Repair or leave hanging the headliner

Maintenance/Repairs
1

Hello all,

I drive a 2006 Honda Civic. I recently ripped the headliner by accident and am considering getting it repaired. A close-by repair shop said that they could do it for $399. I am selling the car to CarMax in a couple of weeks and am wondering if the amount that I would pay to have the headliner replaced would be more than the lower price that CarMax would give me for the damaged headliner. Do you guys have any thoughts about this or similar experiences?

2

CarMax would have to fix the headliner to sell the car after buying it from you. They will knock off the cost of that repair from you trade-in offer and likely a bit more. That is how this works.

3

First impressions count when selling a car. You might want to talk to the used car manager at a dealership as to where he sends the used cars for this repair that he is going to put on the lot and not send to the auction house. You may be able to beat the $399 price. CarMax will obviously make a deduction for this defect.

4

Call around to different auto upholstery shops and get prices. Prices do vary shop to shop. First impressions matter especially when ascertaining the value of your car.

5

A ripped headliner will detract from the final offer of any potential buyer so fixing it would be a smart investment. Shop around a little and you may beat that price as @Triedaq has already alluded to.

6

I just did mine in my Dakota pickup and it worked out great.

If you have JOANNE FABRIC stores in your area, they have the material, in limited colors though.

Any auto parts store will have the spray glue and there are many u-tube videos on doing it.
Fabric $30
Glue $24 two cans

The only tools are a couple of screwdrivers and a wire brush.

Just take your time and follow their directions to the tee.

Yosemite

7

Yeah you can do it yourself for $100. I’ve done a couple and got my matching material from Atrim on line. If I were keeping the car, I guess I’d fix it but think I’d just take the hit on a trade in. The guy at the auto upholstery shop says he guarantees them to the nearest stop when he does them.