Should i repair scratches and minor dents before selling?

CtrlSource

i am planning to sell my 2001 Merc Vito passenger van. The thing is though, it has several visible scrapes on it and two dents on the back doors.

i know i could probably spend a grand on it to touch up all the scrapes, sand and spray the front bumper and have some minor panel beating done on the back doors.

Question: if i shell out for this, will i get a return in the current used car market?

i reckon that it will make a difficult sell a little easier, as potential buyers or car salesmen will have less to quibble about when negotiating a price, but will it actually improve the sale price (which i reckon is probably between 5 - 8k)?

dade

could you not push the panels out yourself or are they that bad? same with the paint could you get one of those touch up kits and DIY it?

Run_to_da_hills

Unless you get them touched up professionally you could make a bol**&ix of the job and depreciate the value of your car even more.

CtrlSource

i could probably push out one of the dents a bit, but i'd say it wouldn't be a great job. Neither of them are too bad so i might just leave them and concentrate on the paintwork.

The scratches are bad enough in 2 places that would need professionals to do a proper job

mondeo

I love DIY'ing stuff like this, usually they turn out pretty good if you follow a guide or somthing. I would not spend too much on repairs on it. It's 7 years old....

Run_to_da_hills

If you intend doing DIY touch up, J&S factors in Dunlaoghaire can match up any colour and put it in a spray can for about e12.

-Chris-

Depends on the age/mileage/value...

If it's recent, then for God's sake don't DIY it. If it's only worth a few grand then you could give it a go.

In the current market I'd say it's easier to sell a bargain that needs a bit of love than a top-dollar car that's just had a load of repairs done to it.

CtrlSource

Thanks all.

The more i think about it, the less i think i'll spend on it. Maybe i'll just spend a few hundred on getting the main scrapes / scuffs sorted and leave the little dents on the back doors. Probably will spend 300 - 400 max, the idea being that i might get 500 more for the car if the paint looks in good nick.

Have had bad experiences in the past with previous cars and DIY touch up jobs! Don't think i'll be doing any on this one ;:pac:

biko

As long as the car is clean inside and out I think you can get away with that (would be better if we had pics) or you could get a beater to have a go and fix the scratches yourself.

sionnach

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

Unless you get them touched up professionally you could make a bol**&ix of the job and depreciate the value of your car even more.

Agreed. See episode 2 season 2 of "Father Ted" for an example of easily you can ruin a car like this.

CtrlSource

Well as i was saying, had bad experience with DIY touch up jobs in the past. Wouldn't want to risk it again