car owning vs. selling and then purchasing diff. one later situation

[Sachmho]

Ok here's my current situation... I am the current owner (well its in my parents name, but yeah) of a 1996 honda accord... I'm gonna be going off to college this fall, and am not allowed to have my car (no parking for dorms, etc.) plus won't realy need it... both my parents have their own cars, so my car will simply be sitting idly for a year, potentially two if i stay in the dorms another year or study abroad partially, or whatever... So I am thinking it would probably be wise to sell the car now, before we let it just sit for one or two years and do nothing but depreciate... What i've proposed doing is selling the car, and then in a couple years when i'd need a car for travel to/fro home, to/fro campus, etc., buying a 3 or 4 year old civic or corolla, for all I care about is dependability... I want to have a car that will last a very long time... plus my current accord has suspiscious bondo in varied parts of the car, hints of a sordid past... now where this gets tricky is kbb.com rates my car as having a $6,900 resell value to private party... and in, say, 2004, if i were to buy a 2000 civic, that would cost like $8,500 or something around there... there is a 1-2k difference in price from what I would get for my accord to the cost of a 2000 civic, base model of course... my parents don't like the idea or kicking in this little bit of money, even though it will mean 3-4 more years of life on the car, and most likely less repairs than my current bondo'd car... Essentially, I need a car to last me for about 9 more years, and im afraid my already 7 year old accord won't make it that far without some costly repairs... what are your guy's thoughts on the matter?

 

[xSauronx]

sell it
save the money
try to save money while in college (start laughing now...muwahahaha)

get an old cadillac when you get out, i know a chic who had a 91 seville with 100,000+ miles and no major problems or anything with it

and damned comfy

<----- caddy fanboi

 

[vi edit]

Sell it for $6900. Roll that money into an ING direct account and collect interest for the year to two years you won't be needing a car. I say ING because it's one of the safest bets with highest interest you can do right now.

Then, just try and squander away an extra $15 a week ($60 a month) into the account and sit on it.

There's your $1500 extra in two years + change.

 

[Sachmho]

what exactly is an ING account, and what sort of interest $ would I expect it to yield?

 

[RossMAN]

INGDirect.com is an internet only bank which is FDIC insured backed by one of Europe's largest financial groups.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

Paragraphs man, paragraphs.

 

[Sachmho]

so... any more input?

 

[NutBucket]

Sell the car. Letting it sit is truly a waste.

 

[Sachmho]

aight, yeah i'm gonna sell the car regardless of any financial aid from my parents down the road... now, what would be the best way to sell the car private party? autotrader.com, classifieds, etc... ? and will i be able to get any more than the kbb.com price, or is that basically all I can expect... any tips from personal experience on selling a car private party is greatly appreciated

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: Sachmho
aight, yeah i'm gonna sell the car regardless of any financial aid from my parents down the road... now, what would be the best way to sell the car private party? autotrader.com, classifieds, etc... ? and will i be able to get any more than the kbb.com price, or is that basically all I can expect... any tips from personal experience on selling a car private party is greatly appreciated

You obviously want to get the MOST $ for your car so here's what I would recommend:

1) Get your car professionally detailed and cleaned inside and out, should cost around $150 and is worth every penny. They'll bring it to as close to NEW condition as possible including making it smell almost new inside. Trust me, this is VERY important as a first impression.

2) Read Edmunds.com's how to sell your car.

3) Sell your car private party, not to a dealership.

4) To avoid paying a lot of fees listing your car on web sites, first try listing it in your local major newspaper. Some newspapers have the option to list digital pictures of your car on their website, if your newspaper offers this DO IT. List the vital information for your car in the ad, as much as you can.

If you play your cards right, you can sell it within 1-2 days easily.