I loooooove my car but I hate driving.
January 7, 2022 5:27 AM Subscribe
Please help me get rid of Froot Loop Jr. - I have many questions about processes and logistics but there's some emotional stuff there too. FLJ was the first and only car I ever bought new.
I drove my recently-crashed car down 280 to San Jose on a Saturday in July of 2012. A couple miles before the exit, smoke started pouring out of the engine. Since the accident I'd been researching cars to buy and decided on the Mazda3. My insurance/loan company sucked me into an "exclusive members-only" price at a specific dealership and it seemed good.
And since black is the color of both my soul and my heart, my new car would be black.
As I approached the dealership my car got slower and slower and I just hugged the curb, scraping the tires, until I turned into the lot of the dealership.
I got to drive the new car but only, like, around the busy block. But it was this beautiful royal blue in color and it took my breath. If I ever have to drive anywhere I want to drive this blue car.
Step away now for my hours-long wait in the showroom where presumably the salesguys admired my naiveté and my credit score and my insistence on paying no more than the special quote I'd downloaded from my loan/insurance company.
In 2001 I moved to a city and lived in a city for the first time in my life. I never want to live in a not-city again. I love public transportation, being near shops, being able to walk almost everywhere and abundant resources for ridesharing and delivery. Hence my dilemma.
I'm paying for a parking space and car insurance. The registration expired more than three years ago and the car often doesn't run because I never drive it and the battery dies a lot.
The car is a 2012 base-model 5-speed with 32K miles on the clock. It has a lot of non-structural body damage and could use new tires and a tune-up. A shop I sent it to a couple weeks ago said it was in good shape - they recharged the brand new dead battery and it was fine.
Where should I sell it? What should I do to get it sold? How can I make the most money? I know the new car market is on fire, how's the used car market?
- Throw $2K at it for whatever fixes will make the best first impression, then craigslist
- Do nothing, then craigslist
I drove my recently-crashed car down 280 to San Jose on a Saturday in July of 2012. A couple miles before the exit, smoke started pouring out of the engine. Since the accident I'd been researching cars to buy and decided on the Mazda3. My insurance/loan company sucked me into an "exclusive members-only" price at a specific dealership and it seemed good.
And since black is the color of both my soul and my heart, my new car would be black.
As I approached the dealership my car got slower and slower and I just hugged the curb, scraping the tires, until I turned into the lot of the dealership.
I got to drive the new car but only, like, around the busy block. But it was this beautiful royal blue in color and it took my breath. If I ever have to drive anywhere I want to drive this blue car.
Step away now for my hours-long wait in the showroom where presumably the salesguys admired my naiveté and my credit score and my insistence on paying no more than the special quote I'd downloaded from my loan/insurance company.
In 2001 I moved to a city and lived in a city for the first time in my life. I never want to live in a not-city again. I love public transportation, being near shops, being able to walk almost everywhere and abundant resources for ridesharing and delivery. Hence my dilemma.
I'm paying for a parking space and car insurance. The registration expired more than three years ago and the car often doesn't run because I never drive it and the battery dies a lot.
The car is a 2012 base-model 5-speed with 32K miles on the clock. It has a lot of non-structural body damage and could use new tires and a tune-up. A shop I sent it to a couple weeks ago said it was in good shape - they recharged the brand new dead battery and it was fine.
Where should I sell it? What should I do to get it sold? How can I make the most money? I know the new car market is on fire, how's the used car market?
- Throw $2K at it for whatever fixes will make the best first impression, then craigslist
- Do nothing, then craigslist
As long as you have a clean title, do nothing except vacuum and then craigslist that baby and get paid cash.
I did not have a clean title, from prior laziness, and ended up getting $400 to scrap a car that someone mechanical probably would have paid $1000+ for happily, as the problems were not extreme and it was running/driving, and it had things like fresh, high quality snow tires.
No clue on value. The used car market is also in a garbage state, with prices way up, but if yours is a junker, don't have too high of expectations, especially with body damage.
posted by jellywerker at 5:59 AM on January 7, 2022 [1 favorite]
I did not have a clean title, from prior laziness, and ended up getting $400 to scrap a car that someone mechanical probably would have paid $1000+ for happily, as the problems were not extreme and it was running/driving, and it had things like fresh, high quality snow tires.
No clue on value. The used car market is also in a garbage state, with prices way up, but if yours is a junker, don't have too high of expectations, especially with body damage.
posted by jellywerker at 5:59 AM on January 7, 2022 [1 favorite]
The only "fix" I'd put any money into is a mid-level cleaning, because photos are where first impressions are at, and your ideal buyer will be making emotional decisions. You want them to not get fixated on the body damage and to appreciate hearing that a shop recently said it was doing well, rather than being someone who can seriously dicker with you about what repairs are or are not needed and how much they'll cost.
Before you worry about polishing FLJ up though, you might as well ask Carvana what they'd give you (unless you're still in CA, where they don't buy cars with expired registrations). I've bought from them and they seem to be all about the mileage. If nothing else, it'd been good to have as a backup if you start getting closer to your next billing cycle on that parking spot and/or insurance without a buyer.
posted by teremala at 6:12 AM on January 7, 2022 [3 favorites]
Before you worry about polishing FLJ up though, you might as well ask Carvana what they'd give you (unless you're still in CA, where they don't buy cars with expired registrations). I've bought from them and they seem to be all about the mileage. If nothing else, it'd been good to have as a backup if you start getting closer to your next billing cycle on that parking spot and/or insurance without a buyer.
posted by teremala at 6:12 AM on January 7, 2022 [3 favorites]
Do keep in mind that in most states, it's NOT legal to drive on the road with expired reg, and if you got into an accident, insurance may not cover you in that state. You may be able to get a 1 day temp reg to get that sorted at the DMV.
posted by kschang at 8:08 AM on January 7, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by kschang at 8:08 AM on January 7, 2022 [3 favorites]
You'd be surprised how little you will get for 2k of body work on this car. I would also skip that step and try to find the right buyer on craigslist. Focus on making the interior impeccable. Go to AutoZone to get some cheap interior detailing supplies and then go at it with a vacuum, q-tips, and a toothbrush (seriously). Depending on how much your time is worth to you, it might be easier just to take this to a dealer to see what they will offer you, but expect to get far less than a private sale. It would take less than five minute to get a quote from Carvana just for the heck of it, but they are not typically in the business of selling cars with this much damage.
posted by TurkishGolds at 8:09 AM on January 7, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by TurkishGolds at 8:09 AM on January 7, 2022 [1 favorite]
Best answer: You can get a trip permit for 21 days that will let you drive the car to an auction lot in E. Portland. All you need is the title for the car, and I think there's a listing fee but most of the fees are on the buyer's side.
If you don't want to deal with Craigslist or otherwise selling the car on your own an auction is a good way to get rid of a questionable but functional car. We had a BMW that self destructed (belt broke, sending the fan into the engine) and it ended up at Speed's Auto Auction as a PBS car. I tracked it through the auction (they're online and all bids are public) and it sold for $3000. If you work through a dealer or whatever it is going to end up at auction anyway, might as well be YOU getting the money and not them.
posted by fiercekitten at 9:08 AM on January 7, 2022 [2 favorites]
If you don't want to deal with Craigslist or otherwise selling the car on your own an auction is a good way to get rid of a questionable but functional car. We had a BMW that self destructed (belt broke, sending the fan into the engine) and it ended up at Speed's Auto Auction as a PBS car. I tracked it through the auction (they're online and all bids are public) and it sold for $3000. If you work through a dealer or whatever it is going to end up at auction anyway, might as well be YOU getting the money and not them.
posted by fiercekitten at 9:08 AM on January 7, 2022 [2 favorites]
if yours is a junker, don't have too high of expectations, especially with body damage.
Donate it to your favorite public radio or TV station, the least troublesome way to get rid of a car.
posted by Rash at 9:28 AM on January 7, 2022
Donate it to your favorite public radio or TV station, the least troublesome way to get rid of a car.
posted by Rash at 9:28 AM on January 7, 2022
Best answer: Only 32K? I think your car is worth more than people are thinking.
Change the oil, drive it multiple times next week, when the gas gets almost empty run a bottle of Seafoam through it (instructions on the bottle), then fill up with gas. You don't want something going wrong during a test drive and that's all under $100.
Wash and detail, then take pictures and list it. It's not a junker, it's a great car, don't take any low-ball offers.
posted by flimflam at 10:01 AM on January 7, 2022 [4 favorites]
Change the oil, drive it multiple times next week, when the gas gets almost empty run a bottle of Seafoam through it (instructions on the bottle), then fill up with gas. You don't want something going wrong during a test drive and that's all under $100.
Wash and detail, then take pictures and list it. It's not a junker, it's a great car, don't take any low-ball offers.
posted by flimflam at 10:01 AM on January 7, 2022 [4 favorites]
Craigslist has been slow lately, regrettably most of the "by owner" used car sales seem to have moved to Facebook Marketplace. Some people are willing to pay a premium for low mileage used cars and the used car market is really hot right now. At the lower end of the market, it's hard to find something even remotely desirable that runs and drives for under 4 K.
If your MeFI posting about it is anything to go by, I'd suggest tightening up your ad copy to mostly focus on the pertinent facts ( "1 owner from new, 32 K miles, 6-speed manual, minor scratch/debt body damage to multiple panels etc." rather than telling a long, slightly confusing story about how you came to acquire the car... people are going to read about accidents, the smoking wreckage of your old car barely making the final trip and start blurring the two vehicles together. (As I suspect some MeFI posters have with suggestions for how to get rid of it as if it's a junk car.)
posted by Larry David Syndrome at 10:44 AM on January 7, 2022 [4 favorites]
If your MeFI posting about it is anything to go by, I'd suggest tightening up your ad copy to mostly focus on the pertinent facts ( "1 owner from new, 32 K miles, 6-speed manual, minor scratch/debt body damage to multiple panels etc." rather than telling a long, slightly confusing story about how you came to acquire the car... people are going to read about accidents, the smoking wreckage of your old car barely making the final trip and start blurring the two vehicles together. (As I suspect some MeFI posters have with suggestions for how to get rid of it as if it's a junk car.)
posted by Larry David Syndrome at 10:44 AM on January 7, 2022 [4 favorites]
Somehow, part of my comment was swallowed. I did a lookup of the value of your car in "rough" condition at Edmunds.com and got around $6K for my metro area. CA might be higher. I'd suggest listing it at an ambitious price "or best offer" and see what kind of numbers people throw at you. Good luck with the sale!
posted by Larry David Syndrome at 10:47 AM on January 7, 2022
posted by Larry David Syndrome at 10:47 AM on January 7, 2022
Best answer: Apologies, I did not notice the images!
Yeah, no, that's worth plenty of money even in the current condition. I was imagining a crumpled in funder/bumper situation or similar where you'd need 3-5k in bodywork to make it presentable. That just looks like it was aggressively street parked for a decade.
I still stand by just clean it up and sell it as is - Larry David and Flimflam are offering good advice on doing that in more detail.
posted by jellywerker at 3:19 PM on January 7, 2022
Yeah, no, that's worth plenty of money even in the current condition. I was imagining a crumpled in funder/bumper situation or similar where you'd need 3-5k in bodywork to make it presentable. That just looks like it was aggressively street parked for a decade.
I still stand by just clean it up and sell it as is - Larry David and Flimflam are offering good advice on doing that in more detail.
posted by jellywerker at 3:19 PM on January 7, 2022
Best answer: A manual transmission will pull out a lot of people more willing to deal with repairing it!
And I understand why you fell in love with that color. I recommend getting it detailed, and then selling it.
posted by coberh at 2:37 PM on January 8, 2022
And I understand why you fell in love with that color. I recommend getting it detailed, and then selling it.
posted by coberh at 2:37 PM on January 8, 2022
Give it a good wash, vacuum and clean the interior (it may be worth paying someone to detail it, and being perfectly clean and shiny will take some focus off the damage) and put it up for sale wherever people in that area buy cars. Despite the various dents and scratches, it's a very desirable car for a person looking for something reliable and comfortable and plenty of people aren't bothered by what really is minor damage (albeit in quite a few places). That low mileage will be attractive to many people who are more concerned with reliability than aesthetics.
Take a few whole-car photos and don't use anything that accentuates the damage - people can see that when they come and look. Just mention in the ad that it has minor body damage.
I'd buy a new battery - nothing will kill a car sale faster than having to jump-start it before a test drive!
posted by dg at 12:30 PM on January 13, 2022
Take a few whole-car photos and don't use anything that accentuates the damage - people can see that when they come and look. Just mention in the ad that it has minor body damage.
I'd buy a new battery - nothing will kill a car sale faster than having to jump-start it before a test drive!
posted by dg at 12:30 PM on January 13, 2022
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Just do it! The faster you say goodbye, the less painful it will be. Froot Loop Jr. is languishing! Let FLJ go be loved by someone who will actually drive FLJ!
posted by mskyle at 5:39 AM on January 7, 2022 [6 favorites]