OT Poll: Best Route for Easiest Sale on Lumina

[JerseyHarold]

It's time to sell off our '98 Lumina that has some body damage and I'm having trouble deciding how to proceed.

In June 2010, a young nitwit mashed the right front door. I've been on a junk yard crusade ever since to find a green, manual-window door to replace it with. You'd think it's a walk in the park since Jasper Green was available for 5 years. No such luck.... every correct-color donor car I found had either power windows or a damaged door.

In my travels, I bought a very nice gold door at a pick-n-pull in case a green one didn't materialize. What would result in the easiest sale?

1. Leave as-is and include gold door in deal.

2. Install gold door and don't paint it.

3. Install gold door and have it painted Jasper Green ($150.-$200.)

I've included a picture of the car here. The door is caved-in quite a bit, and looks much worse in person.

Thanks for your thoughts!

Harold

[Niel Hoback]

Plan A; The car is a teen-ager, sell it as is, nothing perfect at that age.

Plan B; Get a green door and swap the power for manual regulator.

Plan C; Refer to plan A. It won't make that much difference.

[greg g]

Sell it as it is for xxx under Kelly Blue book, throw i the door for what you paid for it. Do the work and charge extra.

[1940plymouth]

Sell it like it is. There are alot worse looking cars than that on the road here in Sullivan County of NY, especially in the summer time

[randroid]

Gents,

You have all made valid points for doing nothing to the door and common sense dictates that is the way to go but keep in mind that common sense isn't.

We're old enough to remember trashing a car or five when we were young so a door with a little damage is logically a good fit for a new and testosterone-laden driver but once the car has been driven about three miles the intrinsic value of being on wheels fades and the "kid" is going to want to be proud of his drive. (I'm using the masculine gender for simplicity but it's an across the board mind set.)

1. It is a given that a shiny lemon with a crappy engine will sell faster and for more money than a ratty sled with a perfect drive-line.

2. Every teenager can turn a wrench but few have ever learned how to make paint look decent.

3. Any time & money put into the body will be recouped at the sale; the same is not true for mechanical problems.

4. Which one would the parents of the buyer tolerate in front of their house?

All the above reasons to fix the door are closely related to each other but each can stand on its own. When I started painting Pigiron there were a few minor mechanical problems but none that would stop me from driving it yet I have consciously chosen to not drive it because I want it to look better. I'm a mature adult with few ego problems and my choice makes little if any sense on paper but that choice demonstrates there isn't much difference in priorities between the newbie and the veteran driver.

If it takes you an afternoon or a weekend to do the repair I firmly believe it will pay you back several fold, both monetarily and in speed of sale..

-Randy

(who is not a potential buyer)

[Rusty O'Toole]

Sell it as is and discount the price accordingly. Have sold many old cars, it almost never pays to do any more than minor repairs.

Clean it as well as possible inside and out and let it go at that.

[Dan Hiebert]

Hate to be cavalier about it but - c'mon - its a Lumina. And an old one at that. Sell as-is with the replacement door thrown in, and plan for the buyer to not want the extra door. If you replace/repaint the door, you'll still have to dispose of a door, and you won't get your cost back anyway. Don't overthink the what-ifs, it'll be exactly what someone is looking for for their own reasons, not yours. It's still a good first car for a young-un, or a hooptie car for someone else.

[TodFitch]

No poll option for my preferred choice for a vehicle of that age and condition: Call up the vehicle donation number of your favorite charity and have them haul it off for a tax deduction.

[JerseyHarold]

I'm going with the leave as-is and throw in the door approach. I'll spend some time this weekend cleaning it up. Donation is not an option because there is no tax benefit for us and we can use the cash.

[roadworthy]

Out of curiosity, what are those Lumina's selling for around you? They go for about 1500-1800 all day here, and they'll run for 200,000 miles easy.

Include the door with the deal and be rid of the whole package.

[JerseyHarold]

Out of curiosity, what are those Lumina's selling for around you? They go for about 1500-1800 all day here, and they'll run for 200,000 miles easy.

Include the door with the deal and be rid of the whole package.

That's about what they go for around here, unless it's a low-mileage creampuff. Those will get up into the high $2K's. Even the pig-in-a-poke county auction cars can nudge $2000. and many of them are pretty beat.

[JerseyHarold]

While wandering a pick-n-pull for another part a couple of weeks ago, I stumbled upon (ta-da!) a green Lumina with a nice manual-window door. My kids and I installed it, and the car looks good again. We decided to keep it for a while longer, and maybe send it to college with our son if he moves off-campus in September.