To Fix & Sell or Just Sell?

mid79

mid79

Youth Revisited
I need some help from the collective wisdom (& interest) of the group.

I have a 1979 X1/9 that I was putting back together/renovating/restoring. Life and some serious family changes happened and I need to let go of the X.

My question is in the title of this post - should I put it into running order and sell it or should I offer it in "as is" condition?

The car is currently in Colorado in my garage.

The bad:

* typical rust spots (the windshield surround, passenger door, and the rear portion of the RF wheel well are the major spots)
* engine needs a new head
* mice were in the interior and it now has that "barn find" ambiance
* targa top has rub spots from being transported
* dash has typical cracking

The good:

* Interior is in decent shape (despite the smell)
* glass is good
* factory steel wheels are in decent shape with good tires mounted
* radiator was boiled and painted by a reputable shop in Redmond, WA
* clean WA title in my name

If I put it together and sold it, I would simply get a different head, make it run, and offer it for sale as a running project.

If I sold it as is, it would go more cheaply and probably be more of a parts car.

Thoughts on which approach I should take?

Tom
 
There is too many unknown in your question. Any rush? Money problem? Storage problem? Just tired?

Usually, a non-running car will have to be really cheap to sell quickly. To get more money, you will need to puck it back on the street. But most of the time, fixing it required time and money. Do you have them?

Without pics, it's really hard to put a value on a car. A cheap car with a rusty body probably doesn't justify work to make it roadworthy since it won't have much more value. But a nice car could get much better price if running.

Good luck! There will always be the possibility of owning another one when the situation will be different. One day...
 
Sorry, had you confused with another member that moved from the North West to Colorado, taking a X project with him. What are the odds.

To address your question. Sometimes it is best to let things go as they are. You will likely get more for it if it runs, true. But you might also find it needs a lot more than you think to get it running, costing more than the difference in value. Especially with these vehicles, they are FULL of surprises (expensive surprises). If the decision is firm to get rid of it, then my opinion would be to start listing it as soon as possible. Do a little clean up, take good photos, and write a detailed description.
 
Thanks Daniel, those are good, thought provoking questions.

In this case, it's more of a "storage & tired, therefore some rush" than it is money. I appreciate the perspective and putting so clearly and suscinctly.

Whatever I decide, I will ensure there are many pics showing it's condition when I post it.

Daniel Forest said:
There is too many unknown in your question. Any rush? Money problem? Storage problem? Just tired?

Usually, a non-running car will have to be really cheap to sell quickly. To get more money, you will need to puck it back on the street. But most of the time, fixing it required time and money. Do you have them?

Without pics, it's really hard to put a value on a car. A cheap car with a rusty body probably doesn't justify work to make it roadworthy since it won't have much more value. But a nice car could get much better price if running.

Good luck! There will always be the possibility of owning another one when the situation will be different. One day...
Click to expand...
 
I think you answered the question in the original post. If life is keeping you from restoring this car then it's also going to keep you from getting it running or better presentation. You probably would not recoup your expenses anyway. Let it go as is and get on with your now serious life.
 
Cut your losses and let it go as-is. You will likely end up throwing good money after bad trying to get it running and then ultimately take a loss on the car anyway. Letting it go cheap as-is, you will lose money but save yourself many headaches. I've been in this exact situation and I can tell you from experience, it's better to just cut your losses.
 
I appreciate the responses and agree that the “let it go as is” would be the best approach in this instance.

Thanks again and keep an eye on the FS forum soon.
 
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