking and bonus - the tire pressure indicator I have been ignoring for years is off too. I’m sure the tire thing will come back on but I don’t see the need for it.

Nice of you to update us all, completes the story.


Of course, you totally ignored a bunch of nearly anonymous strangers advice on the internet to your benefit

[Yarnstormer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunset Nice of you to update us all, completes the story. Of course, you totally ignored a bunch of nearly anonymous strangers advice on the internet to your benefit

Ah well haha good point. I didn’t have a lot of time to react as I have a trip planned and figured what the hell I’ll give it a shot.
I would not have thrown another $1100 at it tho. This gives me some breathing room tho and boy did I gather a lot of info in my one evening of panicked cat shopping!

No 1: wow cars are expensive !

No 2: Did you know that the Volvo S60 sedan can tow 3300 lbs?!? I had no idea. I tow a small camper so tow rating is a concern.

My new plan is to start keeping my eyes open for another car and consider passing the truck down to my soon to be driving 16 yr old. She will hate it heh heh

[Yarnstormer]

Update 2! Airbag light fix lasted a couple of months then it started again. Nissan redid spiral cable replacement under repair warranty. Then it started again. So, I’m truck shopping and for the first time considering new. 2018 models are discounted quite a bit. I found the one I want, local dealer gave me a crazy price and I had to talk them down to that. I’m going to drive about 2 hours to another dealer that has better prices this week for the same exact truck! It’s a crazy system. I’d love input on whether I should even bother to put cash down. Interest rate is 3.58 or possibly 3.08 if I can get the usaa referral thing to work.

[CaptTom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo ...Do what thousands of others have done - place a small piece of black electrical tape directly over the offending light.

I once brought in a car because the "check engine" light was on. The mechanic put it on the computer and identified a rather generic problem which he either couldn't, or didn't want to, fix. He said it was no big deal and recommended putting a piece of electrical tape over the light.

When I brought it back for inspection, he wouldn't put a sticker on it because of the tape. I pointed out that, had he not told me to put it there, he'd never have noticed it. But he said since he knew it was there, he couldn't pass me!

And yes, I did find another mechanic.

And then there was the time I brought a trade-in to the dealer. They gave me a price on the trade-in and we signed the papers. Later, when I came to pick up the new car, the engine failed just outside their lot. Luckily, it was downhill to the showroom. I coasted right up to building, got out, picked up my new keys, and left. I didn't really feel too guilty; they knew it was a junker when they offered me the inflated trade-in value, just to seal the deal.

[mountainsoft]

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldShooter Well, one thing you could consider would be to ignore the light and always wear a seat belt. Driver & passenger front air bags are completely unnecessary if the individual is properly belted. And how many times in your life have you been in a crash where air bags provided some safety value?

My wife had a 1997 Jetta with an air bag light that was on. I replaced just about every part in the air bag system (used parts from other cars) and never could get that air bag light to go off. We took it to a shop and they said it wasn't cost effective to fix considering the age of the car. So, my wife drove it for several years with the light on.

This October 25th a lady pulled out in front of my wife and her car was totaled. The passenger air bag went off, the driver side did not. We always wear our seat belts so she did not have any major injuries. Most of her soreness is in her leg and hips from stomping on the brakes hoping to stop in time.

I had never owned a car with an airbag until I bought my 2000 Jetta early last year. So I don't consider them a requirement.