To Sell or Not To Sell my 1999 Legacy Wagon

dankatz

I have a 1999 Legacy in fair condition. Paint is a little off, etc, but nothing major. Only issues are the right mirror is broken (attached by tape) and the right headlight is taped on but is still working. Has a small dent, too.

The car has 170k miles, but recently got new tires and had some necessary work done in the last few years. Over the five years I've owned it, it's been regularly serviced and well-maintained and only driven 40k miles, mostly around town.

Is it worth it to order the mirror online and take it to an auto-body shop and have them detail it and then try to sell it? Or should I sell it "as-is" or sell it for parts. I see "fair condition" on a few sites listing this car for $2,500-3,500. I was assuming I could ask $1,750 as-is b/c doing the repairs might not warrant the higher price. Do you think prospective buyers would be wary b/c of the mirror and other issues and that I should do the repairs to attract any sellers at all?

I need to sell this car by mid-July and don't have tons of time to dedicate towards this.

Your help is most appreciated!

Dan

ateixeira

Sell it as is, advertise it as the "perfect winter beater". That way buyers won't expect a perfect car.

debbsseattle

I would say sell it as is. In the Seattle area, there are tons of snowboarders and skiers that would love to pick up a little Subaru for thier college car for a couple grand. For those of us who can afford to give them up and get something else...170k is a good time to consider it. I have seen too many with blown head gaskets at that stage of the cars life. Car lots don't even want them because chances are it is more headaches than it is worth. Unless they are as perfect as perfect gets, they are wholesale rigs.

Incidentally, your market will increase infinitely in October if you live in or near a snowy winter weather region.