Selling a "broken" vehicle

Jeb Brookshire · **Posted:** Sun Sep 13, 2009 5:51 pm

So our 2001 Odyssey has been replaced and now sits in our driveway. I am pretty sure the transmission is failing. We had it rebuilt once at 128K miles and now it has close to 182K miles. Most of the time I seel a vehicle that is in great condition. I have never not fixed one and tried to sell it. According to KBB the value of the vehicle is somewhere between $5,000 and $6,000 when otherwise working. Is asking $3,000 too much?

We are the original owners, have all records, the tires are about a year and a half old, has new front brakes and a new battery.

My other thought is donating it, but not sure what kind of tax credit/write-off we would get if we went that route.

Thoughts, suggestions?

RobLupella · **Posted:** Mon Sep 14, 2009 12:32 am

Selling something that you know is ready to break is a conscience issue, it is either buyer beware and you sell as is and if they notice the problem then you negotiate a fair price and if they don't you profit......or....you disclose and adjust the price accordingly.

If you donate the car, check with your tax advisor as if I remember correctly the rules have changed to allow only what the car brings when sold...but that could be my failing memory.

Jeb Brookshire · **Posted:** Mon Sep 14, 2009 10:25 am

RobLupella wrote:

Selling something that you know is ready to break is a conscience issue, it is either buyer beware and you sell as is and if they notice the problem then you negotiate a fair price and if they don't you profit......or....you disclose and adjust the price accordingly.

If you donate the car, check with your tax advisor as if I remember correctly the rules have changed to allow only what the car brings when sold...but that could be my failing memory.

Oh, I am disclosing the fact that is is breaking/broken. Otherwise I would just raise the price and hope for the best.

clinehall · **Posted:** Mon Sep 14, 2009 11:02 am

I know it's a gamble, but what about fixing the transmission and then selling it. It has been my experience that people who buy 3K cars don't have any money set aside for repairs. I think a 5k car with a fixed tranmission would be an easier sell to a 5k car buyer.

Other idea, take it to an auction. where we autocross in greenville allows the public on wedndesday, getting 1500 is better than a tax deduction of 3k

Michael Westerfield · **Posted:** Mon Sep 14, 2009 11:11 am

clinehall wrote:

I know it's a gamble, but what about fixing the transmission and then selling it. It has been my experience that people who buy 3K cars don't have any money set aside for repairs. I think a 5k car with a fixed tranmission would be an easier sell to a 5k car buyer.

Other idea, take it to an auction. where we autocross in greenville allows the public on wedndesday, getting 1500 is better than a tax deduction of 3k

I would probably take the gamble, especially if you could say the car now came with a 12mo warranty or similar on the transmission. I would think 2-2500 could get it done for the repair on a car like that. It would give piece of mind since those cars are known for that problem.

BriceJohnson · **Joined:** Thu Apr 13, 2006 7:33 am **Posts:** 2230

clinehall wrote:

I know it's a gamble, but what about fixing the transmission and then selling it. It has been my experience that people who buy 3K cars don't have any money set aside for repairs. I think a 5k car with a fixed tranmission would be an easier sell to a 5k car buyer.

Other idea, take it to an auction. where we autocross in greenville allows the public on wedndesday, getting 1500 is better than a tax deduction of 3k

I got $1500 for my 1997 Ford Ranger with a transmission problem, I'm sure he can get more than that for a 2001 Odyessey. I sold it within 24 hours of putting it on Craigslist.

Does it still move? That will go a long way for buyers. For me I was able to prove to them that the engine works fine, and that everything else is ok. Just ignore the awful rattling noise coming from the transmission.

Richard Casto · **Posted:** Mon Sep 14, 2009 2:22 pm

Jeb Brookshire wrote:

RobLupella wrote:

Selling something that you know is ready to break is a conscience issue, it is either buyer beware and you sell as is and if they notice the problem then you negotiate a fair price and if they don't you profit......or....you disclose and adjust the price accordingly.

If you donate the car, check with your tax advisor as if I remember correctly the rules have changed to allow only what the car brings when sold...but that could be my failing memory.

Oh, I am disclosing the fact that is is breaking/broken. Otherwise I would just raise the price and hope for the best.

Jeb, you probably know this since you have had your transmission replaced, but there was about a 2-3 year range of transmissions used in the Odyssey and some Acura models that have a design defect. Newer models don’t have this issue.

If I remember correctly it is an undersized bearing in the transmission and I think Honda’s solution was to rebuild and install an oil squirter for that bearing plus install a transmission cooler if you already didn’t have one. They also extended the warrantee for the transmission beyond the normal length for free.

I don’t know what the failure rate was/is, but I suspect it is VERY high. I have heard of people on their second or third transmissions while still under warrantee. My point is that if nearly all have the failure or the potential for failure, then you may not want to knock as much off your asking price. That what you are seeing today might (should) already be somewhat factored somewhat into the resale of that model year Odyssey. An informed buyer should already know about the design defect. But if you feel that your transmission is showing signs, then I would let them know about the issue as well as knock something off the price, but not chop it in half.

Mine was replaced under warrantee (I think at around 50K or so) and so far the new one has been OK (at about 136K right now and out of warrantee). Sometimes I think I can feel evidence of it acting odd, but I am not afraid to use it for long trips. I still love my Odyssey even with the transmission issue.

Scott Johnson · **Posted:** Mon Sep 14, 2009 2:23 pm

I can replace a tranny in an '01 minivan, so I might be tempted...

Look up the KBB "needs repair" price and see if that is inline with what you expect to get.

It looks like a few hundred to a few thousand is the parts cost. If I were doing the work for myself, I'd be looking to pay "Going rate" for a working car minus about $2000 for the repair, figuring I can actually do a rebuild for a lot less than $2000.

Scott

Richard Casto · **Posted:** Mon Sep 14, 2009 2:29 pm

scottjohnson wrote:

I can replace a tranny in an '01 minivan, so I might be tempted...

Look up the KBB "needs repair" price and see if that is inline with what you expect to get.

It looks like a few hundred to a few thousand is the parts cost. If I were doing the work for myself, I'd be looking to pay "Going rate" for a working car minus about $2000 for the repair, figuring I can actually do a rebuild for a lot less than $2000.

Scott

I think this is exactly how I would handle it. It would be interesting to know what Honda will sell one of thier rebuilt transmissions for these days. One of the reasons I am not as much concerned about mine is that we have a backup car if needed and while it would be a pain, I am sure I could swap out the transmission in a handful of days.

Scott Johnson · **Posted:** Mon Sep 14, 2009 2:36 pm

I guess this is yours?

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/cto/1361065738.html

Seems like you are in the ball park.

Richard Casto · **Posted:** Mon Sep 14, 2009 4:12 pm

looks MUCH cleaner than my 2000. Mine has more juice stains, etc. :lol:

MikeWhitney · **Joined:** Wed Aug 20, 2003 9:15 pm **Posts:** 4724

Jeb be sure to point out whether it moves under its own power in the ad and describe the symptoms. I think that would help you get some calls.

Jeb Brookshire · **Posted:** Tue Sep 15, 2009 9:20 am

scottjohnson wrote:

I guess this is yours?

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/cto/1361065738.html

Seems like you are in the ball park.

Yep! That is our van. I usually delist it every week or so. Of the link goes dead just search it again.

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