Crush for $1500 or sell as is / fix then sell?

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Near the final episode of father in law getting a new Camry to replace his old Camry.

Currently our area pays you crush a car that fail smog, or a 20 year old car that didn't fail smog. For my FIL's income bracket he would get $1500.

So, if you have a 1997 Camry XLE V6 with 150k miles, that is in "good" exterior and interior condition (minor scratches and discoloration, leather is a bit stained from ink but not cracked or worn through, rattle can sprayed rear bumper), CEL on (comes and goes according to FIL) and some piston slap noise under the hood, functional mechanical other than warm start problem, maybe some minor oil leak under the hood), would you say it is worth trying to sell for more than $1500? I think BlueBook said private party sales is around $1500 but I think people in Toyota Nation is trying to sell something similar for $4000 (which I think is too high).
 
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I'd take the $1500 and move on. Think the best you'd get for it $2200 after you fix it. Just not worth the headache to me.
 
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Could you donate it and get a tax deduction? Seems a shame to crush it when a needy family might could fix it and drive it.
 
Originally Posted By: gman2304
Could you donate it and get a tax deduction? Seems a shame to crush it when a needy family might could fix it and drive it.


Not going to happen here as the charity has to sell it and let you deduct the amount they sell for, and FIL is not high earner so it doesn't work for him.
 
Id sell it privately. No point sending a perfectly serviceable car to get junked. I would rather sell it, "as is" to someone for 2 grand, then to scrap it. But everyone has their own opinion. If I lived near you, Id take it off your hands for 2 grand. You wouldnt have a use for it as a 2nd car? For that price, it fairly low mile, likely low rust.. and could probably run well still for a few years maybe more.. At the end of the day, its up to you. You will get more for it selling independently though.
 
Originally Posted By: Rolla07
Id sell it privately. No point sending a perfectly serviceable car to get junked. I would rather sell it, "as is" to someone for 2 grand, then to scrap it. But everyone has their own opinion. If I lived near you, Id take it off your hands for 2 grand. You wouldnt have a use for it as a 2nd car? For that price, it fairly low mile, likely low rust.. and could probably run well still for a few years maybe more.. At the end of the day, its up to you. You will get more for it selling independently though.


The clause of the buyback program will leave it in the junkyard for 30 days so public can buy it off the lot for the price paid ($1500) to prevent perfectly good car from getting crushed.

I already have 3 cars and to be honest I do not like V6, nor a car that my FIL has been neglecting. If it was my own dad's car I might be interested. He traded in a 01 Taurus SEL in excellent condition for only $2500, so I doubt a Camry in the condition listed will fetch $2200.

If I were to take it off my FIL's hand it would be left in the weather for 10 years so my daughter can use it as the 1st car at 16. It would probably be in way worse shape than now, so not really worth it.
 
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This car sounds pretty beat and neglected, so I'd take the fifteen bills and run.
If someone wants to buy it as a project for that kind of coin, great.
At least you're out of the picture.
Sell the car directly and you may have an angry rap on the door late one night from the buyer who'll claim you failed to disclose the car's known problems and you owe them their money back.
Not worth the small marginal gain on sale you'll get.
So the old guy talked you into to buying him a new Camry?
 
Today, I gave my 93 olds ciera to a family that could not afford a car. I had decent tires on it, and it only had 85k on it. They were ecstatic. The family had hard times and the dad had been laid off, and now had a low paying job.
Go through a church and see if anyone needs a free car, make sure it does not need repairs they can't afford. You will feel good helping someone.

Sometimes what we consider a beater car, is a gold mine to someone else in need.

I am now driving the hyundai. I liked the ciera better, but I had too many cars and had to pare down.
 
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Sorry to hear you're still dealing with this situation. Based on your previous posts there's a question whether he'll take your recommendation. Maybe determine the path of least stress for you, propose it and step away.

Merry Christmas!
 
Knowing craigslist people, he would deal with people trying to pay less than the $1500 he'd get for the no hassle sell, regardless how the ad is worded.
But I wonder who is really paying $1500 to crush the car? Is it the tax payers?
 
Originally Posted By: gman2304
Could you donate it and get a tax deduction? Seems a shame to crush it when a needy family might could fix it and drive it.


Tax deductions for donated cars don't work the way they used to. Before you could write off the book value of the car. Now you can only write off what the charity actually gets for the car. So if they only get $2000 or even $1000 and my guess is that he's either in the 15 or 25% tax bracket, he's only going to save $150-$500 on his taxes. As he's it sounds like he's hard up for cash, he's better off taking the $1500 than getting the tax deduction.

As everyone else here says, take the $1500. Lot less hassle. If you feel guilty, put a list in the car of the repairs it needs, maybe leave one in the glove box too in case the junkyard throws it out. Plus emissions have gotten better year after year so getting an old car off the road also has some utility in better air quality. Most people like to breathe clean air.
 
$1500 to crush a car, depending on the tax bracket? Nice, here we get $200-$250. Boy would that make choices a lot easier for a lot of people. I'd crush it in a heart beat.
 
Ship it here and I could probably get $3K for it in one day.

Seriously: put it on eBay as a "solid, rust free car-always in CALIFORNIA!" Reserve of $1600, BIN price of $2200 or so...it will sell!
 
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