This is my first time in this group so apologies if this has been covered before (google didn't turn up any discussion...)
I have a 2004 Passat wagon with 33,000 miles and meticulous maintenance that I'm thinking of selling/trading for a bigger vehicle. The car has some body damage from a couple minor accidents and one of my kids deciding to draw on it with a rock. It'll likely cost me ~ $1000 to get the body fixed back up to original condition, part of which is an insurance claim. I also had another claim for a leak/flood damage last year which will likely show up on my carfax.
My question is whether it's best to privately sell or trade it in. I know I can get more if I privately sell, but it's a pain and I'll definitely have to shell out the money to fix it up. If I trade it in I know I'll probably get less for it but it's easy, and I heard dealers can fix damage on the cheap so will likely deduct less than a private seller would (T/F?). Is there any conventional wisdom around this, like is it ALWAYS better to fix and sell privately, or could a trade-in ever be worth it?
Thanks in advance, Dave