redreattalady Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 I had a buyer for my 1988 Reatta, but he just called me this morning to say his mechanic says the brakes could just go out without warning. Also, the mechanic said it was extremely expensive or impossible to replace the brake pump or change to a more reliable brake system. Can anyone give me any ideas on what to tell this buyer?We negotiated it for $3500. I have it listed on this forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest steakneggs Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 Tell him that all the parts are replaceable with used parts and that the whole thing can be converted for $300. Also a complete failure is extremely rare. A loss of boost is the most common problem. Tell him how you repaired yours. Steak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redreattalady Posted October 6, 2008 Author Share Posted October 6, 2008 Thanks. I had them bled and checked a while back, but I haven't had any problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tomt Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 Truth be told:If a person has a mechanic that he/she trusts, nothing that you can say will change their mind. If it makes any difference, my mechanic inspected my 89 before purchase and gave it a clean bill of health. If he advised the person against the purchase, when they come to him, it will be an I told you so event.Most outsiders do not read the forum here, and that is what saved me a lot of money and brake issues. If there is a possible help, you might suggest they check out the forum.Tom T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest steakneggs Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 Sorry, I thought you were the person who swapped out the valve block a week or so ago. Steak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CL_Reatta Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 Suggest that they take a look at this site, also give them the run down on the common problems, and that it is easy to fix, I replaced my motor and switch within a few hours. print out the brake test and do it right in front of them.... nothing impresses a buyer more than a seller who knows what they are talking about Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alex_houston Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 If your buyer is so concerned about the fears a mechanic has, he was just looking for an out not to buy in the first place.Keep a lookout for a real car enthusiest(sp?) who knows cars and will work on it himself. Very few who don't like working on their own cars anyway will be looking at a 20 year old car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 I agree with Alex. I think the buyer probably has gotten cold feet and is using the mechanic a an excuse to back out of the deal. I doubt anything you can say will make a difference in getting him to complete the deal except maybe "I will come down on the price". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney Eaton Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 Go to the Prior web page and print the info on the replacement unit.Show him how to check the brakes......... if necessary give him a 30 or 60 day warranty on the brakes only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bobby Valines Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 I have a 02 ford sport track with 65,000 the abs screw up. My friend has a 03 chevy truck cost him 2,000 to fix his abs. ABS is a common problem for any car that has it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest simplyconnected Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 bobby and I agree. Show the buyer your car operates correctly, and stick to your asking price. I would not make any excuses or apologies for the condition of the car, but be honest. Speculation over what might or could happen, has no bearing on your sale because there's no guarantee, (especially on any car over ten years old). Sell it "AS IS," with a 'mutual agreement' describing the car's condition at the time of sale, signed by both parties. That's fair. Sell to the FIRST one to come up with your asking price, (instead of holding it for a loan to be approved which may never happen).If the buyer wants to convert, change, modify, customize, or whatever, once he owns it he can do what he wants. Asking you to insure his car against failure is just rediculous. Have him buy his own used car warranty if he's that worried. If your buyer backs out, go on to the next. Someone will buy it at a fair price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest steakneggs Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 No one on this forum has been as rabidly anti-Teves as myself; Mainly because I'm zero-tolerance for overcomplicated things. But I could probably have fixed my Teves knowing what I know now about them. Mine had multiple problems (bad pump and clogged reservoir) plus the long brake line was rusted so I decided (somewhat impulsively) to convert it. I wasn't aware of the availability and ease of swapping used parts. Steak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redreattalady Posted October 7, 2008 Author Share Posted October 7, 2008 Thanks for all the info. I didn't realize these cars were so difficult to sell. Instead of driving it occasionally on nice days, maybe we'll just drive the tires off and sell it for nothing. (can you tell I'm frustrated with this?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CL_Reatta Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 Dont be frustrated... these cars are not difficult to sell... you just had a pickey buyer that had nothing better to do than waste your time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney Eaton Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 steakneggs.....thanks for the testamonial,As you noted, of all the problems you had, only the pump was unique to the ABS unit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redreattalady Posted October 7, 2008 Author Share Posted October 7, 2008 I've had it for sale for about 8 months! I suppose that means the price is too high. I have $5400 in the car, and I was selling it for $3500. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CL_Reatta Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 hmmm, how many miles?.... $5400 does sound a bit high unless it has extremly low miles or is in GREAT condition.... atleast around here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest steakneggs Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 I predict that sales of used cars will be up soon. Unfortunately they'll be used as houses. Steak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redreattalady Posted October 8, 2008 Author Share Posted October 8, 2008 CL_Reatta - I'm was getting $3500 for it - I have $5400 invested in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest steakneggs Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 If that buyer has Tevesphobia, send him to me. The Steakmobile has been converted to vac brakes and is available. Steak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 There is another lady that posted on this forum a short while back. She has an '89 red/tan that her father left her when he passed. It has 60000 miles on it. Her dad paid $9000.00 for it several years ago. Opening bid on ebay 4 days ago was $3500.00. So far no interest or bids. Over half the Reattas made were red/tan. Most common color combo trying to sell to a small/limited market. I wanted and purchased my red/tan '89 2 years ago for $4200.00. [it was in nice shape with a new Gm tranny/accumulater/a/c compressor and other parts, but looking back I still paid too much] It had 111,000 miles on it. I was told it didn't need much more then a paint job. I am now into it for almost $7000.00. [$2000.00 in carpet,paint,and sunroof] I offset my investment by enjoying the car, using it for the business mile deduction, and I also now sell used parts on the forum. [Recouped about $1000.00 in parts sales and $4000.00 in net business miles deduction] I am sorry to say that it is unfortunate that you have $5400.00 in your car. However it is only worth what you can get for it. My advice is to take what you can or "drive the wheels off it" then part it out and junk what didn't sell. I am sure you drove your car for some period of time and got some enjoyment out of it. IMHO if you don't buy a select 60 or '91 vert these cars are just daily drivers and should not be considered an investment purchase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest steakneggs Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 The "drive the wheels off of it" alternative is only viable if your other cars are equal or worse guzzlers. You can go through a lot of gas driving the wheels off something that only gets 20MPG, which over time would be more of a loss than dropping your price some more. There's also the insurance for a car that you don't really need or want. Steak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DTerry Posted October 9, 2008 Share Posted October 9, 2008 Guzzler? I drive 120 miles round trip daily, and get 29-30 miles per gallon. $2000 almost 6 years ago with 135,000 miles. Now have 217,000 miles, and the only expensive repair was transmission rebuild last year ($1200). Daughter drove it to high school, took it to college with her, drove it all over Indiana and much of Illinois; and now my son will take it back to college with him next semester. It has been - and still is - a real work-horse, and amazingly still looks great inside and out. I couldn't ask for a better daily driver. It has served us well. Adding up all that I have spent on it including purchase price, maintenance and consumables, the operating cost so far has been 16 cents a mile. That's hard to beat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MauiWowee Posted October 9, 2008 Share Posted October 9, 2008 I feel the same way as Dave. Unless there is something wrong, Reattas are far from being gas guzzlers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redreattalady Posted October 9, 2008 Author Share Posted October 9, 2008 Much better than my Pacifica at 18 mpg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest steakneggs Posted October 9, 2008 Share Posted October 9, 2008 I guess than that running the wheels off of it is something you can do while you're waiting to sell it. Put a "For Sale" sign on it. It's not a viable alternative for me because my other car is a 40MPG Festiva. However, gas prices are headed towards Reattaville. A total, global financial meltdown should bring gas prices back to where they were when I bought my motorhome. Steak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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