Selling a car

Pinky787

Well-Known Member
2A Bourbon Hound 2024
2A Bourbon Hound OG
Supporting Member
Joined
Dec 17, 2018
Messages
1,229
Location
Zebulon
Rating - 100%
31   0   0
Thinking about selling my civic. Still not 100% sure yet, just debating my options. If I do sell and don't want the hassle of selling privately, what's the best option? Not looking to replace it because I would still have 2 other vehicles if I do sell it. It's 20 years old with 166k. I tried the carmax online thing and it gave me a offer of $900
 
I have used autotrader to sell privately with good success. They use a system where you can screen replies and meet without giving away only personal info you want to the seller. You pay for the ad. I think you will get more privately. However, if you don't want a private sell, you just take the offer and move on. A used car lot may offer you more also.
 
Selling it here, privately, is probably your best bet. Painless. Easy. Good people.

You can sell it on Marketplace privately. Not painless. Very frustrating. Shady people. Lots of tire kickers. Lots of no shows. Lots of people wanting you to hold it until they can scrape their pennies together. Low ballers - "What's the absolute least you'll take?"

Selling it to Carmax, or similar, is pretty darn easy, but will require lots of lube and a rape kit.
 
Last edited:
Its a 2002 civic lx, 166,800 miles. It's runs and drives fine, AC and heat both work. Subs in the trunk, LED headlights, spark plugs changed at 150k, valve cover gasket replaced at 111k with some other things I have the receipt for that work. Front brakes and pads done at 155k
Cons- window tint was done while drinking, we ran out of tint, it's illegal and is crinkled in 1 spot, the shift interlock? Is broken, so a screw driver is in place and have to press the screwdriver to get it to go into drive, it does leak oil. Broke a clip in the front bumper so a zip tie in is its place, crack in the windshield at the bottom doesn't effect seeing out, washer fluid lines are cracked, the car doesn't like starting up in sub 25 degree weather it will try to cut off sometimes but if you sit in the car and give it some gas to warm up its fine, looking through the Honda forums seems the way to resolve this is a new ecu.

Similar year and mileage civics seem to be listed for sale in the 4-6k range
 
Honestly, with those issues - keep it
As far as the ECU - go to the junkyard and grab one for cheap
But that's a lot of cons and not much for a pro
LED headlights...meh, if it's a quality item, cool, but too many are cheap ebay units that just cheapen it all up.
Jacked tint, broken windshield, shifter issues (I had a pathfinder, once, that I had to do that to for about a week and it freaking blew), leaking oil etc
For someone it could be a great fixer-upper, depending on what you WOULD take for it
 
Honestly, with those issues - keep it
As far as the ECU - go to the junkyard and grab one for cheap
But that's a lot of cons and not much for a pro
LED headlights...meh, if it's a quality item, cool, but too many are cheap ebay units that just cheapen it all up.
Jacked tint, broken windshield, shifter issues (I had a pathfinder, once, that I had to do that to for about a week and it freaking blew), leaking oil etc
For someone it could be a great fixer-upper, depending on what you WOULD take for it
The shifter has been that way since before I owned it. So at least 5 years. And given that the ecu is only a problem when it's super cold I just give my self enough time in the morning or just hop in my truck. But it's only done it 2 or 3 times since I've owned it. And it's been in the 20s or colder
 
Sounds to me like it's worth more than $900 but not anywhere close to 4-6k.

I'd probably call that about a $1500 car. If you fix the easy issues on the cheap you could probably make it a $2500 car.

Figure out what you want for it and take a good set of pictures. Post it on here and see if you get any bites.
 
Sounds to me like it's worth more than $900 but not anywhere close to 4-6k.

I'd probably call that about a $1500 car. If you fix the easy issues on the cheap you could probably make it a $2500 car.

Figure out what you want for it and take a good set of pictures. Post it on here and see if you get any bites.
Makes sense, and yeh I could pull the tint off completely, and I could probably fix the bumper, but the ecu deal is like a $500-800 fix, can swap the ecu easily but something about the keys being chipped and having to be learned the ecu to the chip in the key I don't fully understand. I dont think the windshield is cracked enough to be worth whatever it would cost. As far as the shifter, I had a someone look at it, threw $50 or so bucks in parts at what they thought the problem was and it didn't work
 
I worked for CarMax as
A buyer for a couple years.

Your car wouldn’t be resold by CarMax out front. It would have been auctioned to….less scrupulous dealers.

So they probably expect to get $1200 from another dealer for it.

That dealer would fix a couple of things cheap and hide the rest and ask $2500 for it and take the first $2,000.

Or ship it to Africa and get more for it.

So I agree with the $1500 value as a private sale based solely on your description and having not walked the car to check it for painted panels and indications of frame damage etc.
 
Last edited:
@Chdamn thanks for the input. I was really hoping it would be worth at least 2 new sets of tires, (1 for the truck and 1 for the jeep) but it's looking like that's not going to be the case
 
@Chdamn thanks for the input. I was really hoping it would be worth at least 2 new sets of tires, (1 for the truck and 1 for the jeep) but it's looking like that's not going to be the case
At least you didn’t yell at me as a few customers did lol.

And I feel you. It just is what it is.

There’s a hold back for straight to auction cars at carmax and it used to be $500. Which means the top end value after they verify condition is $1400 wholsale which we never or rarely got.

I can tell you from experience that info was based on black book and an additional database search or every wholesale auction in the country.

Cars are rated as excellent, very good, good, poor, very poor, and undriveable (once again, shout out to autocorrect for trying to change poor to poop multiple times).

As long as the title is clean and there is no indication of frame damage your car would be rated as good at best and poor at worst.

Consider first the cost to repair the car to make it presentable on a lot. The oil leak, the bumper and the ecu.

Then think about what you would pay for your car if you were looking to buy and knew nothing about it other than the current condition and the list of repairs needed.
 
Last edited:
I would be surprised if your cold start issue was related to the ECU. They're not a wear item, and if they fail, they usually fail completely. I would look at your battery and alternator first, then valve lash.
If you're looking to get more than $900 for it. I'd find out where the oil leak is coming from, fix it if it's cheap and easy. Pull the tint (get a $20 steam gun off Amazon). Definitely have to fix the interlock switch - no one wants to buy a car that you have to start with a screwdriver. After that, it's probably a $2k car. I'd just take the $900 while it's running, and move on - but if you've got the time and ability to wrench yourself, it might be worth it.
 
Last edited:
no one wants to buy a car that you have to start with a screwdriver.
🤣 Brought back a fun memory. Had a truck with 3 on the tree. Collar holding the pin for the shifter broke. Had to shift it with a screwdriver. Drove it like that for months.

Sorry for the interruption. Back to your regularly scheduled programming....
 
would be surprised if your cold start issue was related to the ECU. They're not a wear item, and if they fail, they usually fail completely. I would look at your battery and alternator first, then valve lash.

….and if it’s only happened 2 or 3 times and you’re trying to get rid of the car anyway I wouldn’t worry about it at all.

Scrape the tint. Fix the screwdriver thing. Do what you can with the bumper. List as is for $2500 and see what happens.

In 2023, a $2500 car might leak a little oil and have a cracked windshield.
 
Last edited:
Mmmm...

I'm of the opinion, like others, that what you've got here is about a $1,500 car.

Sometimes you've gotta ask yourself "Did I get my money's worth out of this?" If it's paid off and you got your money's worth out of it, then slap a $1,500 sticker on it and sell it for the first person to offer you four figures and call it a day. It's cash in your pocket and no longer something you have to keep plated/insured/maintained.

Everybody wants the most they can get, but that's not always what life's all about. If you were on the flip side, would YOU pay $1,500 for it in the condition it's in? (That's another way of figuring a car's worth when you want to sell it.)

At 20 years of age, it's well into the "just need a car I can get around in without killing the bank" age. It could be a great first car for some young person. It could be a decent get-my-kid-through-college car. It could be a perfect car for someone mechanically inclined who doesn't mind all the little details an older vehicle eventually ends up needing.


Selling a car doesn't have to be a hassle. It's as simple as signing the title over to another person for an agreed upon price that's written in the appropriate spot on the title. If it's cash, it's a done deal. If it's by check, conduct the business at your bank/credit union under your terms (check has to clear, but if it's a bank/credit union check or guaranteed equivalent, it's a done deal right then). Remove your plates and it's theirs.

Way back in the late 80s, when I was a young Sailor and had just bought a newer used car, I didn't have time to sell my old car, what with all the newly married Sailor with newborn, going to Navy schools, and getting my orders and all. A neighbor lady across the street from my parents, who used to watch my sister and I when we were younger, sold the car for me and we split the money. I didn't have to deal with it and we were both happy.
 
Back
Top Bottom