Used Cars: To repair or not to repair?, honda accord lx, honda dealership

Question
Hello Shane,

I have a 2003 Honda Accord LX model and I've noticed over time that the paint has peeled off from areas such as the roof, hood, trunk, and front fender. In addition, the transmission went dead Initially, I thought it was because I didn't give it sufficient car washes and wax jobs, but then I began doing research on the internet and I found to my surprise that many customers who owns the 2003 Honda Accord LX have been experiencing the exact same problem. I took my car to the Honda dealership and they told me that it would cost me at $5,000 to repaint it. I refused and went home. The car has 84,697 miles on it and I'm wondering if its even worth repainting it.

At one point, I would like to sell it and get a new car, but the problem is, I don't want to fix something that is Honda's fault to begin with.

I was wondering if I should sell it as is, or would I have a hard time doing so unless I get it repainted and get a better value for it? Would it be advisable to repaint it to get a better value?

In your professional opinion, do you think its worth repainting it so I can get a better sale or should I not bother and send it to a junkyard instead?


Best regards,

Brian

Answer
Hello and thanks for the question. In my opinion it is not worth repainting the car. You stated that the car also has a bad transmission and that is the bigger problem. Any vehicle that needs a paint job is still 100 percent functional and can be driven every day. As a matter of fact there are many people who don't even care what their car looks like as long as its safe and dependable. However a vehicle with a bad transmission only has value to someone that can fix it or needs the car for a parts donor. I would advise you to fix the transmission rather than waste money on the paint. If we were talking about an old muscle car that would be a different situation but a 8 year old Honda isn't worth it. By the way,the last place I would go for a paint job is the Honda dealership, you are going to pay them up to $90-100 per hour when there are many other shops that may charge half that. If you decide to have the car painted shop around for prices. I would get at least 3 quotes, you'll see that the Honda dealer will be "by far" the highest. It shouldn't be even close to $5000 to paint your car especially in FL with no rust issues. A job like that may cost $2500-3000 where a rebuilt transmission should be in the $2000 range. Take care and thanks again for your question.  Shane