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Can you sell a car with a smashed windscreen?
November 4, 2015, 11:06 am
Nobody wants to spend money on their car if they are planning on selling it, but what are the financial implications of selling a car with a smashed windscreen? To help you make an informed decision, here is a brief overlook on how this can affect you.
Pay to Fix the Windscreen or Sell at Reduced Price?
Like most things, there isn’t really a straightforward answer with this one.
Yes, you can legally sell a car with a smashed, chipped or cracked windscreen. However these cars won’t pass an MOT and may not be legally allowed to drive on the road – this can massively put off potential buyers, making it tricky to sell your car quickly.
This makes it difficult – you could always accept less money for the vehicle, this may entice more buyers but you will be losing out on sale price. Additionally, if you’re selling a car with a smashed windscreen then people may assume that you haven’t taken very good care of the car. This may lead to haggling on price and extremely close inspection to look for other potential defects.
Is it worth it?
If you have fully comprehensive insurance, then chances are you will have windscreen cover also included in this. That means that you could get cracks, chips and total windscreen replacements done for free or the price of the excess (depending on the damage and insurance company).
When the car is worth more than a couple hundred then it is definitely worth going down this route, ensuring that you get the best price for your vehicle. However, if your car is only worth £100 - £300 then paying a £75 excess can be quite off-putting and unnecessary.
Replacing your entire windshield can be much more expensive – especially if you don’t want to go through an insurer. This could end up costing you anything from £200 up to £750, depending on the car, model and extras involved – for example, a heated windscreen will cost significantly more than a standard one.
Negotiate, Reduce or Fix?
If you can, try to get the windscreen fixed if time and money allowed – that is if the cost of fixing is justified by the price of the car. Try to get a couple of quotes in order to find out what prices you’re looking at for this job and how this compares to the price of the vehicle.
Alternatively you could always negotiate the price with potential buyers. Done well this can help to retain a lot of the car’s value, while saving you the cost of fixing your windshield. However, this can be a long and drawn out process and you are relying on having interest in your car in the first place.
Finally, you could simply reduce the price of your vehicle so that it is competitive against other models which are of similar age and mileage but have a good windscreen. If your vehicle’s value is low then this is the best way to make the most of the situation – potentially saving you the cost and hassle of fixing the vehicle yourself.
Sell to Cashpoint4Cars
Can’t be bothered with the hassle that comes with selling a vehicle with a broken windscreen? At Cashpoint4Cars we buy all vehicles regardless of age, mileage or condition. Enter your registration number online today, fill in a few more details and we could be buying your car tomorrow.
