Any value in a car with a destroyed engine?
December 2, 2010 7:32 AM Subscribe
A mechanical fault has destroyed my car engine, effectively writing it off. What are my options?
My 2001 Smart (value around £1500) has suffered some kind of irretrievable engine failure. The cost of a replacement engine is £4000, which obviously writes off the car.
The car is sitting in a Smart / Mercedes dealership, but more than 50 miles from my home. I've already wasted money having the car towed and inspected.
I need to discuss what will happen next with the engineers / sales team. I do need a replacement car, but wasn't really planning on a Mercedes or another Smart. Should I expect to get any money in part exchange, or will they try and charge me for scrapping the car? Would it be worthwhile to get the car towed again, so I can sell off the parts piece by piece on eBay?
My 2001 Smart (value around £1500) has suffered some kind of irretrievable engine failure. The cost of a replacement engine is £4000, which obviously writes off the car.
The car is sitting in a Smart / Mercedes dealership, but more than 50 miles from my home. I've already wasted money having the car towed and inspected.
I need to discuss what will happen next with the engineers / sales team. I do need a replacement car, but wasn't really planning on a Mercedes or another Smart. Should I expect to get any money in part exchange, or will they try and charge me for scrapping the car? Would it be worthwhile to get the car towed again, so I can sell off the parts piece by piece on eBay?
Best answer: I need to discuss what will happen next with the engineers / sales team. I do need a replacement car, but wasn't really planning on a Mercedes or another Smart. Should I expect to get any money in part exchange, or will they try and charge me for scrapping the car?
You've paid them for what they've done; there's no further obligation except to arrange for disposal of the car. You're certainly under no obligation to buy a replacement car from them.
As to part-exchange, unless there's some amazing 'give us your scrap car and we'll give you an absolute bargain on exactly the car you want' deal, I wouldn't bother. Give them a call and ask them whether they'll charge for scrapping it. Given that they'll make money from the scrap, I'd be surprised if there's a charge. If there is, call a scrapyard close to the dealer and ask if they'd be prepared to meet you there and collect it - they might tow the car away for you in exchange for all or part of the scrap value.
Would it be worthwhile to get the car towed again, so I can sell off the parts piece by piece on eBay?
You really need to know your way around the workings of the car to do this. If someone asks you for part X from the fuel system, do you have the skills to locate and remove the part safely, and then evaluate whether it works? On the other hand, if you think you can make enough from basic items like the seats, mirrors, lights, wheels and so on, it might just be worthwhile if you have the spare time to do all the dismantling, packing and posting. You've still got the problem of getting the remains of the car picked up and scrapped, though.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 7:48 AM on December 2, 2010
You've paid them for what they've done; there's no further obligation except to arrange for disposal of the car. You're certainly under no obligation to buy a replacement car from them.
As to part-exchange, unless there's some amazing 'give us your scrap car and we'll give you an absolute bargain on exactly the car you want' deal, I wouldn't bother. Give them a call and ask them whether they'll charge for scrapping it. Given that they'll make money from the scrap, I'd be surprised if there's a charge. If there is, call a scrapyard close to the dealer and ask if they'd be prepared to meet you there and collect it - they might tow the car away for you in exchange for all or part of the scrap value.
Would it be worthwhile to get the car towed again, so I can sell off the parts piece by piece on eBay?
You really need to know your way around the workings of the car to do this. If someone asks you for part X from the fuel system, do you have the skills to locate and remove the part safely, and then evaluate whether it works? On the other hand, if you think you can make enough from basic items like the seats, mirrors, lights, wheels and so on, it might just be worthwhile if you have the spare time to do all the dismantling, packing and posting. You've still got the problem of getting the remains of the car picked up and scrapped, though.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 7:48 AM on December 2, 2010
Here in the US, there are businesses that specialize in car donations. You donate your car, they tow it away and scrap it, and give some percentage of the proceeds to charity. You take the value of the car as a tax deduction. Surely this exists in the UK also.
A word of caution from a friend of mine who works in this industry: Not all of these businesses are equal. Some are very sketchy, and they'll advertise themselves as charities but in reality donate only a token amount to charity (like, 0.01%) and keep the rest. Others are legit. So a little research may be in order.
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 10:40 AM on December 2, 2010
A word of caution from a friend of mine who works in this industry: Not all of these businesses are equal. Some are very sketchy, and they'll advertise themselves as charities but in reality donate only a token amount to charity (like, 0.01%) and keep the rest. Others are legit. So a little research may be in order.
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 10:40 AM on December 2, 2010
The idea of a car that new having such a catastrophic failure puzzles me -- but this isn't the issue on the table.....
As slightly off the wall as this may sound, why don't you ask around local body shops who might be able to use it to farm parts? One way to find them (i.e., body shops) would be to call the service departments of your Mercedes dealer and other local car dealerships and ask about out which body shops they use when such services are required for their inventory and clients' cars. (Car dealers will know who the reputable body shops are.) And if nothing else, the body shop crowd might be able to offer other potential solutions for solving your problem. (For example, they might know of a young mechanic or a local trade school -- another place to call -- who wants an engine to rebuild or otherwise 'play around' with.)
Good luck!
posted by cool breeze at 2:55 PM on December 2, 2010
As slightly off the wall as this may sound, why don't you ask around local body shops who might be able to use it to farm parts? One way to find them (i.e., body shops) would be to call the service departments of your Mercedes dealer and other local car dealerships and ask about out which body shops they use when such services are required for their inventory and clients' cars. (Car dealers will know who the reputable body shops are.) And if nothing else, the body shop crowd might be able to offer other potential solutions for solving your problem. (For example, they might know of a young mechanic or a local trade school -- another place to call -- who wants an engine to rebuild or otherwise 'play around' with.)
Good luck!
posted by cool breeze at 2:55 PM on December 2, 2010
The cost of a replacement engine is £4000
That sounds like a hell of a lot. Is that new? Can you get a used engine cheaper?
posted by HiroProtagonist at 5:40 PM on December 2, 2010
That sounds like a hell of a lot. Is that new? Can you get a used engine cheaper?
posted by HiroProtagonist at 5:40 PM on December 2, 2010
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I worked in a pick-a-part scrap yard for a while. They never made a ton of money on the pick-a-part business and mostly made money off of the platinum in the catalytic converters, and the value of the car in scrap. (A couple hundred bucks Canadian per car, depending on the price of steel.)
If you have to pay for a tow truck most scrap yards won't give you enough money to make it worth the cost of the tow. But hell, you have to get rid of the thing anyway. If you've got a truck and a thirty dollar tow rope, you might save yourself a lot of money towing it.
IMHO. There's not a ton of money in scrapping cars, and generally even less in the parts. 2001 is just new enough to be going up in value though, so the parts might be worth a couple extra bucks.
I have serious doubts about the whole selling parts on ebay scheme, because of the niche nature of your market and the cost of towing and shipping. Local sales are always better if you can swing them, but again, I'm not convinced it's worth the effort.
If you (or a friend) was getting a similar car you could definitely use the old one for parts, but it doesn't sound like you're keen on that option.
Maybe someone else has a better ideas. People here always surprise me. It comes down to what resources and knowledge you have though.
posted by Stagger Lee at 7:47 AM on December 2, 2010