How to dump my stupid car (long)

[rocket333d]

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.

[rocket333d]

Whoa, sorry for the double-post. I only hit submit once, I swear!

[vinsanity]

yup, it took me a number of junkers for me to realize that buying a new(er) car is definitely worth avoiding the hassle of inheriting somebody else's headache. Buying a used car a few years old like you did is the best bet.

As for getting rid of the old junker, what I would do is to advertise it on craigslist and include all the problems you just spelled out in your listing; that way, you won't have to feel guilty about unloading your problems on some unsuspecting shopper.

The easiest option would probably to sell it to a local salvage yard; the most you'd get is a couple hundred bucks.

[wordsmith]

I sold my beloved hooptie for salvage once the repairs it needed exceeded the value of the car by about double. I didn't get much ($300 or so, but given that I paid $800 for the car four years previous, big deal), but it was worth it to get it off my hands and off the street, where it was sitting not being driven, since the brakes (among other things) were too shot to bring it up to my state's inspection code. I thought about craigslisting it "as is," but I really just needed to get it off the street, pronto, since the registration was running out and I couldn't get it reregistered without it passing inspection. Time was a crunch.

[rocket333d]

I also think another attractive option is to donate it. They have free towing (I returned my plates already, so I can't drive it.) But I don't know if I get any money back for that from taxes. I just know you can write it off. I don't usually pay much taxes if I have to, and I have no clue how that works.

[caddymac]

It sounds to me like most of the problems are cosmetic or annoyances more than anything. Well, with the exception of the engine thing.

I'd say put it on craigslist with your list above and some pictures. Most likely whomever would buy it will just put in a junkyard motor and drive it as-is until it truly does die.

I've always wanted to tear into an old car and part it out, just to see what crazy prices some of the parts would bring. To do so would require a lot of time and space, neither of which I can afford right now.

[redav]

I had a piece of junk whose clutch broke. I had it towed to the shop where the mechanic showed me that the whole transmission was shot. Even if I didn't get it fixed, I had to pay for the labor already put into it. They came up with a good alternative--I sold the car to the mechanic for the amount of the labor, wiped my hands and walked away. (Personally, I think I got the better deal on that one.)

So, you could try selling it to a mechanic who has the ability to fix the problems. My parents also have done this. (Funny story: the AC/heater didn't work on that car--it just blew hot air all the time. The back up lights didn't work, either. The mechanic who bought it fixed the lights, and the AC/heater suddenly started working again. Apparently, both were caused by the same thing--and we wonder why the big three are having such problems.)

The other thing is to sell it to a junkyard. Either way, it isn't worth much. As far as donating it, you could give to a school that has an auto mechanics class. They fix up cars as part of the curriculum.