Selling Car: Honesty the Best Policy?

I've come to the sad conclusion tonight that, for financial reasons, I have to get rid of my '99 C2. It's very depressing actually, I kind of feel like a close friend / family member is going to be leaving my life permanently. Anyway, I would like to list in the advert every single thing that is wrong with it. Ideally, I'd like to make my description of the car so accurate that if the buyer were to fix every defect that I list in my ad, then he or she will have a car that's as perfect as the day it rolled off the dealer's lot (except for that "76000" on the odometer of course). Now, that's how I'd LIKE to write my ad. The question is, ya think that would scare buyers away? I mean, if I list a bunch of stuff straight up that needs +$5000 to fix, buyers may just bug out. The car runs very well and has no major deal-breakers, but there are many things worth listing in an ad. For example, all the plastic shielding along the underside of the car is either ripped to pieces or outright missing. Also, there may be some hotspots on the flywheel which cause the car to "clunk" sometimes when driven a certain way from a dead-stop. Like I said, nothing TOO serious, but worth mentioning. Your thoughts on this would be appreciated!

Dont post them in the ad, but inform the potential buyers who come out to see the car, or show serious interest of all of these items. That way they are aware of them at the time of sale, and can not come back to you looking for a refund because you were not completely honest with them. Just my $.02

I agree with Apex Rex. But I also think there is a difference between cosmetic-type defects and mechanical. Things like the plastic shielding are visible to inspection, while mechanical things generally are not. If the paint has chips, I don't think you have to point each one out. But when I recently disposed of my Boxster S, I was extremely open with the buyer (a really nice guy) and went out of my way to make things right (even had it fully detailed AFTER he agreed to take it over while we were doing the lease transfer paperwork). Ultimately, honesty is always the best policy.

I agree. When you see a girl whom you would like to date, would you give her a laundry list of all of your shortcomings before you even met?

This is the attitude that makes the world a better place to be. When I bought my 993, after the deal was done, the PO sent the car for detail before shipping it. This is a great lesson learned. Very nice buying experience. Kudos to you Jim. Thanks for raising the bar!!!

NO need to list it in the ad but DON'T withhold when you have an intetrested buyer. Be honest and negotiate that into the price you settle on. You will feel much better about it when you do and will probably decrease the chance of your phone ringing off the hook to explain why "x" has happened only "x" miles into the deal. Last thing you need is to be sued because you withheld info.