My poor Mini has had its exterior paint damaged by the sun and by age. It’s now twelve years old, after all, and we have no garage or carport; it’s lived without a roof over its head for at least the five years since I bought it.

Trying to sell it “as is” may be all I can do, but I’ve been looking into having it detailed, figuring most buyers want a prospective purchase to be attractive. I have four estimates so far. The least costly is $150. The highest is $380. Considering that the Kelley Blue Book value of a 2005 Mini in “fair” condition is $1900, I might have to spend more than 10% of the prospective sale price to make it pretty. One of the estimators said after seeing it “there’s no way that can be considered “fair” condition,” which isn’t at all encouraging.

Dammit.