What is my car worth?
03-11-2015 | 04:37 PM
#1
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Joined: Jan 2015
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From: Dallas, Tx
What is my car worth?
So in November I bought a 11 coupe S in Texas.
I got a really good deal on it because there was an issue with the title. The title was labelled a "lemon" in California because the previous owner complained about the clutch 3 times. If you weren't aware, California has very consumer friendly lemon laws. Basically (from what I have heard) if you complain about the same issue 3 times and the dealer doesn't fix it, then the dealer will generally buy the car back.
Before I bought the car I had the car fax (only 1 previous owner, no wrecks) and called the original dealership in California and they gave me the full service record. The service record had nothing serious done to the car.
They replaced a window switch, changed the hydraulic fluid in the clutch and replaced the master cylinder in the clutch and the owner was still not happy with it.
Basically the previous owner didn't like the clutch and wanted out of the car.
Since I had the whole service record and because it still had a full infiniti warranty I didn't worry about buying a car labelled as a lemon.
So now I am trying to see how good of a deal I got. I might even sell the car if it is worth enough. The KBB value is around $26,500, but know that does not include the car being a lemon.
So what do you guys think my car is worth? Would you worry about the lemon part if you knew the history of the car?
Also the car is in near perfect condition.
I got a really good deal on it because there was an issue with the title. The title was labelled a "lemon" in California because the previous owner complained about the clutch 3 times. If you weren't aware, California has very consumer friendly lemon laws. Basically (from what I have heard) if you complain about the same issue 3 times and the dealer doesn't fix it, then the dealer will generally buy the car back.
Before I bought the car I had the car fax (only 1 previous owner, no wrecks) and called the original dealership in California and they gave me the full service record. The service record had nothing serious done to the car.
They replaced a window switch, changed the hydraulic fluid in the clutch and replaced the master cylinder in the clutch and the owner was still not happy with it.
Basically the previous owner didn't like the clutch and wanted out of the car.
Since I had the whole service record and because it still had a full infiniti warranty I didn't worry about buying a car labelled as a lemon.
So now I am trying to see how good of a deal I got. I might even sell the car if it is worth enough. The KBB value is around $26,500, but know that does not include the car being a lemon.
So what do you guys think my car is worth? Would you worry about the lemon part if you knew the history of the car?
Also the car is in near perfect condition.
03-11-2015 | 04:56 PM
#2
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Joined: May 2009
Posts: 38
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From: Potomac, Maryland
tough to say but i'd guess its at least a 10% hit. Seems to me the real damage is that you would have to work harder to get a shopper to stop and focus on your car.....there are many alternatives out there, the lemon designation just encourages someone to move on to the next car for sale.
03-11-2015 | 09:07 PM
#3
I bought a beautiful Blue Slate coupe from Carmax. It drove fine fr several days and then started bogging down off the line. No codes. No lights. Out of curiosity I got the owners manual pack out and perused it. I wasn't worried. Carmax has a 5 day warranty and a 5 day money back guaranty.Plus the factory warrante had a couple of years and 40,000 miles to go!
All the owners books were pristine (should have been, The car was a 2012). EXCEPT....the little book that explained the Lemon Law! It was dogeared!
The title was clear and did not show a manufacturer buyback. So it wasn't a lemon.
But I strongly suspect the first owner thought it was!
That was enough for me.
I took the car back and got my money back.
I bought my current car from them. 2013 G37 couple w/15K....with no problems.....
I won't go near a car that is a lemon. It normally means that nobody, including the zone manager could fix that car.
How much does it affect the price?
To people like me it takes the value to zero.
That's right, zero. You couldn't sell it to me. My time is worth too much.
I sincerely hope you have good luck with the car and I hope you got a great deal. That title is supposed to be with the car forever.
All the owners books were pristine (should have been, The car was a 2012). EXCEPT....the little book that explained the Lemon Law! It was dogeared!
The title was clear and did not show a manufacturer buyback. So it wasn't a lemon.
But I strongly suspect the first owner thought it was!
That was enough for me.
I took the car back and got my money back.
I bought my current car from them. 2013 G37 couple w/15K....with no problems.....
I won't go near a car that is a lemon. It normally means that nobody, including the zone manager could fix that car.
How much does it affect the price?
To people like me it takes the value to zero.
That's right, zero. You couldn't sell it to me. My time is worth too much.
I sincerely hope you have good luck with the car and I hope you got a great deal. That title is supposed to be with the car forever.
I think we can all agree it takes the right person to buy a car that has been deemed a lemon, but there are plenty of people who would be willing to buy the car for a discount. We don't need to insult the OP and tell him his car is worthless, when it clearly isn't.
03-12-2015 | 09:40 AM
#5
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Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 197
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From: Dallas, Tx
This post comes off as pretty egotistical... The car's value isn't "0"...
I think we can all agree it takes the right person to buy a car that has been deemed a lemon, but there are plenty of people who would be willing to buy the car for a discount. We don't need to insult the OP and tell him his car is worthless, when it clearly isn't.
I think we can all agree it takes the right person to buy a car that has been deemed a lemon, but there are plenty of people who would be willing to buy the car for a discount. We don't need to insult the OP and tell him his car is worthless, when it clearly isn't.
03-12-2015 | 10:03 AM
#6
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Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 146
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From: chi-town
03-12-2015 | 10:21 AM
#7
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Joined: Jul 2014
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In 2006 I bought a brand new hail damaged Ford Fusion with 32 miles on it. My credit union loaned 70% of NADA and allowed either 30 or 36 months to repay, nothing more. I've always thought if I were to go to sell it I should determine the current book and subtraction 30% as a concession.
There are financial benefits to owning a vehicle with a branded title that need to be enjoyed over the long term in order to fully appreciate. A branded title is just that. My Fusion unfortunately is worth the same as one that ran into a truck, rolled down hill and caught fire. Likewise, your minor clutch problems (which could very well be somebody with financial issues taking advantage of CA law) makes your G worth no more/no less than one that had to have every inch of wiring replaced 3X, had to be repainted 3X, or had to have 3 different motors installed.
With that, if KBB is $26,500, a 30% discount would be $7950, so $18,550 to your very limited market. Knowing the story is more of a novelty than negotiating/pricing point IMO. Like a really hot chick with 6 kids. She still has 6 kids.
Ebay Motors has a filter for Title Type. You could look at SOLD listings with a mfg buy-back title and compare to SOLD listings of an identical vehicle with a clear title to see if a magical number such as 30% holds true.
There are financial benefits to owning a vehicle with a branded title that need to be enjoyed over the long term in order to fully appreciate. A branded title is just that. My Fusion unfortunately is worth the same as one that ran into a truck, rolled down hill and caught fire. Likewise, your minor clutch problems (which could very well be somebody with financial issues taking advantage of CA law) makes your G worth no more/no less than one that had to have every inch of wiring replaced 3X, had to be repainted 3X, or had to have 3 different motors installed.
With that, if KBB is $26,500, a 30% discount would be $7950, so $18,550 to your very limited market. Knowing the story is more of a novelty than negotiating/pricing point IMO. Like a really hot chick with 6 kids. She still has 6 kids.
Ebay Motors has a filter for Title Type. You could look at SOLD listings with a mfg buy-back title and compare to SOLD listings of an identical vehicle with a clear title to see if a magical number such as 30% holds true.
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03-12-2015 | 11:15 AM
#8
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Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 197
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From: Dallas, Tx
In 2006 I bought a brand new hail damaged Ford Fusion with 32 miles on it. My credit union loaned 70% of NADA and allowed either 30 or 36 months to repay, nothing more. I've always thought if I were to go to sell it I should determine the current book and subtraction 30% as a concession.
There are financial benefits to owning a vehicle with a branded title that need to be enjoyed over the long term in order to fully appreciate. A branded title is just that. My Fusion unfortunately is worth the same as one that ran into a truck, rolled down hill and caught fire. Likewise, your minor clutch problems (which could very well be somebody with financial issues taking advantage of CA law) makes your G worth no more/no less than one that had to have every inch of wiring replaced 3X, had to be repainted 3X, or had to have 3 different motors installed.
With that, if KBB is $26,500, a 30% discount would be $7950, so $18,550 to your very limited market. Knowing the story is more of a novelty than negotiating/pricing point IMO. Like a really hot chick with 6 kids. She still has 6 kids.
Ebay Motors has a filter for Title Type. You could look at SOLD listings with a mfg buy-back title and compare to SOLD listings of an identical vehicle with a clear title to see if a magical number such as 30% holds true.
There are financial benefits to owning a vehicle with a branded title that need to be enjoyed over the long term in order to fully appreciate. A branded title is just that. My Fusion unfortunately is worth the same as one that ran into a truck, rolled down hill and caught fire. Likewise, your minor clutch problems (which could very well be somebody with financial issues taking advantage of CA law) makes your G worth no more/no less than one that had to have every inch of wiring replaced 3X, had to be repainted 3X, or had to have 3 different motors installed.
With that, if KBB is $26,500, a 30% discount would be $7950, so $18,550 to your very limited market. Knowing the story is more of a novelty than negotiating/pricing point IMO. Like a really hot chick with 6 kids. She still has 6 kids.
Ebay Motors has a filter for Title Type. You could look at SOLD listings with a mfg buy-back title and compare to SOLD listings of an identical vehicle with a clear title to see if a magical number such as 30% holds true.
I looked and there is only a 2008 with 80k miles on ebay right now, so hard to directly compare.
Is there a way to search ended/closed auctions to get some history?
03-12-2015 | 02:20 PM
#9
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Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 332
Likes: 77
$9600 via item 121572506240 on 2/23
$8700 via item 121581521821 on 3/5
$7250 via item 141595882005 on 3/9
Far left of your ebay screen should be a "SHOW ONLY" and select SOLD LISTINGS. You can also look at "COMPLETED LISTING" to see items that didn't sell because reserves weren't met, just to gauge bid amounts.
03-12-2015 | 04:32 PM
#10
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 421
Likes: 29
From: West Hills, CA
That 2008 with 80k miles has "sold" with the reserve met three times:
Far left of your ebay screen should be a "SHOW ONLY" and select SOLD LISTINGS. You can also look at "COMPLETED LISTING" to see items that didn't sell because reserves weren't met, just to gauge bid amounts.
Far left of your ebay screen should be a "SHOW ONLY" and select SOLD LISTINGS. You can also look at "COMPLETED LISTING" to see items that didn't sell because reserves weren't met, just to gauge bid amounts.
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