Streetwiseguy said:Nobody reads anything all the way through anymore...
It is sad that this is mostly true. So much so that a lot of people think that it perfectly acceptable. But its not.
I someone does not have time to read something I took my time to write, then I'll just assume they really don't want to do business with me.
Another weekend. People leaving e-mails asking if it is still available. Two people said they were going to come look at the car. Neither one of them did. One guy wanted to know if the car had a current inspection sticker. It doesn't.
I looked seriously at fixing the car. The power steering rack is leaking. Replacing the power steering rack is a really nasty job. I watched a couple of you tube videos. It involves jacking up the car and getting behind the engine and transmission to get to it. There is a cross member and a sway bar there too. You have to remove the fluid lines and the connection to the steering column and get the whole mess out of there. It would be a lot easier if I put it on the rack. If I take it to a shop to have it done the bill will be about $1,000. I can buy the rack for around $200 if I do it myself.
If I fix the steering I will have a 23 year old Chevy Lumina with trashed leather seats both front and back. There is stuffing coming out of the back seat and it looks nasty. The carpet is stained with coffee. The clear coat is coming off everywhere and the paint is also chipping off in places. There is a big rust spot on the roof between the window and the sunroof. The back suspension squeaks when you push up and down on it. I don't know what that is.
On the positive side, I just had the sunroof rebuilt and the spent a lot of time tracking down and fixing electrical problems that were draining the battery. I totally redid the air conditioning including and new compressor about two years ago. I also payed to have the factory CD player repaired and the car is wired to operate an old 3rd generation iPod and an aftermarket satellite radio.
My question is, is this car worth fixing? I do have some sentimental attachment to the car because my dad, who is no longer alive, bought it new 23 years ago. It has belonged to my immediate family since it was new. I also had thoughts of making it into a cheap rallycross car, although there are all kinds of better rallycross cars out there. Or maybe a Gambler 500 car. Mrs. Snowdoggie thinks that is crazy, to take an old car and try to race it offroad. She thinks I will probably end up on the end of a tow truck hook paying money to get it out of someplace it never should have gone. It's a 23 year old car with 167,000 miles on it so chances are I will it will probably just break down again after I put all that time into replacing the steering rack, having the car re-aligned and then inspected and buying new tags for it. Maybe I should just cut my losses. It really will cost more to replace the steering rack than the car would be worth if I pay to fix it and it will cost a lot of blood, sweat and tears plus weekends I could spend on my many other projects to get this car running again. I also have a Miata racecar project, a Motorhome project, an off road Jeep XJ project and a whole lot of deferred maintenance on two different houses. And a full time job. I have a new Mustang and a new Honda CRV (her car) that can get me to around and haul stuff. Should I just donate it to Cars for Kids and move on.
The strange thing is, this was my dad's car and he was the kind of guy who would keep a car for 10 years then trade it to the dealer for a brand new one. He never owned a 23 year old car. That was mom who kept is so long and me who kept it running so long. Dad would say dump it.
I could keep trying to sell it but in the condition it is in now it would be a hard sell. You could drive it while pouring power steering fluid in it. The paint is bad and the interior is beyond bad. I dropped the price to $1,000 today and may drop it more in the future, but can I even get somebody to buy it at this point. I pretty much tell everybody in the ad what is wrong with it. Maybe it just won't sell.
How much is your time worth? It's only $200 for the part. How long would you spend fixing it? How frustrated would you be?
Personally? Berk it. I'd keep trying to sell it with less and less berks given each day.
I am just wondering if at this point I can even sell it. It might be one of those cars that is worth $900 if you spent $1,000 fixing it, and it will probably break again. Nobody who knows cars would touch this kind of rabbit hole with a 10 foot pole. Mrs. Snowdoggie said that maybe somebody not so smart who doesn't see what I see will buy it, or somebody poor who only has $600 to spend on a car. I'm not even sure I am comfortable selling it that way. I tell everybody everything I know that needs to be fixed.
I could just donate it and forget about getting all those e-mails asking if I still have the car.
How much is the catalytic converter worth?
Possibly cut off and sell the cat, then pull of anything else you deem "worth saving" like radio. Send the rest off to be scrap. It might net you a reasonable number.
Or, list it for $800. When they offer only $500 be very quick to take it. Some flipper will buy it. He might be the one to re-invest the needed $900 and then he unscrupulously sells it for $3k.
I did this similar with a 265k mile Saturn Vue ($400) with a bad clutch slave and similar with a smoking, high mile LeSabre ($600.) I was just happy to have the flipper take the car out of my way.
Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:It might be one of those cars that is worth $900 if you spent $1,000 fixing it, and it will probably break again.
Have you not established an average value for the car?
L5wolvesf said:Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:It might be one of those cars that is worth $900 if you spent $1,000 fixing it, and it will probably break again.
Have you not established an average value for the car?
Edmunds values it at $382 in rough condition.
If you can't sell it quickly by reducing the price consider donating it. Most cities have charities that come pick up the car give you a receipt for some kind of value if you itemize your taxes. Some even offer vouchers for a couple day vacation or local restaurants or services. Had a friend get rid of an old van that had been sitting and didn't run. They came with a wrecker he signed the title it was gone and he got a deduction. It was a win win for everyone.
Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:L5wolvesf said:Have you not established an average value for the car?
Edmunds values it at $382 in rough condition.
I have found that NADA is more real world in their values. I don't see the details on the Lumina so I went with: 95 4d Lumina, std equipment, in Phoenix and got $1,075 as a Low Retail value.
Not sure what I've missed but you're asking 1500 for a 1k (at best) car. So that isn't a get it gone asking price.
L5wolvesf said:Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:L5wolvesf said:Have you not established an average value for the car?
Edmunds values it at $382 in rough condition.
I have found that NADA is more real world in their values. I don't see the details on the Lumina so I went with: 95 4d Lumina, std equipment, in Phoenix and got $1,075 as a Low Retail value.
Not sure what I've missed but you're asking 1500 for a 1k (at best) car. So that isn't a get it gone asking price.
NADA has low retail for a 1998 Chevy Lumina at $1, 375. Average retail is $1,850 and high retail is $2,900.
One guy just e-mailed me, said his wife got into a car accident and he needs the car right away to get to work.
Did he not read the part about the power steering rack needing replacement? He offered $500 and wants to work something out.
Here we go again. Craigslist brings out the poor people who need a good running car and can't afford one. I would assume that this guy is not going to take his checkbook to the DMV the next day and pay about $600 in sales tax, transfer and licensing fees, so he is going to be running around in a car he can barely steer that is still in my name. One of my neighbors who fixes up old cars as a side gig was named in a lawsuit a few years ago because the guy he sold a car to rear ended somebody and never bothered to get the title changed. It cost him a few thousand in lawyer's fees to get out of that one, all over a $2,000 car.
Unless this guy is a mechanic this probably won't work anyway.
In reply to Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) :
Is there a method in your state to prove you have sold a car?
A formal way to proactively take the car out of your name?
John Welsh said:In reply to Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) :
Is there a method in your state to prove you have sold a car?
A formal way to proactively take the car out of your name?
You file a paper with the DMV, which my neighbor did not do. Even if you do file the paperwork you may still end up going to court if the guy never filed for the title.
Some people will buy a cheap car with a current sticker and actually dump the car when the sticker runs out rather that get it inspected, provide proof of insurance and pay registration fees, sales tax and so on. Insurance is sometimes the issue. Especially for people with a few DUIs. Or there could be a bunch of parking tickets or owing a bunch of money in tolls that would keep them from legally registering a car in their name. This is very common in Dallas.
Whenever I sold my cars, I made them sign all the paperwork relinquishing me of my responsibilities before they were allowed to leave with the keys.
Every time I've sold a car I didn't need the money that badly, I just didn't need the car any longer. I did, however, need to relinquish all responsibility.
Anyways, if you can't sell it and you have the room, it's race car time.
And the next e-mail; "I want to come out and look at yo car."
Can I send these back corrected for proper grammar. That would make things more interesting. 
Definitely a scam (as covered by others). If you have to ask if it's a scam...it probably is. FYI, don't use paypal friends & family...it does not provide any protections for the buyer. This a common way to scam people on forums, CL, and FB Marketplace. Always pay for goods & services protection.
I once bought a Saab 9-2x from a state-department employee who was in the phillipines. Friends thought I was getting scammed (I wasn't). I met his elderly mother in person, test drove the car, and met her at my credit union to transfer the title & finalize payment. It did take several weeks because mail service to the embassy for a notarized bill of sale was very slow. It was a great deal and I wasn't in a rush so it was worth the extra hassle.
The last few times I posted on CL I received messages from scammers within minutes. It got to the point where anytime I post something I just didn't respond to any messages for the first few hours.
FB marketplace is annoying because it's easy to accidently hit the "is this still available" button accidently. I've found selling very low priced things can be shockingly more of a pain than more expensive items. A $20 used garden wagon included a hilarious exchange of someone asking me to drive 2 hours round trip to drop it off. For most things I've had much better luck just pricing something at the price it's worth and being firm. I do like the previous comment about only negotiating in-person w/cash....but with Facebook messager they've made it way too easy to send lowball offers, etc.
In reply to Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) :
Remember, those aspiring to buy a Chevy Lumina might not also be aspiring to have proper grammar.
I suggested donating it early in this thread. It's come up again.
Considering that the risks for further liability are not zero if you sell it to an unknown stranger, it's the easy way to to be done with it.
John Welsh said:In reply to Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) :
Remember, those aspiring to buy a Chevy Lumina might not also be aspiring to have proper grammar.
I drive a Mustang...
Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:I am just wondering if at this point I can even sell it. It might be one of those cars that is worth $900 if you spent $1,000 fixing it, and it will probably break again. Nobody who knows cars would touch this kind of rabbit hole with a 10 foot pole. Mrs. Snowdoggie said that maybe somebody not so smart who doesn't see what I see will buy it, or somebody poor who only has $600 to spend on a car. I'm not even sure I am comfortable selling it that way. I tell everybody everything I know that needs to be fixed.
I could just donate it and forget about getting all those e-mails asking if I still have the car.
What kind of tax breaks could you get from donating a running vehicle?
John Welsh said:In reply to Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) :
Remember, those aspiring to buy a Chevy Lumina might not also be aspiring to have proper grammar.
That's grammar. Please.
Appleseed said:Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:I am just wondering if at this point I can even sell it. It might be one of those cars that is worth $900 if you spent $1,000 fixing it, and it will probably break again. Nobody who knows cars would touch this kind of rabbit hole with a 10 foot pole. Mrs. Snowdoggie said that maybe somebody not so smart who doesn't see what I see will buy it, or somebody poor who only has $600 to spend on a car. I'm not even sure I am comfortable selling it that way. I tell everybody everything I know that needs to be fixed.
I could just donate it and forget about getting all those e-mails asking if I still have the car.
What kind of tax breaks could you get from donating a running vehicle?
Not enough to get up to my standard deduction which means none. At that point I would just be giving the car away.
$200 would get it running again. Plus about $70 for inspection fees and licensing. So $270. Liability insurance is about $20 a month. But Mrs. Snowdoggie keeps saying that my time is worth more than that. She would rather I spend time doing things with her than being under the car and I have three other project vehicles that take me away from her. Ok. Four with the boat. That is an issue as well. If Mama ain't happy...
It might be easier to sell if I fix it but I can still burn up a few weekends under the car and only to get $600 for it in the end after they pick over the crappy paint and upholstery. It may not be worth it.
Theres a strip at the the bottom of Illinois titles that you and the buyer sign. Basically states that the car has been sold to the buyer and the seller is no longer responsible for the vehicle. That way if they do decide to ride dirty and do something dumb like make a the local Target into a drive-through, you aren't involved. Might be worth selling to desperate guy.
Dropped the price on it. Now I'm getting calls from people who want to buy it and start driving it to work on Monday. I said very clearly in the ad that it needs work. One of them kept asking me if they could drive it to work and just keep pouring power steering fluid into it. I told her it wasn't a good idea.
Poor people. Sheesh. It might be easier at this point to just donate it.
Selling cars sucks but have you considered that you really don't wanna sell the car subconsciously?
I mean.......it's your dad's car and it's not worth much. It's probably worth many times the amount of money that you will get to you in the long run. Plus a car that gets decent MPG, is cheap to insure and is in the type of shape that means you don't really care if it gets dirty is kinda damn handy really.
Fix the rack and drive it carrying the memories that are in it
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