Mechanical Repair Costs Are On the Rise
Since the year 2000, vehicle repairs have become much more expensive. What would have cost $1000 just under two decades ago will now take $1660 from your wallet. That’s a pretty stout increase in a fairly short period of time!
Inflation is one of the reasons that car repairs are so expensive today.
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The average price to replace a bad transmission in 2019 is between $4,931 and $5,107.
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An engine head gasket repair for the typical car today is from $1,624 to $1,979.
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A basic clutch disc replacement for most models will be around $1,225 to $1,416.
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Even something emissions related like a new catalytic converter could be from $3,341 to $3,416!
When you have an older car that isn’t worth the cost of repair it can be an easy decision to just sell it instead of fixing it up. Even for newer models with major repairs like a transmission fault, it could make more sense to sell it.
Another reason to sell? If you’re like most Americans, you don’t exactly have thousands of dollars in disposable income to throw at your car problems. You could be more comfortable getting rid of your current vehicle and getting into a new one, even if that means starting car payments all over.
Where to Sell a Broken-Down Car
You’ve made the decision to sell your car. Where can you sell it? And what’s the easiest way to turn a lump of useless steel into money you can spend?
Advertise Locally
Classifieds listings in newspapers aren’t popular anymore but you can list your car in local classifieds sections online. Craigslist is perhaps the most common site to use but other local sites may exist in your city or state.
You’ll write a listing that details all of your car’s benefits – except, you’ll have to mention it has glaring mechanical issues. Things like year, make, model, trim level, needs a new engine, and color are available for the reader. Then, you’ll wait for people to respond.
Concerns about local advertising to the general public are abundant. You could waste hours or days of your time on tire-kickers and no-shows, and it could take weeks or months to eventually sell. People who toss you lowball offers are never in short supply. Plus, there’s always a chance that someone has less than honorable intentions when you meet up with them. Still, local advertising is a possibility.
Facebook Marketplace
Since Facebook is such a popular social media site, it makes sense to buy and sell items on Marketplace. You’ll encounter similar issues to sites like Craigslist, but there’s also an additional problem with Facebook Marketplace.
It’s very difficult to filter your searches compared to other sites. What you’ll get are requests for information because search results are so broad. These sales leads are lower quality, but it’s still a possible place to try.
Sell to a Salvage Yard
One place that will never turn you down to purchase your vehicle is the junkyard. Junkyards or scrapyards across the nation exist to turn broken-down vehicles into recyclable materials for manufacturing. Often, they pay in cash too.
The biggest problem you’ll face with selling a car to a junkyard isn’t ‘how to sell a car for scrap’ but for how much. Since they’ll be shredding it for scrap steel or selling it for parts, the junkyard doesn’t care what make or model you own. They care about its weight on the scale. It’s going to be a fraction of what it’s worth otherwise, but it’s an extremely fast way to sell a car.
Donate It to Charity
You can get rid of your car with mechanical problems very quickly if you’re willing to donate it. Charities across the United States operate programs where they receive old, scrap, or mechanically-damaged vehicles in exchange for a donation receipt for its actual cash value.
A simple call and a signed title are all it takes to donate a car to charity. However, it won’t become cash anytime soon. You’ll use that donation receipt when you file your taxes to receive a portion of its value back on your refund. It’s easy, but are you willing to wait that long for your money?
Sell it to CarBrain.com
Or, you can sell your car online for a fair offer. At CarBrain.com, our network of buyers will make you an offer for your vehicle in as-is condition. With just a little bit of information and perhaps a couple pictures, you can sell a car online in just minutes.
When you request an offer for your car, it’s guaranteed for seven days and there’s no pressure to accept. But if you do, you’ll be paid the guaranteed offer within just a couple days. Your car will be picked up within about seven days, and you’ll be free to spend your money however you see fit.
