Fix-it Before Sell It ?

[orang37]

Hi,

I'd appreciate some "sales strategy" advice from you motorati and automobilissimi !

I have (in Chiang Mai) a 1988 Honda Accord (black, auto-transmission) which now (courtesy of an unknown dent-maker who did their mischief while the car was parked on a small soi) has a large dent in the right front fender. This large indentation goes in about five inches but does not intefere with the current mechanical operation of the car. The underlying white color under the black top-coat does show through : it looks ugly, in other words.

My guess is that it would be better to repair the fender before trying to sell. I have found a second hand replacement fender whose natural color is white for 1800 baht, but have no idea what's involved in trying to get that painted black to match the rest of the car.

I've visited several local repair shops and received estimates from 8k baht to 16k baht to repair the fender. I have not checked with the local Honda dealer under the assumption (perhaps wrong ?) that they would charge more than anyone else.

I bought the car in wonderful condition about two years ago for 150k baht (the farang owners had spent over 40k baht on a paint job and a complete re-doing of the interior before suddenly needing to go to China). I put a 10k baht Clarion cd-player/fm system into it.

Thank you for any thoughts or advice regarding the best strategy for selling the car at this time.

best, ~o:37;

[Fore Man]

Hi,

I'd appreciate some "sales strategy" advice from you motorati and automobilissimi !

I have (in Chiang Mai) a 1988 Honda Accord (black, auto-transmission) which now (courtesy of an unknown dent-maker who did their mischief while the car was parked on a small soi) has a large dent in the right front fender. This large indentation goes in about five inches but does not intefere with the current mechanical operation of the car. The underlying white color under the black top-coat does show through : it looks ugly, in other words.

My guess is that it would be better to repair the fender before trying to sell. I have found a second hand replacement fender whose natural color is white for 1800 baht, but have no idea what's involved in trying to get that painted black to match the rest of the car.

I've visited several local repair shops and received estimates from 8k baht to 16k baht to repair the fender. I have not checked with the local Honda dealer under the assumption (perhaps wrong ?) that they would charge more than anyone else.

I bought the car in wonderful condition about two years ago for 150k baht (the farang owners had spent over 40k baht on a paint job and a complete re-doing of the interior before suddenly needing to go to China). I put a 10k baht Clarion cd-player/fm system into it.

Thank you for any thoughts or advice regarding the best strategy for selling the car at this time.

best, ~o:37;

Sounds like you really can't expect to make much out of this older car, as the sale price would have to be quite low. After all, you only paid 150K for it. If you must extract every bit of value possible, then perhaps it would be prudent to get it fixed. Or try selling it as is, but be willing to drop your price to allow the new owner to have the repair done. A Thai can always get someting done here cheaper than we can...fact of life. The cosmetic appearance of a car is far more important if the overall value is a lot higher than you are dealing with in this situation....IMHO.

[kartman]

I think you are visiting the wrong repair shops 8/16k baht for repair?. 1/2 ltr paint all you need for bolt wing(fender) is about 350 baht okay double that if lacquered so somebody wants 15k+ for labour

over 10% of cost of vehicle!. I would ask about (at accessory shops?) to find a paint supplier to point you in the right direction or visit the local taxi rank their not going to pay over the top for repairs.

[Hssl]

Buy the 1800B second hand fender (bumper to us brits) and get a Thai to take it to the body shop - I guess about 1500-2000B of work to spray and fit

[Thanh-BKK]

Hi

Just a fender? get the replacement fender, go to Carrefour or Big C and get a couple of cans of black colour spray for 55 Baht each (if it's simple black, should it be metallic you can still get same at a specialized paint shop for maybe 100 Baht a can) as well as a sheet of 1,000 grain sand paper, position the fender on the ground in an area where the sun shines nicely, sand it lightly (wet the sand paper for better result) then wipe it clean, then "spray away". Two coats of black should be sufficient, takes 10 minutes each and an hour between for drying. After 2nd coat applied, let dry until next day and you're ready to fit the fender to the car.

I did a whole motorbike in under an hour, and was riding it again a couple of hours later (spray paint dries really fast when the sun shines)

Best regards.....

Thanh

Oh yeah, everyone says you should sand the

[Hssl]

No undercoat/primmer Thanh?

[Thanh-BKK]

Nope

Honest, i didn't even sand or even clean the thing - my first "paint job" was covering all parts not to be sprayed with newspaper then shoot flat black all over the whole bike and a couple of hours later rode off. Looked not bad for that "piece of art" xixixi.

I'm still riding that bike, although it's got it's second paint job now for which i actually took it apart

Best regards.....

Thanh