How much can I sell a car with a bent valve for?

[danlava]

Hi all,

I'm new to this forum. Last week my timing belt broke and I bent a valve. The shop I took it to replaced the timing belt and did a compression test and determined that the #3 cylinder wont hold a compression. The car is a 2005 Hyundai Accent, hatchback, with 95,000 miles on it and otherwise in good condition. KBB values it at $2,600. I am still waiting to hear back from the shop to give me an estimate on how much it would take to fix my car and if any heads are also damage or if it's just the valve.

At this point I'm not sure if I want to repair it or try to sell it and buy a new car. It would help if I knew a ball park for what I could sell it for. Unfortunately, I have no experience sell cars. So, would anybody be able to help me out and tell me how much a car with a bent valve would be worth and how much it would be worth if the head is also damaged?

Thanks a lot,
Dan

[00accord44]

Whats your budget for the next car if you have to get rid of this one? I wouldn't expect to sell the current car for more than $1500 as-is if its valued at around $2600 in Good condition. Honestly, $1500 is pretty optimistic considering the likely cost to repair the head

[danlava]

Thanks for the advice. I just heard back from my mechanic and he said that he would have to take the head off and send it to a machine shop to determine if there is any damage to the head, for $175. His best estimate for the cost of repairs (without knowing how bad the heads are damaged) was a minimum of $1500 - $1800.

I think at this point I am ready to sell my car and get a new one. Honestly, if I am able to get $1000 for I'd be happy, especially seeing as how he said that with a bad cylinder it wont run or even start.

[00accord44]

Your best bet may be to try and sell the car to a mechanic who will do the work essentially for free. Then maybe they would be willing to pay a little more than somebody who will have to get the work done elsewhere