To Repair or not to Repiar

Maintenance/Repairs
1

I have a '98 Blazer and a ‘01 Escape that I am consider selling off in favor of getting another newer used vehicle. The concern is … to fix prior to selling or not to fix. (Or fix in part) And what can I expect to get back out of the rapir costs. I am not mechanically inclined so the repairs would be done at my favorite trusted shop. The Blazer has many minor issues but is otherwise mechanically well maintained at 164K miles and I know its full maintenance history from close family ownership. It had a new transmission installed at 75K miles new AC at 100K and a new fuel pump at 140K miles. The Blazer an alignment issue, (Changes lanes on its own within a 100 yrds if the steering is left un-touched. an ABS sensor issue that causes the brakes to rattle slightly when pressed, (On occasion but not all the time) the fan for the AC does not work, front speakers only The passenger window is not controllable via the driver window panel. As for the 01’ Escape it needs a battery and only one speaker works on the radio, 125K miles, the back window’s tint job is blurry but visible for vehicles… think far better than privacy glass but still blurry.
Mileage for each is comparable at 15-17 mpg.

I’m comfortable with the soundness of the engines for both. But do I get them fixed prior to selling or sell them as-is and take a lesser price for it? Will I get my money back out of the repair cost?

2

If you have to hire the work done, you will seldom recoup the investment. You’d probably be just as well off to sell them as is, and tell the buyer about the known issues.

3

I’m with MG on this. You’ll never add to the amount you can get for the vehicles what it’ll cost you to have them repaired. As a matter of fact both of these vehicles have reached an age where the repair costs will more than likely total more than the TOTAL value of the vehicle.

4

I would get the blazer so that it goes down the road straight at least. would you pay much for a car that pulled that bad?

and get a battery, you ll get more if the car starts right up

5

but that’s it, clean them up the best you can too

6

and I m a confirmed beater buyer

7

how much are you asking :slight_smile:

8

Thank you both for your comments, it is time to sell I believe…

9

Here is a good case study in how to get a junior grease monkey badge in very short order so you can brag (?) about it. You post four times in six minutes. You post partial sentences in each post. You treat Car Talk like twitter.

C’mon wes. We don’t mind helping out a fellow car guy, but some of this is ridiculous. We know you can do better.

10

I wouldn’t repair. Find a buyer who says, “I like to work on cars.” That way it’s clearly a win-win.

11

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