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Old 03-27-2002, 11:17 AM   #1
Zola
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 16876
Join Date: Mar 2002
Chapter/Region: MWSOC
Location: St Paul, MN
Vehicle:
2002 Impreza WRX
WR Blue

Default My WRX is on the way...what to do with old car?

Hey guys and gals,

I am joining the ranks of Subaru owners in about 3 weeks or so. My WR Blue WRX is en route! I wanted to wait a little longer but my hand was forced.

Now I have to figure out what to do with my old car. I'm a bit leery of asking for advice because I've lurked for quite a while and I see that jumping all over people is pretty popular. I hope you can bear with me, because I really don't know what option to choose in my situation. If you feel like you have to call me an idiot, OK, but I would hope you could just keep silent instead.

My 1992 Mitsu Galant finally died. Long story short: it was stalling when I came to a stop, I had it in to a mechanic, spent about $400, didn't fix the problem. The second time in, they turned the idle screw up to fix the stalling, but it was incredibly difficult to start. The next morning it wouldn't start at all, and it hasn't since. It would take several hundred dollars of parts alone to fix whatever is wrong--MAF sensor, air temp sensor, air pressure sensor, etc. I gave up, didn't want to spend any more $$ and I've been ready to buy a WRX for a while.

The Galant has 145,000 miles on it, and up until a week or so ago it had been running like a champ. It has had regular oil changes and major service (e.g., timing belt). The body and interior are in great condition for a 10 year old vehicle. So if it was running, it would probably be worth $500-$700 or so. But it's not.

Here's what I've thought of so far:

1. Find a junkyard to come tow it away, maybe give me a little cash for scrap, which would offset the cost of towing it. I don't really like this scenario that much, but it would rid me of the car.

2. Donate it to a vocational/technical school. My boss suggested this. The only problem is that you usually have to be able to get the car there on your own. Worth looking into though.

3. See if a used car lot would take it. Maybe they would spend the $$ to fix it and resell it. Not sure about the likelihood of this.

4. See if my Subaru dealership would take it. They'd have to come tow it.

Logically, I don't see why anyone would pay me for a car that doesn't--but could, with some work--run. But maybe this happens all the time. I really don't know. Ideally, I'd like to get a little money for it, but really, I'm more interested in getting it out of my hands.

Ideas? Suggestions? Condemnations seem to be pretty common so I'll take those too.

Cheers!
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Old 03-27-2002, 11:38 AM   #2
sweetsuby
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Member#: 14043
Join Date: Jan 2002
Chapter/Region: MWSOC
Location: mi
Vehicle:
2002 WRX, ForesterXT

Default

don't worry the fact that they jump on you only makes you stronger...

i say donate it...
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Old 03-27-2002, 11:45 AM   #3
RiftsWRX
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Member#: 6124
Join Date: Apr 2001
Chapter/Region: MWSOC
Location: Glendale Hts, IL, USA
Vehicle:
2000 NFR AP1 S2000
'07 Honda FIT sport (5MT)

Default

Quote:
Originally posted by sweetsuby
don't worry the fact that they jump on you only makes you stronger...

i say donate it...
What she said dude!

If people jump on you, just flip them the monkey :monkey:

Cheers,
Jorge (RiftsWRX)
www.ProjectWRX.com
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Old 03-27-2002, 12:31 PM   #4
ba_feitl
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Member#: 2884
Join Date: Nov 2000
Chapter/Region: MWSOC
Location: Wheaton, IL
Vehicle:
2004 Forester
Silver

Default

You only get jumped on if you post a stupid question.

And this was is a good one ... also the midwest crowd is a little easier on people than most. Anyway giventhe circumstances I'd say donate it or scrap it.

A couple thoughts on the options /
-Scrap - easy, quick, you don't even need to hire a tow the yard probably has one, but as you said you get about dirt for it after covering the tow cost .. but it is cash in hand

-Donate - This way would be prefered by me. You don't get any cash but you can get a tax writeoff for FMV of the vehicle... and you determine FMV in the tax computation (within reason). Many places that service the elderly also take vehicle donations and won't even charge you for the tow. You may want to look into this option as bit more depending on your tax rate status..

Scrap may net you $50 after tow
Donation may net you Tax Savings of (FMV * Effective Tax Rate). For demo lets say FMV = $500 & ETR = 30% you net $150

Check into your EFT and then you should have your answer ...

Good luck ...
Brad
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Old 03-27-2002, 12:57 PM   #5
Zola
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Member#: 16876
Join Date: Mar 2002
Chapter/Region: MWSOC
Location: St Paul, MN
Vehicle:
2002 Impreza WRX
WR Blue

Default

Well, donation is looking better and better. The shop where I took the car last week just called me to ask how things were going.

"Funny you should ask", I said. I explained that it hasn't moved since I brought it home from their shop. But they were good enough to give me more ideas for how to get rid of it.

I might call Mitsu dealerships and see if they want to make an offer...their techs have all the parts and might be able to get it working and then resell it.

Apparently the American Lung Association takes donated cars...and picks them up! w00t! Maybe the American Cancer Society does the same....I'll be checking up on this non-profit angle.

Thanks for the replies though!
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Old 03-27-2002, 12:57 PM   #6
HndaTch627
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Member#: 6551
Join Date: May 2001
Chapter/Region: MWSOC
Location: Carol Stream, IL
Vehicle:
'01 GC8 Dinged STM
'09 Concours 14 ABS Black

Default

given the situation i'd say donate it...no need to spend anymore money on a car that's being replaced in a few weeks anyhow. Welcome to the club, and yes the MWIC group is lot easier going then the rest of this board.

Enjoy the new car(when you get it)

jeremy
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Old 03-27-2002, 01:10 PM   #7
larryg
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Member#: 13911
Join Date: Jan 2002
Chapter/Region: MWSOC
Location: Louisville, Ky
Vehicle:
2002 Maxima

Thumbs up

Donate it to whoever will come pick it up...make sure they give you a letter stating the value (usually inflated) so you can write-off the donation.
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Old 03-27-2002, 01:12 PM   #8
Bonzo
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Member#: 2307
Join Date: Sep 2000
Chapter/Region: MWSOC
Location: West of Rd Am
Vehicle:
2018 KTM500EXC
Orange

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I would suggest posting around in some DSM sites for GalantVR4 owners looking for parts cars. These cars are obviously very popular and are being kept and rebuilt. Heck you might even get some mod money out of it.
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Old 03-27-2002, 02:13 PM   #9
Zola
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Member#: 16876
Join Date: Mar 2002
Chapter/Region: MWSOC
Location: St Paul, MN
Vehicle:
2002 Impreza WRX
WR Blue

Default

Yeah, mod money would be SWEET.

I'd like to donate it, but I just realized that since I don't itemize my deductions, it won't do me any good. EDIT: I mean, it doesn't do me any good in a tax sense. It's still a good thing to donate to charity.

I found some places in the classifieds that advertise free towing and top dollar for cars, so I'll probably look into that too.
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Old 03-27-2002, 02:31 PM   #10
WRX34
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Member#: 13364
Join Date: Dec 2001
Chapter/Region: MWSOC
Location: MI
Vehicle:
1996 GM8 caged,
99 V8 RSTi, 11' FXT

Default

Is it a VR4 Galant? I know some people who reallllly want one cheap!

WRX34
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Old 03-27-2002, 02:41 PM   #11
Zola
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Join Date: Mar 2002
Chapter/Region: MWSOC
Location: St Paul, MN
Vehicle:
2002 Impreza WRX
WR Blue

Default

Nope, it's just a plain old base model Galant. 5-speed, power-nothing...the best features are A/C and a cassette player.

I don't remember the VR4, they must have been cool, hehe.
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Old 03-27-2002, 02:55 PM   #12
JoshSubaruWRX
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Member#: 10445
Join Date: Sep 2001
Chapter/Region: MWSOC
Location: Cedar Rapids, Ia
Vehicle:
1996 OBS

Default

The vr-4's were very cool. It had the same drivetrain as the early AWD Turbo Talon/Laser/Eclipse's, plus 4 wheel steering.

Turbo + AWD + Family Sedan == Sleeper.


--Josh
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Old 03-27-2002, 03:24 PM   #13
JC
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2021 Tacoma TRD Pro
White

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A junkyard will pay you for the car and tow it away FYI. At least some will.

JC
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Old 03-27-2002, 03:53 PM   #14
Scoob
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Member#: 6204
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: In the "313"
Vehicle:
2002 WRX Sedan
WR Blue

Default Donate it!

My girlfriend did this with her Civic, and they took it away no probs. Wrote her a receipt for the blue book value and she used it for a tax write off. Well worth it. All you have to do is call them, and the rest is pretty much done for you.

Scoob.
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Old 03-27-2002, 05:56 PM   #15
newgrandpa
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Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Snydersville Pa. USA
Vehicle:
2001 Outback Sports
aspen white

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Zola

Donate the car to the Salvation Army, they come
and tow it away. I gave them a badly banged up Nissan and they just towed it away.

Good Luck,

Quentin
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Old 03-27-2002, 10:43 PM   #16
ScrappyWRX
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Member#: 12558
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Frankfort, Michigan
Vehicle:
2002 Impreza WRX
Midnight Black Pearl

Default

You could put an ad in the Sunday paper asking $500...needs some work, or something to that effect.

For the $10-15 it costs you to run the ad, it's worth a shot, you might get a couple hundred bucks out of it that way!

If you dont get any action that way, donate it!

Ben
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Old 03-27-2002, 11:01 PM   #17
Bonzo
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Join Date: Sep 2000
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Location: West of Rd Am
Vehicle:
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Orange

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I almost wore out a Gvr4, 10 years and 168,000 miles
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