Feb 22, 2016 update: I've had a total change of heart on the car. The rust is getting professionally fixed this week by our Honda dealership's body shop, AND I'm ordering a new top for the car. AND keeping it, because my wife doesn't want me to sell it. (Obviously, she's a keeper, too!)


Hi guys,

First of all, please make no mistake: this is NOT a feeler thread for me selling my car! honest.

I've had this car since 2007. It's a fantastic NFR 2002 that I've loved, maybe too much at times, and I'm ready to move on. I'm hoping to get an Elise, like many members here have. The last few years I have gone down to putting only 2-3000 miles on the car every year, and I think if I want to jump into an "exotic" now is the time (ie, before kids, while I actually have some money).

I'm trying to figure out what should be fixed before selling, what might be readily overlooked, and how to maximize resale profit (and weigh the benefit of potential fixes before I sell it).

Here are the things I see as potential issues with a sale, at this point:

1. Worn out soft top. Since its an 02, it at least has the glass (thank god), but has worn small holes in the corners. I've sewn it up in the past, and could certainly do that again. I'm trying to weigh whether or not the $900 Robbins top would be a good move or not (Ie, would I recoup the full $900 of the part in the sale?) Projected cost to replace: $900

2. Light rust in rear fenders. Yes, this is a Pennsylvania (USA) car, and saw a few winters in its day. This is barely visible, and has not progressed in the last few years. I spoke with a friend that owns a body shop and he said $800-1000 to repair both sides. He advised me to wait in case I rolled my fenders, but I never did. Projected cost to fix: $1000

Other considerations:
- Car has 128,000 miles on it, paint in average shape for that mileage, rust notwithstanding. A few dings and dents, but no "stories."
- Car was backed into (2008), and rear bumper had to be replaced and painted, so there is a very slight color difference if you know to look for it.
- No major accidents, clean title
- Brand new OEM HID bulbs installed at 126,000 miles.
- Car has Koni's, Espelier lowering springs all around. I do not still have the original shocks and springs.
- Brand new Powerstop rotors and pads.
- Have second set of gloss black powder coated AP1 wheels (with snow tires)
- On original clutch, which still grabs just fine. I'm not overly hard on the car.
- AC works just fine
- Seats, interior all in above average shape.


Given all that, I think my car is probably worth right around 10-11k. I'm wondering if doing another almost $2k in service (new top and rust fix) will mean that I'll be able to outright ask for $12-13k. Am I in the ballpark, and would I be crazy to fix those problems before selling, or would I be crazy no to? Are those prices close, low, or high?

I appreciate your thoughts, guys. Thanks so much.
Bill





Below: Rust in the driver's side door sill. The car had bubbling when I bought it in 2007. No accident history on Carfax, so I don't know WTH this is about.


Close up of the rust in the fender. typical of both sides.

 

If you love the car, get her fixed up and find her a good home. Might be weird but I treat my cars well

 

I don't see you getting much money back out of those repairs, although I'd fix the rust regardless. Honestly, this is the first time I've ever seen the Honda cancer on s2k fenders. Yikes.

 

I don't find that weird at all. But I'm trying to take emotion out of this, since its transactional.

 

It's not pretty. Thanks to PennDOT for putting down copious salt, and me for driving it in the winter. :/

 

i cant really see how you're going to get 10K for the car in this condition,
buying my S2K about a month ago, this level of rust if more of the 4-6K cars, for 10K there are rust-free cars out there.
the NFR is a good color to start with, but that driver's side rust look nasty

 

i do not believe you will get your money back if you plan on fixing these issues and then selling the car but the car would sell a lot easier. Fix it if you plan to keep and enjoy the car.

 

Although it's been a while, I sold my AP1 almost 2 years ago (MY02 with 164k miles) for 10k.
My top was severely worn, and had a big tear that I had patched/filled.
My paint was in OK condition, although lots of rock chips
No major mods whatsoever - exhaust and intake.

I asked 11 and settled for 10.
My biggest benefit is that I wasn't in a rush to sell so I could wait until the right buyer came along and I wasn't going to go out of my way to fix anything.

The mods on the car wont net you any major value gain.
The issues your car has will affect the value of the car, but not significantly enough to warrant you spending large sums of money on fixing it.
You wont get the cost of the fixes back out of it, not by a long shot.

I'd clean up a little bit by hand. Do what you can to make it "better" but going overboard wont do you any favors for increased asking price.

 

I definitely don't see you getting 10-11k with rust like that and a worn soft top. I think you would get more like $7500-$8500. There is too many examples of rust free cars out there in that price range. Idk if you make money by doing the repairs but you most definitely would have a much easier time selling the car clean than in its current condition.

 

Thanks, this is exactly the type of input I was looking for. I can stitch up and fix the top, and probably make an attempt at the rust repairs too. The biggest benefit I have in this situation is that I'm not in a hurry (at all, really). And I think if I make an attempt to fix these issues "in house" I wont end up any worse off. Maybe in a worst-case scenario, I'll do the preliminary prep work for the rust, and take it to a paint shop for the localized re-spray.

Thanks for the input!