Tuscan selling question

[stlol]

I have my 2000 Tuscan which I am planning to sell soon, it smokes a little upon start-up so will need a rebuild.
If you were in the market to buy, would you buy one with a fresh re build or purchase cheaper then arrange the re build, I think the net selling price would be the same for both??? So is it really worth doing.

[andrewcliffe]

If there was work I had to do I would expect the cars purchase price to be reduced by more than the cost of doing the work - for the inconvenience....

[Englishman]

Also depends on the condition of the rest of the car. Chassis, interior and paint in particular as these are other possible areas of major expenditure in addition to the engine.

The point being, if the car is going to be worth, say £20K, with an engine rebuild it probably isn't worth getting it done (to the seller), when he could sell it for £15K as is. But if it is going to be worth £30K fully sorted, it probably is.

Edited by Englishman on Friday 27th September 09:49

[bobfather]

If I were the potential buyer then I would rather that the rebuild be done by the seller. When you're buying you're often stretching your short term finances so I would worry that a car that is unknown to me could have hidden problems that would come to light during the rebuild. Peace of mind that a knowledgeable engineer had recently carried out major work would help a buyer to feel confident that the car has no hidden issues

[Andy665]

I am in the process of buying a Mk1 Tuscan that will be having a rebuild as soon as I take ownership. I discussed with seller and cost is the same either way ( him getting it done or me), spoke to the specialist but prefer to have control over it myself

If it were me - advertise it as needing a rebuild but state willing it have done at your cost prior to sale completion at coat price - gives potential buyers the choice then

[Griffithy]

The problem is you don´t know how much the costs for the rebuild turn out finally.
Could be 7k (most unlikely) or also 15k.

Maybe its better trying to sell it cheaper at first and see what happens.

[Zippee]

Griffithy said:

The problem is you don´t know how much the costs for the rebuild turn out finally.
Could be 7k (most unlikely) or also 15k.

Maybe its better trying to sell it cheaper at first and see what happens.

This, albeit I went for 4.3 the actual cost ended up about 3k over the actual rebuild cost due to other worn items.

[ray von]

I would get the rebuild done myself. What if the person skimps on things? What if the current owner gets told that the clutch is on the way out, but just says leave it I'm selling it anyway won't be my problem, so you could end up with a surprise bill anyway.
You could also get your spec and any extras ceramic coated manifolds etc

[Classic Chim]

Conversely you could be buying extra problems your unaware of, I’d encourage the owner to get a rebuild so he takes responsibility for any unforeseen issues during the build.
If this is done by a reputable Tvr service centre I’d not expect them to allow a car out the door with an impending clutch problem but then I’m maybe to trusting.

It’s not like a Tvr centre to not pick up on issues. It’s a very simple car to them. .

[Byker28i]

Why does it smoke a little, just worn valve guides or worse? If it's just head work it might be worth getting it done and add that to the list of receipts to show the new buyer/selling point?

[ray von]

Classic Chim said:

Conversely you could be buying extra problems your unaware of, I’d encourage the owner to get a rebuild so he takes responsibility for any unforeseen issues during the build.
If this is done by a reputable Tvr service centre I’d not expect them to allow a car out the door with an impending clutch problem but then I’m maybe to trusting.

It’s not like a Tvr centre to not pick up on issues. It’s a very simple car to them. .

Each to their own. However if it was a paint job then I'd definitely want the current owner to sort that out

[Ian350]

I've sold a couple of cars with major work needed for good prices (being really honest in the advert of course). There do seem to be people around who are attracted by the relatively low price of the vehicle and they seem to enjoy getting the vehicle sorted themselves.

I once sold a Daihatsu with a blown head gasket to a chap who had a spare Daihatsu engine!

[Byker28i]

I think if the seller was honest wih the issues, the price was right, then I wouldn't be put off buying a car that needed sorting. I'd rather do it so I knew exactly what had been done to my standards...

[dvs_dave]

Byker28i said:

Why does it smoke a little, just worn valve guides or worse? If it's just head work it might be worth getting it done and add that to the list of receipts to show the new buyer/selling point?

Classic worn valve guides symptoms. I’d want to know how much oil it was burning as if it’s drinking it, then significant amounts of oil are getting sucked into the combustion chambers each time and can cause detonation. Oil does a good job of reversing the octane rating of the fuel where it matters. This is what happened to mine. Was drinking oil through the valve guides and all pistons had to be replaced at rebuild time as they were pitted from detonation damage.

[Sevenman]

For interesting cars, I have typically found it better to sell before before work is done, rather than after. Would be different for a 3 year old Mondeo.

E.g. an £11k rebuild might add £7k to the price. Take a good look through the classifieds and see if that holds.

And allows the seller to do things how they would want, with extra assurance.

[scottydoesntknow]

I sold my old rather scruffy Tuscan via the PH classifieds. Was completely honest about it needing some love and priced it accordingly. Phone rang off the hook with several offers without even viewing. I got what I thought it was worth and hopefully the dealer who bought it earned a few quid too. All very hassle free.

[stlol]

Thanks for all the input / opinions.
I’m quite sure it is just valve guides but to do that you have to pull the engine out anyway, so I don’t see why you’d just do the head.
I think I’ll try to sell with a sensible asking price, making it clear about the engine.

[Jon Brown]

I would sell needing the work done, gives the option for someone to buy the car and save up to sort the rebuild.

Get more interest with a car at a lower price too

[stlol]

I suppose there’s also the chance that you may get someone who is capable of re building it themselves, so the cost of parts plus time and effort saves a fair amount, only negative to that is selling on as buyers would look for a reputable rebuild from Powers etc.

[Penelope Stopit]

Plenty of people buy special vehicles like yours and then get stuck into engine rebuilding or modifications even when they are working well