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View Full Version : Son's H.S. car... what to do with it.



Mitchell Andrus
05-23-2007, 11:36 PM
My son is in Chicago, his car is in NJ. It's a 91 Corsica, 135K miles in good mechanical shape. About three years (1500 miles) on new brakes, tires, battery, tune-up...

He doesn't want it anymore, and I can't get anyone to even call with a for sale sign on it -- $500.00. Jeeez, even if you only ran it for a year....

H.S. kids want shiney-new, I guess. So, what do I do with it. Insurance payment is due in three weeks. Charity? Junk yard?

Nancy Laird
05-24-2007, 12:15 AM
Mitch, I would donate it to the Ronald McDonald House. They will take in cars, boats, etc. and they either sell them or part them out to raise money for the houses. They'll even arrange to pick them up. It's a charitable contribution, so you'll get a nice tax write-off next spring.

Nancy

Joe Chritz
05-24-2007, 7:18 AM
What Nancy said.

There are lots of charities that will take vehicles, especially ones in good shape. Pick your spot and dime em' up.

Plus you will probably get more for a write off then you could sell it anyway.

Joe

Bill Lewis
05-24-2007, 7:32 AM
Plus you will probably get more for a write off then you could sell it anyway.

Actually, you'll only get to write off what "they" sell it for. No longer can you take full bluebook value for your donation. Also, since the donation will only go in to your deductions and thereby only adjusting your income for the sake of taxes, you effectively only get a percentage of the value donated factored against your taxes. So, no, you could end up with more money (tax free income) if you were to sell it.

That being said, It is not a bad idea to give it to a charity if you feel that is the easiest and best way to deal with this car. Some charities will actually give you higher values for your car than others. Those that rehabilitate cars to provide them to low income families etc. can give you a higer deduction value than those that simply send them to the wholesale auction yards.

skip coyne
05-24-2007, 8:22 AM
I can't get anyone to even call with a for sale sign on it -- $500.00.

so you just had it out with a sign on it ?

I would try craigs list , or spring for a classified .

raise the price to 750 , I would be surprised if you cant sell it

Cliff Rohrabacher
05-24-2007, 8:24 AM
There are millions of places that take cars as donations. I believe most colleges do like Centenary.
There are kid's charities churches you name it. Try GOOGLE.

Scott Loven
05-24-2007, 8:24 AM
have you tried craigs (http://geo.craigslist.org/iso/us/nj) list and ebay?

Joe Pelonio
05-24-2007, 9:16 AM
Your problem may be the local area, E-Bay and Craig's list will reach a greater area. Someone will want a decent cheap car. When my Mother in Law went into an adult family home we had to sell her car, a 1986 Tempo with 66,000 miles. High bluebook was $300, we got $1,200. In this town most HS kids get a new Lexus when they turn 16, but with Craig's List we had people from Seattle and other areas calling.

Jim O'Dell
05-24-2007, 9:53 AM
We found a place here locally called Charity Motors. You can pick the charity the proceeds go to. They do have to be a 501c3. We used my 87 Mazda PU that had lots of miles and lots of body damage on it, and it sold for like 850.00. They took a percentage off, and sent the rest to Irish Setter Rescue of Fort Worth. We were able to use the money to help some wayward dogs get healthy and find new homes. Jim.

Jason Roehl
05-24-2007, 10:17 AM
Take it for "one last drive", then report it stolen. :D

(kidding)

Jason

Pat Germain
05-25-2007, 8:03 PM
I think the problem may be that it's an early 90's Chevrolet. Those cars are notorious for being lemons on wheels no matter how well you maintain them. Even if your Corsica is a good car, the perception of the car may be hurting you.

My son recently moved to Seattle and decided to sell his '91 Honda Civic with 120K miles. Everyone wanted that car; his friends, his coworkers, friends of friends, friends of coworkers. One if his friends came over and looked at the car before I even had a chance to advertise it. He took it for a drive and handed over $1200 in cash, which is what I was asking.

It seems everyone wants an old Honda or Toyota, but not so much old American cars. :(

Mitchell Andrus
05-26-2007, 1:13 PM
It's been on Craigs for two days... not one call at $650.00.

Nobody wants a 16 yo car.... at least not in NJ. It's too easy (in this area) to make money and afford a 9 yo car at $3-4,000.00.

I called a Vo-Tech nearby, it's too old for them to work on...

Jeff Wright
05-26-2007, 3:26 PM
As an auto/truck dealer (now retired) I had wholesalers coming into my dealership every day wanting to buy vehicles I didn't want to retail to the public. Often I would package and sell ten or more at a time . . . some I would lose on some I would make a small profit . . . my goal was have the whole package break even and not lose any money on the group. Even us professionals don't really know what a car's exact market value is - until it's sold!

Maybe one of your local dealers would be willing to expose it to some of his wholesalers. They have multiple outlets for all different kinds of cars in all kinds of condition. As you have found out, older high mileage cars can be more of a nuisance than an asset.

Mitchell Andrus
05-26-2007, 9:37 PM
If I could be sure... I'd give it to a broke single mom/dad with a teenager in need.

Gotta hit the phones Tues. Maybe Habitat...

James Rambo
05-26-2007, 10:36 PM
Make sure to go to the DMV with the receipt from the carity to have your sons name or yours taken off the title if you give it to a charity. An aquantance of mine gave a car to a charity. Weeks later police showed up at his door looking for him as being the owner of the car that was wrecked. The person who bought the car from the charity (he was found later in the local emergency room), did not have a license and did not register or insure the car.

Mitchell Andrus
05-27-2007, 9:21 AM
Good idea...