Advice on selling car

[gregk24]

Many of you likely saw our Jetta was recently hit by our neighbor and has been in the body shop for nearly a month. Tomorrow I hope to pick it up. Having said that, we bought this car with the intent of keeping it for 10 years and the thought of a repaint so early on gives me pause when considering long term ownership. The damaged area was relatively small, but the entire quarter panel had to be repainted. In addition to that the rear door, rocker panel and rear bumper had to be blended. I can't help but wonder why as the car is brand new = no paint fade.

Anyway we have all seen repaints that are noticeable, especially in the sun. This would drive us crazy. Not to mention long term ownership where the original paint and repaint will likely fade differently over the years.

So, I did an online CarMax offer and they offered $19,600, which is nearly $2000 more than we paid for it back in December. The thought is to sell and get into a new one. The problem is, inventory is low and dealers don't want to budge on price. I am seeing them listed new at $21,399. The most I have heard a dealer backing off was $500 off asking. That may change in person, I don't know.

What do you all think?

 

[Greggy_D]

You can get into a new one for less than $2000 difference? Do it.

Your OCD will drive you nuts otherwise.

 

[jagdriver727]

Sell the car ASAP and buy a comparable new one. Only way you’ll be happy even if it does cost a couple grand. I understand the sentiment and I’d probably do the same thing.

As a matter of fact, I traded a six month old F-250 in 2012 after a break-in resulted in the driver’s door being replaced. Paint looked good then but who knows what it’ll be in 5 years.

 

[fsdork]

You can get into a new one for less than $2000 difference? Do it.

Your OCD will drive you nuts otherwise.

Is it worth the ~$2K (assuming that is truly the final bill after taxes/fees/etc) to not have to worry about it? I get the feeling it is.

The counter argument is that the universe could bring you another person who will hit your car a month from now. Statistically that's probably not likely, but bad things happen to cars even if you take every reasonable precaution.

 

[slo town]

Given the numbers you quote, sell it and buy a new something else. Assuming the $2K difference doesn’t take food off your table.

Scott

 

[Nick1994]

You got a 2020 Jetta for $17,600 OTD? You've got to factor in taxes, doc fees, registration etc.

You have to blend the paint, because your car was painted with robots in a factory, and they're using a 3rd party paint supplier that is as close as they can get it. Blending helps so you don't notice.

 

[daves87rs]

I want to say yes, but me fear is that it won’t be as cheap as it sounds….

 

[CharlesInCharge]

Boiling it down.

You've got a damaged car which in normal markets would be depreciated additionally, probably ~10% or so. But in this odd market, you're being offered 10% more than you paid for it 9 months ago. So, you're "UP" say 20% having used it for 1/2 a year.

The transaction costs involved, any taxes, fees, registration, etc. cannot be ignored. Let's say it's 10% total, on a new car. So you'll basically be trading a used damaged car for a new car, and with the additional $2k cost it's a wash.

New car gets you a warranty, and higher premiums and fees. Probably a wash, maybe slight advantage to the warranty values. But there's a huge depreciation hit with a new car, like 20% (I wonder if you could buy the new car, turn around and sell it for MORE than you paid. lol).

I think the financial reasons suggest doing the sale and upgrade. But not huge money either. You'd probably be ahead of the car-game by a few years and a few grand in overall value with the sale and purchase.

I think it boils down to what you want to do, versus any huge economic incentives.

 

[Wolf359]

So you have a 2020 model and now looking at 2021 models? I think the 2022 models probably come out in another month or so. Sounds like it's worth 2k to jump up 2 years on a model.

 

[Skippy722]

In addition to that the rear door, rocker panel and rear bumper had to be blended. I can't help but wonder why as the car is brand new = no paint fade.

Metallic paint has to be blended regardless of age.

I know that you knowing a portion of the car has been repainted will drive you nuts, so I vote go for it. Sometimes our own mental sanity is worth any potential cost.

 

[gregk24]

Thanks for the feedback everybody. As long as I can still pick the car up today I plan on going by Car Max on the way home. I may walk out of there with a check. I'll keep you all updated.

 

[DuckRyder]

Its going to bother you no matter how perfect it is. So if you can do the $2000.00 do it.

Heritage was showing a blue 21 s model a week ago, maybe there are others out there...

Find %VEHICLE_SEARCH_PAGE_KEYWORDS_CAP_FIRST_LETTER% Vehicles for Sale South of Atlanta at Heritage VW

Search Heritage's inventory of %VEHICLE_SEARCH_PAGE_KEYWORDS_CAP_FIRST_LETTER% vehicles for sale in Metro Atlanta. Shop us first for great customer service and low prices.

www.atlantavolkswagen.com

 

[JoelB]

I would suggest finding more important things to worry about in your life. All vehicles are imperfect.

 

[RooflessVW]

1. Cut it loose.
2. Buy a GLI.

 

[SatinSilver]

So you have a 2020 model and now looking at 2021 models? I think the 2022 models probably come out in another month or so. Sounds like it's worth 2k to jump up 2 years on a model.

He traded in a ‘19 Jetta that had a lot less damage than the current one. The ‘19 had a paint blemish on the roof. There’s a thread about it on here.

 

[alarmguy]

You have to get rid of the car. No matter what anyone says, you WILL see the difference in paint at some point and it WILL only get worse.
Another GREAT source for car quotes is Carvana. I have known a number of people who used them and most times always beat CarMax.

Im just unsure if they will take a vehicle that has been in an accident. Most likely not but only takes seconds for an online quote.

 

[Wrenchturner44]

I second what everyone else has said previously about selling it. I also second what Alarm Guy posted.

Another thought and consideration is to pick up something used and reliable off of Craigslist as a temporary driver, for 6 months until new car inventories get back to normal.

2015 Volkswagen VW Jetta S - cars & trucks - by dealer - vehicle...

2015 Volkswagen VW Jetta S - Blue *** $585 Down .. $298 Per Month ***** ***** FINANCING AVAILABLE FOR EVERYONE ******** Financing for bad credit-OK, Mileage: 87,000 Miles Stock #: 201981 Exterior:...

miami.craigslist.org

Heck depending on what you buy and what price you pay you may still make money on it in 6 mos. Why? Because new car prices are going to come down before used car prices will. Supply and demand will dictate this. Used car market is most finite, with the fleet of used car numbers steady to declining. The new car market however will be steadily increasing as new car productions and inventory return to normal levels.

This theory was proved correct during the "cash for clunkers" time frame and the factors in play now are the same with some exceptions on new car inventories and lack of needed incentives.

 

[zzyzzx]

I have a fairly new vehicle get hit (pushed me into another vehicle) which damaged the front and back end. It was in the shop for a month and yeah there was stuff that was never the same. I still kept the car for more then 20 years after the accident and it was obvious.

 

[dbias]

If peace of mind is only 2k. Be at peace.

 

[iahawk]

a couple of thoughts here...rather than live with the stress and fear of damage to a new car why not get something a few years old with existing scrapes and nicks? Already 'broken in', no worries!

Second - I had a 6 month old Outback get blasted with hail damage..not enough to total it but body panel replacement and 3/4 repaint. I was crushed. I thought it would fade into a mess. 12+ years later it looked as good as the day I brought it home..(garaged all its life)..The hail and repaint had zero affect on the resale value at that time. I was worried over nothing.