Aging car - trade-in at dealership for scrap value, sell privately, or...? (Updated)

[nedfunnell]

Dang. I was in Erie 6 hours ago and I would have given you $500 for it, moved my crap over to your car, sold my beater to the scrapyard, and continued my drive home.

Edit: I am, apparently, a hermit crab.

 

[Jeff7]

Dang. I was in Erie 6 hours ago and I would have given you $500 for it, moved my crap over to your car, sold my beater to the scrapyard, and continued my drive home.

Edit: I am, apparently, a hermit crab.

I would have had to charge you enough to cover a rental car until the new one arrives at the dealership, which might be another month.


Cripes, KBB says ~$2k for a car with the options mine's got.

Fair:

• Requires some mechanical repairs/servicing but is in reasonable running condition
• Some cosmetic defects that require repair and/or replacement
• Paint may require refinishing and body has dings, chips or scratches
• Substantial wear on interior, which may have small tears
• Engine compartment has leaks and may require a tune up
• May have some repairable rust damage
• Tires may need replacing
• Clean title history
• Some service records available

"Reasonable" and "running" - yes, running. Reasonable....maybe?
Service records - if I've got anything, it's because I accidentally left a receipt lying around and didn't throw it out.
The interior's in decent shape, with the exception of the driver's side carpeting; it hasn't been cleaned in quite awhile though. The weight of the dust is probably killing my gas mileage.

I looked around Craislist a bit too. Someone was selling a '96 Chevy Lumina for $800 - and it was just in a minor accident.


Craigslist commentary: Do they charge $50 per letter for listings, or what's the deal? Most people post as little information as possible. Is it laziness, or what? It's not just cars either. Apartment listings suck. Many just give the number of bedrooms, the price, and a phone number. Plenty don't list the amenities (A garage or off-street parking? Appliances?), and lots of them don't even tell you where the damn building is located.




If/when I list my car, should I give a listing of what's wrong with it? Most of the ads I've seen simply say "needs work" and don't elaborate. Well geez, that could mean it needs a thorough waxing and new hubcaps, or it could mean that the back half of it got stuck in an industrial wood chipper.

Is it in my best interest to fall in line with the no-information-for-you crowd there, or be up-front with a list of the car's issues and hope it keeps away some of the people who are just going to look and not buy?

 

[Jeff7]

Slightly old thread, but a quick bump here - the OP has been updated.

The list of grievances against the car has been updated, as has the list of things it's still doing well, and other things in the first post, incorporating some of what I've read in the thread thus far.

I'm pondering doing some work on the thing before selling it. The options:

1) Push the dealership to give me $500 for the car, and be done with the thing right there on the spot.
2) Sell it privately, entirely in as-is condition. Service manual included.
3) Replace some cheap and simple things: Oil/oil filter, fuel filter, wiper blades. Fix the speaker wiring.
4) Do some moderately more expensive things. This would be more for my own benefit, to get a bit of experience working on a car, at least doing relatively minor repairs and servicing.