rocket333d
11-11-2008, 12:52 AM
Every year I have driven a car, I have done the "responsible" thing and bought a junker, only to have it decompose in the most spectacular manner sometimes as soon as nine months after purchase.
Last year, after The Horror of the Driver's Side Ejector Seat of Death, I bought my boyfriend's old 1996 Saturn off of him for a little over $2k. I, of course, did not have $2k readily available, so I took out a line of credit at my bank. I figured this could help me with my credit as my score was good, but my actual history stunk as I never had credit before outside of student loans. I'd been paying way over the minimum monthly payment and had whittled the balance down to less than $1k.
Before I took it to be inspected this year, I dropped $700 on a new exhaust system, because I wanted this one to last. (It was the newest car I ever had, and I honestly believed I could get five more years out of it.) That was when (why not?) I lost the car lottery. I took it to get inspected and was informed the head gasket was busted and the engine flooded, among other smaller things that apparently cost $2500 to fix.
After a weapons-grade temper tantrum, I broke the junker cycle and bought a gently used 07 Toyota for 13k, plus warranty. I did the math, including all the repairs I've paid for, and if I had bought a car like that at the start of my driving career, I would've spent less per year and would have finished paying for it by now.
So I'm now stuck with the old car in my driveway. My parents told me to sell it as a "mechanic's Special" but I really don't think I can in good conscience sell a car that has:
- The aforementioned gasket problem
- Acorns in every place one can store acorns. (They come back once removed...)
- A non-working lock on the passenger side
- A tempermental lock on the driver's side
- Busted speakers
- Busted CD drive
- Hole in upholstery where I sat with a screwdriver in my pocket
- Coins that appear to be welded into the cupholders and have not come out even with much coaxing from every cleaning solvent ever invented
- Temperamental ignition (whines when you leave it parked for four days or more)
- Paint stain on upholstery (exterior touch-up paint explodes in the heat, even though the bottle says to keep it in your car.)
- Large odd stains on upholstery that were there when my boyfriend bought the car used way back in 2002. (We're both big fans of seat covers.) I've tried to get these stains out several times with different kinds of upholstery cleaners, most recently Oxy-clean, which has been most successful, but still there's a mess after four applications.
I want to get the rest of the credit line off my back. My savings were already dealt a heavy blow with the exhaust repair and the down payment, and it would pain me to part with more. Would selling it for scrap get me a decent chunk? Would it be better to donate it for a tax write-off? I don't know anything about taxes; if you get the write off, and you usually get a refund, or just not pay much taxes, do you get that write-off money back? I considered taking the good parts and selling them on Ebay, but that may be such a hassle, and I want this thing GONE.
Last year, after The Horror of the Driver's Side Ejector Seat of Death, I bought my boyfriend's old 1996 Saturn off of him for a little over $2k. I, of course, did not have $2k readily available, so I took out a line of credit at my bank. I figured this could help me with my credit as my score was good, but my actual history stunk as I never had credit before outside of student loans. I'd been paying way over the minimum monthly payment and had whittled the balance down to less than $1k.
Before I took it to be inspected this year, I dropped $700 on a new exhaust system, because I wanted this one to last. (It was the newest car I ever had, and I honestly believed I could get five more years out of it.) That was when (why not?) I lost the car lottery. I took it to get inspected and was informed the head gasket was busted and the engine flooded, among other smaller things that apparently cost $2500 to fix.
After a weapons-grade temper tantrum, I broke the junker cycle and bought a gently used 07 Toyota for 13k, plus warranty. I did the math, including all the repairs I've paid for, and if I had bought a car like that at the start of my driving career, I would've spent less per year and would have finished paying for it by now.
So I'm now stuck with the old car in my driveway. My parents told me to sell it as a "mechanic's Special" but I really don't think I can in good conscience sell a car that has:
- The aforementioned gasket problem
- Acorns in every place one can store acorns. (They come back once removed...)
- A non-working lock on the passenger side
- A tempermental lock on the driver's side
- Busted speakers
- Busted CD drive
- Hole in upholstery where I sat with a screwdriver in my pocket
- Coins that appear to be welded into the cupholders and have not come out even with much coaxing from every cleaning solvent ever invented
- Temperamental ignition (whines when you leave it parked for four days or more)
- Paint stain on upholstery (exterior touch-up paint explodes in the heat, even though the bottle says to keep it in your car.)
- Large odd stains on upholstery that were there when my boyfriend bought the car used way back in 2002. (We're both big fans of seat covers.) I've tried to get these stains out several times with different kinds of upholstery cleaners, most recently Oxy-clean, which has been most successful, but still there's a mess after four applications.
I want to get the rest of the credit line off my back. My savings were already dealt a heavy blow with the exhaust repair and the down payment, and it would pain me to part with more. Would selling it for scrap get me a decent chunk? Would it be better to donate it for a tax write-off? I don't know anything about taxes; if you get the write off, and you usually get a refund, or just not pay much taxes, do you get that write-off money back? I considered taking the good parts and selling them on Ebay, but that may be such a hassle, and I want this thing GONE.