No History

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Sun 20 Jul 2003 21:13
No History - Hugo {P}
I may be about to sell a P reg Xantia 1.8LX 16v very soon but have absolutely no paperwork for it, except current MOT, V5 and receipt for recently replaced engine and genuine citroen bits eg cambelt, oil filter etc, which I bought.

The car is in generally good order and I am hoping to secure around £1200 to £1400 for it. It has done 99K but the replacement engine has only done 18K. Car is generally good, except:

1 inch dent on rear offside wing
similar on nsf wing corner, near where it meets the bonnet
small crease on bonnet above headlight (yes the headlight was replaced)
small crack on front bumper (done at the same time as the nsf) invisable on close inspection. Supergluer here??
Small ciggie burn in rear seat (app 10mm dia)

The reason for the lack of paperwork is that the chap who owned the car when the engine blew was going to scrap it. I thought it was a shame and resued it, but not before he binned all the paparwork! As I understand it had a reasonable service history, always being serviced on time but not necessarily at main dealer. With the exception of the engine there were no experienced probs. In fact inspection will verify 2 new tyres on the same axle.

Questions:

Is the price reasonable for that car? I know a new engine probably won't increase its value that much if at all. It just makes it work.

If I can get the damage fixed for a couple of hundred (poss replace bonnet) should I, or just offer it as is for slightly less?

How do I get around the lack of history? The story I gave is genuine, the previous owner never received any money for the car - he actually gave it to me, so he has nothing to gain by fibbing. Do I tell prospective purchasers that it was rescued from the scrap heap and this explains the lack of history? Sould a bit iffy. I don't want to lie. How do I convice people to look at it for what it is?

The reason I may wish to sell it is because I will hopefully get more for this than my L reg xantia (no job means money is useful!).

H
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Sun 20 Jul 2003 22:55
No History - M.M
Hugo,

With a dent in three panels, no history and an "iffy" engine story this will need to be close to auction price to sell in my opinion. After all there are many clean petrol Xantias with history that aren't selling at trade(ish) prices.

I'm pleased you got it together but thought it was for your own use where you would have gained maximum value...after all you know its story so it's worth more to you.

I'm always on the careful/low side as you know but I'd be hard pressed to see it above £1000.

A contact has just moved on a near identical Xantia that needed a gearbox replaced...bought for £200 and sold on for £650 once a ZX geabox was grafted in.

At these sort of prices you might as well be up front about the whole story to avoid being caught out and the deal going a bit "Ben Chapman".

Good luck anyway.

M.M
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Mon 21 Jul 2003 09:19
No History on car I need to sell. - Hugo {P}
Thanks M.M

£1000 wouldn't be too bad. After all I would still have covered all my costs.

£60 delivery
£300 engine
£130 anciliaries
Some cash to the chap that fitted the engine £150 tops, judging from the time he spent on it.

So, all in all I'm probably looking at about £750 costs, not bad for a P reg Xantia with a low milage engine!

As you say, ideally I would like to keep it and may be fix the dents in the longer term. The problem is that I don't need a car. My L reg Xantia has a bigger engine and more gadgets on it and it has a sunroof, which has been a real bonus during the summer.

As for the deal going sour, that is why I want to be honest. At the end of the day, if I put off a buyer by being honest, that is a better scenario than a deal turning sour because I had been econmical with the truth.

I don't know where you live MM but in Cornwall prices are a bit higher than some areas in the south east and the north. Whoever gets this will get a bargain, no doubt about it.

H
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