#NewCarTradeIn

TTAC commentator Blackcloud_9 writes:

I currently own a 2014 Kia Soul. I’m looking to use it as trade-in value for a new (or new to me) car. The Soul is an imminently practical car. Does most everything reasonably well, it’s very reliable but it definitely does not stir my “soul”. I’m usually a “keep it forever” guy but the time has come that I can finally afford to buy “my” car. The question for you (and the B&B) is that the car has a couple of cosmetic issues and I’m wondering if it’s worth reconditioning a car for sale.

The only reason I would do this is to raise the trade-in value of the car.

1. The windshield has a quarter-sized star/web crack in the lower right corner. I’ve had it filled and I know it won’t get any worse. However, the repair person did a poor job and the top resin fill fell out so the crack is very noticeable. The best estimate I’ve been quoted for a windshield replacement is ~ $235 (US).
2. The front bumper had an unfortunate meet-and-greet with a garage doorframe and stucco wall. It is not dented but the plastic cladding has some pretty good gouges and there is a 1” wide x 3” long ellipse of removed paint. So, it’s not going to be a buff and wax job to get it looking good. I haven’t gotten an estimate for this repair but I’ve had front ends repaired before (other cars & teenaged children) so my best guess would be about $900.

I’m thinking the windshield might be a good investment but I’m not sure if I would get a good ROI on the bumper repair. The Soul has 77k miles and very mechanically/cosmetically sound otherwise.

Please note: I am NOT a wrench-it-yourself kind of guy. I admire anybody who can but I have a long history of self car repair frustrations.

Years from now — perhaps even now, for the younger generation — I think people will have trouble understanding that a significant percentage of humanity used to derive a good living from arbitrage of one form or another. We live in a world now that has been effectively flattened by the standardized shipping container and the Internet. It was not always so. Think of Max Hoffman towing one Beetle behind another one all the way from an East Coast port to a Midwest town then taking the train home.

Even more interesting is that people used to be accustomed to paying money for information and/or access to knowledge. For instance, my old pal Alex Roy grew up in his father’s business, Europe By Car, which was (and still is) a service that arranged overseas rentals for American customers. Can you imagine that there was once a time when people couldn’t just click a couple of buttons and have a rental car waiting for them in London or Stuttgart? Crazy, I know.

The imperial ease with which we command the delivery of things from China or arrange hotel rooms in Zurich from the comfort of our living room in Milwaukee sometimes blinds us to the fact that sometimes you just have to deal with the impacts of distance and displacement. Our friend Brent is experiencing one of those times, at least by proxy.