Dent and scratch removal / selling our Picasso.

[dorset972]

We will be selling our Picasso diesel soon. It is a fairly low mileage ( 46k), diesel and 51 reg with two previous owners and it very tidy inside but has suffered a few unsightly scratches and three small dents. The dents have not broken the paintwork but do not give a very good first impression.
We will probably buy a cheaper mpv through the trade as we need to raise a little cash.
Can anyone advise the best way to sell our car? Should we trade it in as it is or get it repiared. Can we get this done fairly cheaply? Is it better to sell privately? Any advice would be gratefully received.

 

[renagades]

You could either repair the car and get a little more money for it or sell it how it is privately and hope for the best!

DENTS:
Depends where they are really! If you can access the back of them (by removing trim etc) then they can be manipulated out by working from the outside to the centre using dent tools. If there deep you will need a slide hammer (£20). This tool is insirted into the centre of the dent after drilling a hole, it then hools on to the back and you manually pull out the dent by sliding the handle.

SCRATCHES:
Fine scratches will come out with a good polish, try autoglym deep shine, or mehr.
Medium scratches or scuffs may need a regular compound like G3 available from martin browns or somewhere similar, basically it's a paste with a very light abrasive in it so it's like a fine sanding.
Deep scratches can be repaired with body filler then sanded to the contour of the car. Obviously painting will be required.

My advice would be to fix every little ding and dang on the car then sell it for a decent price, advertise somewhere like autotrader.co.uk but also post local ad's.
If you part x it you won't get as much as if you sold it. The garage being a garage will rip you off and in turn you will be buying another car!
It is not high cost to fix the car if you know how.And if you don't know how, don't be scared of trying, it's all a learning process and is not as hard as it seems.

Also when all the little dings and dangs are done take the car to a professional valeter who for about £25 will make it look brand new inside.
Outside you can do yourself with a good polish. Remember to remove polish from any trims you caught as you went round the car, these will put the punters off!

Theres also plenty of tips when it comes to people coming to look at the car. Stick to your price! Don't be haggled. And keep all the documents together in something that looks attractive, and present them with the car. If the cars history has been looked after then so has the car!

If you need any more help e-mail me at [email protected]
Dave.

 

[dorset972]

Thanks for the above. I'll have a go at the scrathes but I'm not sure about the dents. I'll let you know.

 

[david and julie]

For the dents etc, you could try the likes of dentmasters or chipsaway or a similar franchise. It is suprising what they manage to hide. They are mobile and will usually give you a quote first. These guys normally avoid painting which is always the best option if possible.

The rubbing compound mentioned is OK for scratches etc, however if the car is metallic make sure you get the right type.

Do bear in mind though that Citroen often have special deals(such as VAT free) and this does effect the used value. Plus most 51 reg cars would have less owners which will reflect on its value. Used cars are not worth that much and are not always easy to sell privately because you won't usually be able to offer PX, warranty or finance facilities etc. Have a search here to get an idea what to ask and don't go OTT if you want to sell it.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/