Preping '91 TC for sale

[Rick Calcitrant]

Good day,

I have come to the forum for assistance with respect to getting a '91 TC ready for sale. I'm doing this to help an elderly friend who wants to sell her deceased husband's TC. Awkward, as I'm a car guy but know nothing about these cars and I'm in Oregon while she's in California. I have searched on-line for repair and/or service manuals and have come across several that are nebulous about what content is in the manual. I don't need a lot of extensive repair guidance. Mainly, operational procedures, service intervals, fluid specs, etc. along those lines.

I also need a bit more depth as I need to know how to drain the fuel tank or pump it dry by disconnecting a fuel line before it gets to the fuel injectors, for example. At this point, I'm assuming it has an accessory position on the ignition switch but I don't even know that for sure. Do any of you in the forum have a recommendation for a manual that isn't over the top with detail and cost?

Working all of this out remotely will be difficult for sure but I do have a "car guy" friend close to where the car is so it will mostly just be inconvenient to address what needs to be done. At the end of the day I'm looking to get the car cleaned up, running, and operational so I can help to get her as much value out of the car as can, realistically, be achieved for what's there.

Please advise.

Thank you.

Cheers,

Rick

[Ronnie]

35 minutes ago, Rick Calcitrant said:

I'm doing this to help an elderly friend who wants to sell her deceased husband's TC. Awkward, as I'm a car guy but know nothing about these cars and I'm in Oregon while she's in California.

Awkward is an understatement. Mission impossible might be a better description. If you trust your "car guy" friend, you would be better off asking him to get it going for her.

[mensanguy]

I have seen and been involved in scenario's like this too many times. 

 You say in your last statement "get her as much value out of the car as can, realistically, be achieved for what's there."

 

Based on all my experience, I would advertise it on E bay exactly the way it is, describing everything you know about it, with lots of pictures. As-is, all the way.  Sadly, these cars do not bring a lot of money even when they are in pristine condition, and most are not worth putting lots of money into to get the maximum payout, it just isn't worth the investment. Trust someone who has done it. 

 

The cost of repairing/replacing just the brakes can often exceed the entire value of the cars. Add to it the unavailability of some replacement parts and you have a money pit. Who is going to be paying for all these repairs and parts and evaluations?  You?

 

Again, I have been in your situation, on both sides, and it is not a very comfortable place. 

I bought on two different occasions two 1989 16V cars in like-new/perfect condition, low mileage/ but not running.

Both sellers were in your elderly widower situation.  They were asking a Fortune for them initially--over $15,000! Each!! Not running!

No one would come and even look at them because, like you, no one knew about these cars, not how to work on them, and they sat for almost two years, listed for sale, before reality sat in, and they realized that they were not getting anywhere close to what they wanted.

 

I finally wound up buying them, one for $3800, the other for $4000, the price close to a running, functioning car then.

I was the only one, in two years, who came out and looked at them, much less had the  the money to make an offer. And these were highly desirable, 16V garage kept cars.

 

Finally after saying all this, my opinion is that you  will >NET < ( *keyword- walk away with after expenses and aggravation and wasted time) the same amount, or more $$ selling as-is/where/is  on E bay vrs repairing/marketing/for-sale-by-owner.

It's your life and your time, deciding on how to spend it is your choice.

 

Been there-done that.  No fun.

[Hemi Dude]

13 hours ago, Rick Calcitrant said:

Good day,

I have come to the forum for assistance with respect to getting a '91 TC ready for sale. I'm doing this to help an elderly friend who wants to sell her deceased husband's TC. Awkward, as I'm a car guy but know nothing about these cars and I'm in Oregon while she's in California. I have searched on-line for repair and/or service manuals and have come across several that are nebulous about what content is in the manual. I don't need a lot of extensive repair guidance. Mainly, operational procedures, service intervals, fluid specs, etc. along those lines.

I also need a bit more depth as I need to know how to drain the fuel tank or pump it dry by disconnecting a fuel line before it gets to the fuel injectors, for example. At this point, I'm assuming it has an accessory position on the ignition switch but I don't even know that for sure. Do any of you in the forum have a recommendation for a manual that isn't over the top with detail and cost?

Working all of this out remotely will be difficult for sure but I do have a "car guy" friend close to where the car is so it will mostly just be inconvenient to address what needs to be done. At the end of the day I'm looking to get the car cleaned up, running, and operational so I can help to get her as much value out of the car as can, realistically, be achieved for what's there.

Please advise.

Thank you.

Cheers,

Rick

Hi, I'm one of the Technical advisors for the TC Owners club, I will text you my contact information (look for it at the emoji of the envelope at the top right of the page)