Comments | bismuthobsidian: Decisions concerning my car

bismuthobsidian

Decisions concerning my car

Aug 09, 2007 11:03

I have to decide to keep or get rid of my car. I owe about $2800 which would take me 9 months to pay off. I let the insurance laps because I couldn't afford it and I have not been driving my car. I haven't been driving my car because I need new break pads. The heat is also broken, but I believe this is just the fan, I need to have 1 tire replaced. ( Read more... )

Comments 6

kalliejenn2 August 9 2007, 15:48:17 UTC

as long as matt has his car, you might be better off being rid of it.

ayelle August 9 2007, 16:04:52 UTC

I think you should give it to your brother. I'm a big fan of keeping these things "in the family" -- when dealing with cars, you're almost always taking a loss, otherwise. But in the family, the loss isn't really a loss, or you can think of it as a gift. And who knows, maybe in 3 years you'll want a car again, and he won't want one any more. Maybe you can still have "visiting rights..."

kalliejenn2 August 9 2007, 16:54:23 UTC

i second this!

joyeous August 9 2007, 16:21:47 UTC

I don't think just letting it sit somewhere is a good option. I don't know too much about cars, but I do know they need to be driven frequently or they start to go bad. I don't know if it's due to lack of lubrication of the engine, or parts getting rusty, or what, but they don't just stay in the condition they were in.

derspatchel August 9 2007, 17:03:33 UTC

Additionally, if you leave it in one place for too long, the cops'll notice and either ticket it excessively or just haul it off when you're not looking. Around here you gotsta be careful.

A bit late, but... justom August 12 2007, 05:12:24 UTC

You could take a look at the kelly's blue book website (kbb.com) to see how much you'd be likely to get for the car, as a trade-in to a dealer or from private sale. It's probably worth getting an estimate from your mechanic on how much the various repairs would be. Probably also worth getting the standard service, or a similar once-over, to make sure you know what's wrong with it. Then you could feel good about giving/selling it to your brother, or what have you. It sounds like you could do without it, so why not?

You could also consider donating it and getting a tax writeoff, check out goodnewsgarage.com for one possible example. Not sure if that makes economic sense for you, compared to selling it, but might be worth thinking about.

Hope it all works out well for you, whatever you decide. =)