Selling a banger with a clean conscience

I'd just scrap it and get something else but I don't like screwing people over.

Bang it on ebay and be completely honest. Someone will buy it and your conscience will be clean. I sold a Mazda 3 that I knew the head gasket was about to go. Advertised it as such. Sold it in about an hour

Have you asked how much a new rear subframe is? I just had a local garage replace the front subframe on my 18 year old Octavia after it failed its MOT due to corrosion. It cost 300 quid, so no biggee. I'd assumed it'd be WAY more than that, but was pretty pleased to get it done for that price

Just give an honest description and stick it on eBay.....it'll still likely sell for a reasonable amount. I sold my Qashqai with 190k on the clock last year, it was a genuine death trap and described in exactly those terms, advertised as a 'part runner'. Could've sold it ten times within a day or two. Bloke that bought it was exporting it to Poland, which was very much his ethical dilemma not mine.

As above, advertise but be honest so there is no come back, sold my Focus recently with clutch gone, admitted that, said it would need trailering away, said there is a dent on wing etc, and placed it up for what i was offered scrap + £200, got a reply on Facebook marketplace within an hour and a local garage picking it up no questions asked no haggling. 

Caveat emptor.

If it's any consolation a mate of mine bought a Jag for a significant sum recently and an injector has let go. Apparently notorious for being hard to resolve, and if it doesn't come out it's an engine drop to be drilled out. I wouldn't expect that on a car that cost over 20 grand with pretty low mileage. Your 120k runabout would warrant thorough inspection. If people don't do that that's the risk they take on what is already a very used vehicle.

Stick with your gut. Selling it without mentioning that would be a proper dick move imv. It would be compounded by the fact that most people in the market for older high mileage vehicles, probably aren't in the best place financially.  Discovering that the car they forked out for to take them to work, kids to school etc. won't, without spending a shitload more money could really spoil someone's Christmas.  Your instinct is correct, ignore your wife.

Did you get a price for repair?

Just been helping my ex keep her car on the road and it's getting welded up for about £150 to deal with corroded subframe. Even with replacement bits, you might be able to get it safely repaired for less than you think.

120k is not really high mileage these days.

As per blokeuptheroad. We got just over £200 scrap for our old zafira that still had MOT on it and guilt free.

Thanks folks. My argument that we're still better off than if we'd punted it with a clear conscience a year ago is falling on deaf ears so I'll just do my time in the dog house and advertise it honestly 🙄

Hang on, it still has 6 months MOT....you'll be after more than 200 quid scrap. For context the Qashqai I mentioned above sold for £700 iirc. Maybe it was 2021 when I sold it thinking about it.

Yeah lazy math on my part, 4 months on MOT.

"Family SUV, 120,000 miles, 4 months MOT, minor damage to rear bumper, mechanic has advised heavy corrosion to rear subframe"?

Thankfully it's a brand with an otherwise good rep for reliability etc. (am avoiding specifics in the extremely unlikely event it prejudices a sale via Google 😂)

Honesty.  

At that end of the market the "price of a new wheelset" that the person will pay for it is likely a very large sum of money to them and may be the difference between working and functioning as a family/household and not.  

Surely it's recorded as an advisory on the mot.

Just advertise it as normal and let folk view it. Sell it for the right price and no one will moan. You'll sell it for 500 and some unscrupulous btard will try for 1500 quid flip.

I'd google the hell out of cashcow rear subframe corrosion and see what the bobby more is. Then id speak to a local garage about potential repair work and what the price will be
If the car is otherwise ok then 120k is nothing imo.
At the end of the day if you are feeling really conflicted you can always chuck it in for an MOT and see how it plays out. FWIW I had a breakdown in Kent and the AA man came out from under the rear with a white face. 'I've never seen corrosion like that he gasped'....it was a scottish car
Car went on for 3 more years, no MOT problems

Also what trailrat said - it must be an advisory already no?

If it's the vehicle I think it is - one doesn't simply replace the rear subframe.

VW Audi group then with corroded subframes. Common.

I sold my old Peugeot Boxer for spares due to a welding issue, and the guy who bought it did so on the grounds that he was going to try the repair himself or scrap it. It went for exactly what I was asking.

I would rather under-sell my vehicle and learn later that it was in better shape than I thought, than to sell it as something it isn't and live with myself for sticking some poor person with a machine that is falling apart.

Part exchange it at a dealer?

@13thfloormonk I'm the same, I can't in all good conscience sell something on knowing there's an issue with it.
I'd most likely list your car on eBay but with full disclosure, some one will buy it.

In 6 months time get it motd. Get a quote for repairs and decide at that point whether to move it on or not. If it failed, the reason will be clear and only someone who knows what they're doing will pick up an mot fail

Also what trailrat said – it must be an advisory already no

Hasn't been MOT'd yet, was just a service to get knocking front suspension sorted.

If it’s the vehicle I think it is – one doesn’t simply replace the rear subframe.

😂

“price of a new wheelset”

Between the doghouse and the price of a new car, guess what I WON'T be getting for my trip to the Pyrenees next year 🙄

i would have thought that if the corrosion was so bad it will possibly fail the next MOT in 6 mths time, it would have been sufficiently advanced at the previous MOT that it would get mentioned as an advisory?

Good point actually, will need to check. We've been told about the corrosion more than once in the last couple of years, today was just the first time someone had put a timeframe-to-possible-failure on it 😬

Need to dig out the last MOT certificate. Doesn't really change much of the above though, would still want to mention it specifically.

As an aside, was surprised how authoritative and reasonable responses on STW sound when you actually read them out to someone, wife was actually listening! 😂

If it wont pass an MOT its not safe to be on the road. Are you happy to drive your family around in an unsafe vehicle? Having been advised its unsafe, would your insurers cover you in the event of an accident?

Perhaps even more pressing questions to consider than possibly putting someone else in that situation.

As an aside, was surprised how authoritative and reasonable responses on STW sound when you actually read them out to someone, wife was actually listening! 😂

I hope you've got a big dog house then as we might all be in there with you 😀

I've sold a couple of more or less non-runners on facebook marketplace with very honest listings. Both times they've sold quickly - mechanics took them for spares/projects.

I couldn't sell that without full disclosure, and if the Mrs got the hump with me about it to be honest I would lose respect for her. I can never understand how supposedly honest people will think its perfectly acceptable to knowingly fob someone off with a dud car.

As an aside, was surprised how authoritative and reasonable responses on STW sound when you actually read them out to someone, wife was actually listening!

Well, there are plenty of threads for you to read to her to destroy that myth! I started one last night in fact. Lol

As an aside, id sell it with absolutely full disclosure for spares/repair. It saddens me that the mechanic said to do otherwise.

Wife now furious with me because morally that just seems really dubious and I don’t want to do it.

As an aside OP, are you married to a Tory MP?

if the Mrs got the hump with me about it to be honest I would lose respect for her.

She's had a very Daily Mail/Tory upbringing but she generally comes round. In fairness she isn't out to screw others, she just thinks I'm being a mug or looking out for others first at the expense of our family etc. etc.

All is well in the Monk household now with STW's outside perspective (and a half bottle of wine each 😎).

Are you happy to drive your family around in an unsafe vehicle?

No, I've been defending the car long enough, even through the faulty fuel rail sensor locking the steering out episode, but we're replacing it now regardless of how much we sell it for.

We've sold 2 cars thst were scrappers as far we were concerned.

Advertised fully and honestly, told / pointed out things when they came to collect.

One was a smoking (and after months parked up, a non-runner) Smart Car. Guy was fine , he got it towed and was going to do it as a 'project 'car (most of car was fine but worn pistons and rings and bores on the tiny turbocharged engine made it non-economic for us to repair but with the right facilities a d tine, doable).

The other was a smoking Zafira with some strange weathering on the bonnet. Guy was happy to come collect as he said he worked in a body shop so could fix the worn/ eroded paint no problem on a Saturday morning at work, and could get the EGR valve + bits needed on the cheap too in the trade and do the repair for a fraction of what we could.

Everyone happy.

SUV? Rusty subframe?
There are other nutters out there like me

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it works both ways. i sold a car years ago for about 4.5k. the guy's paying in cash. i counted it. he was 200 quid short. we drove to the cashpoint and he gave me the rest. f'wit.

Just sell to we buy any car.  They all end up going to dealers for the most part.

...‘probably’ won’t pass its MOT in 6 month.

Get a second opinion by MOT now. Advertise it honestly, Pass/Fail/Advisory, sleep well

About 2 and a half years ago my van got to the point where the repairs needed were a) things I didn't want to do myself any more and b) would cost more than the van was worth if my local garage did them.
I advertised it on the Classifieds as "a ratty 16 year old van that needs repair" and listed all the things I knew. Silly low price ( but I wouldn't have felt right asking for more) and 20 minutes later it was sold. I just checked and it's still taxed and mot'd.
I bought it from a forumite and sold it to another (no names disclosed here but a wave to both👋) and I'd like to think we all feel good about it.

OK, it was just before Covid when prices went through the roof and I could have bought a house with the proceeds, but my replacement would have cost even more...

There’s no way I’d sell anything like that privately whether with full disclosure or not. At that end of the market it’s just begging for someone to be an utter pain afterwards because they’ve bought expecting a pristine new car. Yes they’re wrong. Yes they have no rights as it’s a private sale. But really, who needs the hassle?

WeBuyAnyCar or the scrap yard.

Wbac offer almost nothing at the bottom end of the market as they have overheads. You'd get more for scrap and more again selling it on marketplace or eBay.

I sold a 10 year old galaxy with full transparency about the state of the chocolate autobox (needed a 2 grand repair) and it was gone in days for £2500

At that end of the market it’s just begging for someone to be an utter pain afterwards because they’ve bought expecting a pristine new car.

There's a spectrum here. I've no doubt that people buy with ridiculous expectations, but I'm pretty sure what the OP is talking about here is classed as a criminal offence. They'd be well within their rights. 

Many years ago I sold a car that had become genuinely dangerous for spares or repair. Was completely honest about what was wrong with it, and the guy who bought it patched the holes with body filler and sold it for 4 times more about a week later. Some people are dicks. 

You can get a mot at Halfords for £25, will tell you what you need to get going.

What are you replacing it with? Can you part ex it?

Hasn’t been MOT’d yet, was just a service to get knocking front suspension sorted.

Out of interest, what was the source of the knocking? My mum has a (sister car) Kadjar and the dealer can't find the source of a constant knock at the front. Track rod ends done, all else seems tight and they just shrug and suggest a new rack, or a strut or engine mounts but it's clear they are guessing.

And always sell honestly. No comeback then.

EDIT - I might have misread some posts and assumed it's a cashkwi. Apologies if not.

It's probably the front shocks if all else has been done.

I had a similar issue after replacing all the usual suspects. Nothing visually wrong with shocks but once springs removed there was 20mm free play at the top of stroke that the new ones didn't have.

I think our particular car eats front drop rods, not the first time we've had them done.

Not a Cashcow 😉