We have a 2006 Pacificia with 70,000 miles and are planning on trading it off in the next couple of months. Our question is we have some repairs that could be made and are trying to decide if is worth it. We need new tie rod ends and the windshield has a large crack in it. These may cost $500 or more? Any suggestions?
The salesman will tell you how much they will take off for repairs. This stuff is negotiable. Offer a thousand less than you normally would for their car and let them negotiate up from there. It won’t be worth it to fix it first. Let them worry about their profit.
Have you checked with your insurance company about the windshield? Often it’s covered with no deductible.
As for the other work, are you planning to trade it in or sell it privately? If you’re trading it in, I think the prevailing wisdom is that you won’t get your money back. If you’re selling it privately, you might.
The tie rod ends are unlikely to be noticed by the salesman and therefore are unlikely to affect trade-in value (unless one of them breaks while he is test-driving it). The cracked windshield will definitely be noticed and will cost you probably double what it will cost to fix it in trade-in value.