Question concerning non-running car disposal?

[horseshowmom]

I told my husband that with the wide mixture of individuals on the Dis, somebody might be able advise us on how to proceed.

My car just threw a rod in the engine. After having spent about $1500 on it in the last year, we're not going to put another penny into it (it's a 1998 Lincoln Town Car).

The car is clean inside and out, and the mechanic said that we should be able to get at least a little bit of money out of it.

I've never had a car that didn't run before. Is there anybody who works in a field that deals with that sort of thing who can advise me on how to get as much out of it as possible? Now I get to go buy a new car with no trade-in, so I'd like to get what I could out of it.

Thanks!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Auto trader, Craigslist, or a junk yard. Put it in the 500 and under. Take what you can get.

 

[horseshowmom]

Auto trader, Craigslist, or a junk yard. Put it in the 500 and under. Take what you can get.

I think AutoTrader and a junk yard were what the mechanic recommended too. I think I'll try the junk yards first. That will save having to deal with calls from AutoTrader folks who are browsing (you know, the ones who really aren't that interested but are calling "just in case" they decide they might be! ). But, on the other hand, AutoTrader may turn out to be my best bet.

This is just what I needed...

 

[Mysteria]

Donate it and take the tax write off.

 

[horseshowmom]

Donate it and take the tax write off.

That may turn out to be a good option, but it would just be nice to get a little from it to use as a down payment.

Thanks!

 

[princess momma]

Even if it's not running you may be able to use it as a trade in.

Did they give you a quote on how much it would cost to fix? Some dealers fix up old cars to auction off.

It probably isn't worth much, so I'd find the easiest way to get rid of it.

 

[Jockaroo]

We went through this when hubby blew the engine in his Bonneville. Car Max will take it. If it comes in on a flatbed or towed, you get $50, but they will take it off your hands.

We went the donation route. We donated the car to the auto repair class at a Vocational School. Because the class would be disassembling the car and making projects of the different components, the car would never run again and be sold. We are able to take the full blue book value at time of donation. We did have to get a variety of letters and forms from the school. If the car is donated to a charitable organization, it will be auctioned and you can only deduct the value of the sold price. Please check my facts out. I know things changed recently regarding the tax deduction amounts and it has been several months since we did the donation--and haven't done this year's taxes yet.

Remember, you can't get a lot of cash out of a car that doesn't run. Someone has to take the time and cost of hauling it away. Sorry for your husband's misfortune. Our car blew up miles from home on a day that was over 100 degrees! Believe it or not, we were car shopping that day.

 

[horseshowmom]

We went through this when hubby blew the engine in his Bonneville. Car Max will take it. If it comes in on a flatbed or towed, you get $50, but they will take it off your hands.

We went the donation route. We donated the car to the auto repair class at a Vocational School. Because the class would be disassembling the car and making projects of the different components, the car would never run again and be sold. We are able to take the full blue book value at time of donation. We did have to get a variety of letters and forms from the school. If the car is donated to a charitable organization, it will be auctioned and you can only deduct the value of the sold price. Please check my facts out. I know things changed recently regarding the tax deduction amounts and it has been several months since we did the donation--and haven't done this year's taxes yet.

Remember, you can't get a lot of cash out of a car that doesn't run. Someone has to take the time and cost of hauling it away. Sorry for your husband's misfortune. Our car blew up miles from home on a day that was over 100 degrees! Believe it or not, we were car shopping that day.

Oh my goodness, talk about knocking down the trade-in value!

Your experience with the donation sounds very interesting. I'm going to check on that now. Thanks!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Donate it and take the tax write off.

That will not work. Since the law was changed a few years ago the only deduction you can get for a donated car is the amount which the charity actually received after the car was sold and all expenses of sale covered.

The only exception to this is if the charity will be actually using the vehicle for programs in which event you will be able to deduct fair market value.

In either event you will receive a letter of receipt from the charity identifying the vehicle and telling you, in writing, exactly what your allowable deduction is.

Mike (CPA Retired)

 

[scrapquitler]

Call the American Diabetes Association. They will get basic information about the car from you, then they will have a tow truck come and pick up the car from you, and they give you a receipt. You can then use that as a tax deduction!

I had a car that ran but needed a lot of repairs (it was a 1997 Taurus Wagon with 145K miles on it), and they gave me a receipt that said I made a $500 donation, so that will save me about $200 on my taxes this year.

I think I called on Friday and they picked the car up on Tuesday. It was easy and I was satisfied to not go thru the hassle of trying to sell it.

 

[arminnie]

I don't know about your model - but my sister had a 17 year old acura that wouldn't run. She was told by a couple of used car/repair shops that they would easily give her $1000 for it - just for the parts. That was about 5 years ago.

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

My 1985 Camaro threw a rod in 1991 and I sold it for $1k cash to a mechanic who was going to drop a new engine in it. I advertised it in the classifieds as is and got several phone calls about it.

Good luck!

 

[horseshowmom]

That will not work. Since the law was changed a few years ago the only deduction you can get for a donated car is the amount which the charity actually received after the car was sold and all expenses of sale covered.

The only exception to this is if the charity will be actually using the vehicle for programs in which event you will be able to deduct fair market value.

In either event you will receive a letter of receipt from the charity identifying the vehicle and telling you, in writing, exactly what your allowable deduction is.

Mike (CPA Retired)

Thanks for this information, it's definitely useful!

I may have to go the route of advertising it after all.

Thanks to everybody!