Selling without recent belt change

I think that in general, a belt change now would improve the chance of a sale, or a slightly better price, especially for folks who would look at the lack of a recent belt change to be indicative that the car hadn't been well cared for.

Keep in mind that buyers would typically use that as an immediate reason to drop the price because they are "going to have to pay 5-6k [or whatever] to get that done," even if they plan to do it themselves for the price of a pair of belts and a couple of bearings...

 

I would cruise bring a trailer a bit and look at past carb 308 auctions and sort of see what those have brought. There have been some in similar conditions that have sold and NOT sold recently. The most relevant example I can see is recent single family owned 77 GTB with 71k miles, also in need of a major but with a recent high quality paint job that was bid to $56k. Did NOT sell. It was in good running shape, it just needed a belt service and probably whatever little things these cars need considering their age now.

 

If you price it correctly and are open about what the car needs it is a non issue for a serious buyer. Some would like to just do a belt service anyways on their own so they know it was done when they buy. Nice looking car!

 

A service invoice listing a bunch of stuff done to a car in preparation for sale gives the buyer some degree of confidence that the car is roadworthy.

No recent service invoice reduces the type of people who will be interested in the car. Novice buyers would feel uncertain about what they were getting themselves into. In contrast, experienced buyers would just expect a bit of a sales price reduction.

Ten years ago, when I was shopping for 308s, such an invoice would be of much higher value to me than it is now. Frankly now, as an experienced 308 owner, I would be "buying the seller" as much as I would be buying the car: if the seller could talk me through the strengths and weaknesses of the car, I would actually prefer to buy it before a belt change to save myself the money and to allow me to inspect the car myself a little while changing the belts.

 

From what Ive seen lately, a freshly serviced car does command a premium only sometimes higher than the cost of a major service, unless it’s a full engine rebuild. As I have a similar car in the shop apart this very moment, I almost forgot how many little things can pop up as needing tending to during a major, especially if it’s an engine-out major. Stuff can just spiral out of control in a hurry, then take many months to sort thus making any chance of recouping that service investment in the sale not likely. Buying a 100% ready-to-go freshly serviced car is always great, but when you get started doing that service you just never know what you might find. Definitely a difficult question only the person selling can ultimately decide.

 

Nice GTB!!

 

Toss it up with a reserve and see what happens. Be honest about the car..that's all you need to do. It is worth what somebody is willing to pay..that's it.

 

From my point of view I would prefer a car with old belts because I’ll be immediately changing them out as a matter of course. My indie charges me $800 to do belts…I provide the parts (belts, tensioners, springs, etc.). I then sleep like a baby knowing everything was done properly.

Alan
N.J.

 

Mike does a lot of work with the 308 ferrari but this statement is pretty unfair. The cost of belts and a couple of bearings is just the price of entry. There are valve cover gaskets, distributor gaskets and seals if you want to check valves, a few new valve shims, a few hoses here and there at the very least, probably that bleeder hose under the plenum that almost always gets left out, oil, gear box fluid, and gallons of coolant.

 

Your talking about a major service. The OP states 1K miles since a major..............I would just do a belt swap and call it good.

 

Personally I’d rather pick up a car needing a major service/ belt change rather than one with a recent service. I’m leery of the quickie belt service done with blinders on for a quick sale. Rather deduct the cost of an average major from the purchase price. However buyers looking to use the car immediately are going to want service before purchase

 

As a buyer I agree but for a seller, replacing the belts/bearings before selling eliminates it as an item the buyer can use in the price negotiation to lower the price.

OTOH, if the seller just wants to move the car quickly and not futz around, it may be much more convenient to just sell it for whatever the price turns out to be.

Of course, as mentioned, if the buyer plans to buy and drive the car across the country the next day (as I did when I bought my 328), having a new set of belts/bearings would be extremely high on the list of "must haves" absent any personal familiarity with the car.

 

Doing a major service right before the sale opens up the potential pool of buyers by at least a factor of 2.