Would love opinions on a topic. Classic Honda related. My dad has got a '96 red del Sol (which I used to own). It's quite old and he's discovered it has a leaking rear brake line fitting that he figures he won't be able to repair.

What do you guys think are the ethics around selling this car the right way. That brake line needs to be job 1 for anyone intending to drive the car, and we both agree he shouldn't sell it with a standard listing. Even if the buyer says they'll fix it, it's unclear if they'll have the knowledge/ability/parts/money to actually do what they say (as my dad says, their enthusiasm may be greater than their ability.). The car really needs to go to someone who knows what they're doing. You can't just buy this car and drive it safely, it'll work, temporarily, but the leak isn't going to fix itself.

I've been trying to get him to list it on Bring A Trailer, where any and all mechanical problems are disclosed and expected. The name of that site kinda says it all with respect to caveat emptor, right? (They sell many nice cars too). But he's stuck on the fact that BaT charges a listing fee.

Just junking the car will cost him several thousand plus a waste of a del Sol. The car is 1990s rusty underneath (NH car, before I bought it). But the engine is in top shape. It has always run perfectly without anything but normal maintenance, about 100k miles. D-series for the reliability win :)

 

Bring A Trailer is for low mileage or time capsule performance car from the 80's+. Not the place to sell damaged and rotted out cars from the rust belt.


Fix the car yourself and sell it for what you can locally. But that sure isn't BAT quality. In fact they won't even accept such nonsense from the start. Cars do have to qualify to be sold there. And they don't list wrecked, broken, or rotted out vehicle on their website.

"figures he can't repair"...


Maybe he should just go get it checked out by a professional. Another thing. It costs money to sell your car anywhere important. Even craigslist now charges to sell vehicles so you can't be so cheap these days if you really want to sell something from the start. Unless you want to go old school and park it in front of your house with a for sale sign on it.


Doesn't want to fix the car... doesn't want to pay listing fees... wants top dollar for their broken car...I clearly see the trend now. Oh and one more thing it's always free to junk or donate your old cars. Or possibly even getting paid for your vehicle depending on the yard. It's not thousands of dollars out of the owners pocket like you are claiming. That is just silly.

 

I appreciate the feedback on the topic. The thousands of dollars is opportunity cost. There hasn't been a del Sol sold on BaT under $5k in the last 5 years. And I've made all those suggestions already; if it were ME I would simply let a shop fabricate a new brake line, yea?

My understanding is not dissimilar on BaT either. Bring a Trailer may have started, as the name implies, for nonrunning cars. But as far as I see, it's gone substantially upmarket (and it is annoying I haven't been able to find their listing qualifications). I could be wrong but I suspect it saw Cars and Bids pip them for listing interesting quality stuff and smacked themselves for not thinking it thru earlier. Nonetheless, they haven't tottttaly stopped offering cars with problems....see below

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1988-porsche-944-turbo-54/
"There is corrosion on the left rocker panel in front of the rear tire"
"The seller notes an oil leak from the oil cooler supply hose."
"The right-side parking brake is not working." [This is AFTER the seller says parking brake components were replaced]
"There are cracks on the dashboard, tears in the front seats, and cruise control does not work"
"The airbag warning light is illuminated"

My del Sol is not in worse shape than this :D

 

buddy, your tone does not have to be so harsh all the time. selling a car in today’s day and age stinks!

To be honest, as is I doubt your dad will get more than $1500. I also wouldn’t want to pay a fee. On Facebook marketplace it will attract an extremely flaky customer base, but MIGHT sell. That said, no one will read the ad and will want to test drive the car, despite its broken status. I would probably try to find a local Honda facebook group to post it there.

The classic for sale sign in the driveway honestly isn’t a bad idea.

 

Honesty is harsh sometimes. Get over it.

You really aren't going to get any decent price for it unless you actually fix the car. And really swapping out a single brake line really isn't that difficult. Especially to get maximum dollar out of your investment. I would just fix the car and then sell it.

 

needs fuel tank dropped and so far haven't been able to find the parts for sale ;)
fixing it would be the best option imho.

 

I agree. Sell it As-is, unless you plan on driving it.