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Pulling money out of an unsellable car

L

Lou3

CEG'er
Joined
Apr 13, 2006
Messages
158
How do you recommend somebody recover as much money as they can from a car that's probably unsellable as a driver (rust damage)?

As I posted in another thread, I just got a rust repair estimate that is more than the car is worth. I'm going to replace the car by the beginning of summer. I highly doubt I'll be able to sell the car as a driver with the rocker panel rusted out, and the only other thing I can think of is to try parting the car out. I don't know what kind of response I'm likely to get or if it would be worth the trouble.

Another idea is to wait for one of those trade-in deals that advertise a set price for any car regardless of condition. I don't know how straight-up those deals are, but can't imagine them giving somebody more than the trade-in is worth and not trying to make up for it with the terms of the new car (e.g. raising the price or cutting the warranty).

Any ideas, or is it just time to call the junkyard and eat the loss?
 
use it for a trade in if you find a good deal on one of those lots, part it out if the car is anything thats in demand, take it to a salvage yard if neither of those two apply.

BTW those places that give insane trade in allowances also have their prices jacked up on par with their average loss through trade in, so you will probably end up with the same deal if you negotiate as the cost after your trade in.
 
Dealerships usually make more money on the "push-pull-drag" sales because they make the sticker price on the cars for sale non-negotiable.
 
depending on what the car is, some of the parts may have value by themselves, or it may have some intrinsic value for something like a GRM $20XX challenge race car builder.
 
Despite the rust, is the car still in driveable condition? I wouldn't be too quick to dismiss it as unsellable, as in the current economy, a lot of people are looking for basic transportation at a cheap price. If it can get them to work and back, cash-strapped people don't care about the looks or some rust.
 
You could donate it to one of those charities and write off the donation on your taxes next year.
 
Beachboy said:
Despite the rust, is the car still in driveable condition? I wouldn't be too quick to dismiss it as unsellable, as in the current economy, a lot of people are looking for basic transportation at a cheap price. If it can get them to work and back, cash-strapped people don't care about the looks or some rust.
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It's still driveable, and I'd prefer to keep it for a while longer. The only reason I was going to get rid of it is because the two auto body people who gave me estimates said that a hole in the body would prevent the car from passing inspection (which is why I considered it unsellable). In another thread, somebody suggested filling the rocker panel with expanding foam and covering it with something like a fiberglass auto body patch. That's a great idea that will at least get me through inspection.
 
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