To repair or not repair in order to sell?

[schuey1010]

I am thinking about selling my 92 Legend LS sedan in the near future, and I have a few questions to ask the experts.

A little history first. 115K miles. Completely stock. The car has always been one family owned. All maintainance has been kept up to date through either Acura or a specialized shop. It has only had paintwork to the front end and roof (Northridge earthquake, all dad's junk up in the garage rafters came down on the car ) Drives great with a couple issues.

The paint on the hood is starting to lose its clear coat. It is maybe about 3 inches wide by 8 inches long. The drivers seat has a couple rips where dad (once again) got in the car with a screwdriver in his pocket. There is a "scratch" through the leather from that, and also another tear. The driver bolster is also cracking.

My question. I think I should get the hood painted again to make it look all nice, but sell it with the seats as is.

Do you agree that I should get the paint fixed, and leave the seats, or should I just sell it as is, or should I look into getting the seats repaired too? I could get the hood sprayed for about $500, and I think I could make that back in the selling price. I don't think I would be able to get back what I would have to put into the seats, so I think it would be better to leave those as is.

Thoughts? Thank you.

 

[ChrisK]

As the previous owner of 3 G2 Acura Legend Coupes, I can say the people in the market for the Legend IMHO are getting cheap. They don't want to pay good money for this car even if it is worth it. I would bet you woudn't get much more money if you repaired it compared to left it alone. The only Legends that sell for food money is exceptionally well keept 6-Speed versions and maybe the 94-95 GS Sedan if also very well keept. I think if you can get the hood sprayed for $500 or less, that might be worth it, but for the seat I'd just leave it. One other option on the seat is try posting on acura-legend.com/vbulletin forums. Maybe someone might have a seat cover left over since we do a lot of leatherseat replacement group buys there. Hopefully someone has a seat cover in good condition that they might sell to your at a good price to make it worth it.

 

[Casper91]

I was going to chime in on this one, but ChrisK gave excellent advice.

Yeah, what he said. :smile:

 

[CDX_NSX]

Indeed, I'd echo Chris' comments. Part of the equation also lies in how much you want to get out of it and how quickly you want to sell it. If you're looking to just get rid of it, you're better off leaving it as it is.

 

[W]

I think you're better off just leaving it alone.

 

[White92]

I might also add that you should keep your dad and all of his stuff away from the car if you do decide to get it fixed. :biggrin:

 

[schuey1010]

I might also add that you should keep your dad and all of his stuff away from the car if you do decide to get it fixed. :biggrin:

Good thought. I checked his drawers :biggrin: for tools before he got into the NSX. Once he was cleared, he did slide down the passanger side bolster quite nicely!

I still love him......he will never ride in the NSX again though.

 

[Osiris_x11]

A Legend's tale...

hmmm... As I am looking for a similar car (2nd gen. Legend LS, 1st gen. Q-45, 1st gen. GS300) the major priority for me would be maintenence/service history & what needs to be addressed on the car.

Unless an early 90's car was ultra-low to low miles (ie. 60-90k) for a 14-15yr old car, I don't think much of a premium can be added onto the car's value based on it's aesthetics/appearance; of-course unless the buyer was real keen on that model to begin with (ie. "like omg! i want that fuscia chevy corvair!"). As you mentioned the minor paint issue on the hood and the seat cover tear, adjusting that into the price or being flexible in offers from interested parties would be fair. Putting $500 or more dollars into a car which I assume is at most $3-4k won't really appreciate it to a level that is worth your headache & time invested.

My friend sold his 91 Legend coupe a year and a half ago. It was fully serviced/maintained and the miles were under 100k. The interior/exterior were in better condition than my NSX. However the a/c didn't work, the clutch was starting to go, and he needed 4 new low-profile tires for his 17's (or 18's?). He sold it as-is, and got hazed... barely got over $3k for it. If he chose to do the repairs, it wouldn't have added that much to the car's value to even make it worth his while. :frown:

 

[schuey1010]

Re: A Legend's tale...

My friend sold his 91 Legend coupe a year and a half ago. It was fully serviced/maintained and the miles were under 100k. The interior/exterior were in better condition than my NSX. However the a/c didn't work, the clutch was starting to go, and he needed 4 new low-profile tires for his 17's (or 18's?). He sold it as-is, and got hazed... barely got over $3k for it. If he chose to do the repairs, it wouldn't have added that much to the car's value to even make it worth his while. :frown:

I am going to say that someone got a pretty good deal for $3K on a 91 Legend Coupe with under 100K miles in the condition stated. I could get more than that for my 91 CRX Si.