I didn’t want to hijack the other post, but my
fiance has a, um, deceased car…an '88 Honda Accord.
Besides donating it, and investigating local Auto Parts
stores, anyone have any idea how to get the most moolah
out of a car that has shuffled off it’s mortal coil?
There are wrecking companies that strip dead cars for parts and scrap metal.
If she has clear title and it is in good condition, your local Pick-a-Part will probably give her 50 bucks for it. If not, you will have to pay them to take it away.
Charities usually won’t take ‘dead’ cars.
Put an ad in the paper, "1988 Honda Accord for sale–immaculate condition” Have a friend of yours hide underneath the car. Then when someone comes to look at it, give your friend the signal and have him make “VROOOOOOOOM” engine noises, or “BEEP BEEP” for the horn, or whatever else the person seems to be checking. You must work out an intricate system of foot signals so your buddy will know what noises to make at your signal. If the person buying wants to go for a drive, poke them in the eye and run like hell.
At least, that’s what I’d do.
I had the exact same thing happen to me. My car died and stayed motionless in the drive. Call salvage yards and be happy if they offer to come pick it up and give you $50.
In my case, the picking it up was the big issue for me.
If you’re willing to donate, call the American Red Cross. I just donated a dead car, and they took it just fine. I’ll even get to name my own value for it (within reason) come tax time.
And then I’ve got a shell of a car I used for parts that they will take too.
It may depend on the region.
Well, first you get enough room to swing it…
Oh, Dead CAR.
Sorry
He had an old Plymouth Duster that finally crapped out on him.
He would have gotten $50 and a free tow from the salvage yard so he had a better idea.
He parked his car in an empty lot and charged $10 a ‘ticket’ for anyone to have at his car for 5 minutes with a sledgehammer, bat and a few other items he brought along.
He walked away with $350 or so and then called the salvage yard to pick it up and they gave him $35 and the free tow to the yard.
Of course, this was in college so there were tons of people nearby who knew him (not like some stranger on the street offering to let you whack his car). It was still surprising how many people wanted a chance to smash a car (the car was TOTALED at the end of it all but the steel plating on the Duster held up for awhile remarkably well).
Just an idea…
what I did…fixed it just enough for it to run…
went to a dealer, told them I had this car to trade in, and that it was in the shop. I made a big fuss about how I was sick of always fixing it.
they applied $5000 as a blind trade ('89 Saab) towards a new mustang. Limped it in the next day, dropped off the keys, and ran away.
They were glad to sell a new car. The dealer is just going to have it serviced, then more than likely auction it off.
I once some of my 65 Mercury to a guy on the net who had a Mercury parts net store. Yep. A Honda like that should have parts you can sell to people on the net if you want to do that first.
No offense, Handy, but this isn’t a classic set of wheels that we’re talking about. It’s a 1988 Honda Accord :p. Not that cars of that vintage won’t sell. I recently sold an '87 Chevy Celebrity and got $500, but it still ran respectably well. If this Honda needs engine or tranny work, then forget it: any repairs will easily add up to more than you could ever make selling the car. My recommendation is to call the junk yard and take the $50.
if you don’t want to give it to the red cross or something, they do take dead cars, then try putting it in the paper as not running and say best offer. you might make some money off of someone needing parts. might take some time though. or if there is some sort of car show try taking it there.
Edward, an ad in the paper here costs like $45.00 for a few days…maybe just put a free ad at the laundromat?
Honda’s are pretty hot…stick it in the ghetto & collect on the insurance 
Why not donate it? The tax deduction can be worth quite a lot!
I semi-inherited (meaning she’s still alive, but can’t drive) my granny’s 1987 Buick Century 4-cylinder, an abomination of a car that would never have existed were it not for the old Corporate Average Fuel Economy rules. It died within about 9 months of my driving it like a real person rather than an 87-year-old widow.
I donated it to the American Lung Association because my grandfather died of emphysema. I got a lovely tax certificate (good for the IRS) which valued the car at roughly $2500, despite its complete inability to move without a towtruck attached. At my tax rate that deduction was worth about $1100, which is far more than I could reasonably have gotten for selling it – especially when you include the aggravation factor.
So do well by doing good!
[ul][li]How do you steal a car that doesn’t run?[/li][*]How stupid do you have to be to have insurance for a car that doesn’t run?[/ul]
How do you steal a car that doesn’t run? Not very well. When my car was broken into, they tried to steal it (I surmise. It was moved somewhat, and the ignition was busted up.), but because my car was one of those that only the driver knows how to start, they didn’t get far.
–Tim
You can probably get the most money by donating it, as stated above. There’s no shortage of places that you can donate it to. I shall recite a favorite radio commercial to illustrate the possibilities:
(To be said in heavy Brooklyn accents):
Boy, I’ll tell you Larry. We’re lucky being dogs.
Why’s that Sal?
We’ve got a big backyard, our own private tree. Heck, our owner even leaves the terlet seat up for us. What more could a dog want?
Well, a '73 Chevy would be nice.
Huh?
Or an '81 Camaro.
Whadda we need a car for? We don’t even have a license.
Not to drive, Sal! To donate to the North Shore Animal League.
A cat behind the wheel of a Datsun?
No, don’t you see? A donation of a car could lead to a new life for thousands of adorable cats and dogs, like it did for us.
I think I’m gonna cry.
It doesn’t even have to run. They’ll arrange for a free pick-up.
That’s good, 'cause I haven’t passed my road test yet.
No?
I was trying to parallel park, heh heh. Got distracted by a fire hydrant. WHAMMO! Right into the curb!
Oh, not good Sal!
Hmmm. Did anyone ask him what it needs? Maybe it just needs something like a tuneup?
Alas, it needs a lot more than a tune-up…it’s got
150,000 miles on it, and the mechanics said it needs
a new engine, basically, which would cost far more
than the car is now worth.
But thanks for all the lovely suggestions, folks!
Keep 'em coming, if you’ve got one different from
the ones already offered.
I especially liked the sledge-hammer idea but it’s
a little too violent for my sweetie.
‘I especially liked the sledge-hammer idea but it’s
a little too violent for my sweetie.’
Not mention your getting sued…but you know, basically swallow your pride & give it to some charity.