• Can't decide how to get rid of my (undrivable) car - anyone have experience?
    17 replies, posted
Hi guys, a year or so back I bought a 1995 Volvo 850 Turbo with a damaged engine for $800 with the intention of dropping the engine from my wrecked 850 of the same year into it. Long story short that didn't work out, half because I didn't do my research and dropping an N/A motor into a Turbo body makes no sense logistically and half because the mechanic offering to fix my car suddenly cut his price in half because he needed money for the holiday season so I just went ahead and got my wreck fixed. In the process of fixing said wreck, however, my mechanic did end up needing axle components, and since I happened to have the 850 Turbo sitting around, he pulled them from it, and put the damaged bits back on the turbo. This means that now, in addition to having a damaged engine, the back end of the car is a foot or two out of line with the front end of the car when it rolls. So, all in all, I bought the car, cannibalized it to get my car back on the road, and now have a dead car that, while it will technically move under its own power, leaks oil, dies while idling, has an engine knock, is missing a battery, rolls sideways, might top out at 50, and basically is in no shape to be sold as drivable. Fixing the car isn't really an option, the engine is so far gone that the only realistic thing to do is replace it completely, and by the time I got a new engine in it and got it rolling straight, I'd be in it far more than it's worth. My question to Facepunch is, what's the best way to get rid of it? I don't expect to get my $800 back, and I'm happy just having [I]my[/I] car back on the road, but I have a couple of options, and I'm wondering if anyone has had to resort to these, and could tell me the best way to go. [B]1.[/B] Sell the car to a scrap dealer - I know several people who deal in scrap metal who would like to have the car, but I think I'd probably get the least money for it from these guys. [B]2.[/B] Sell the car to [URL=http://www.pullapart.com/]Pull-a-Part[/URL] - they might pay a little more than the scrap dealers, but I'd probably have to get it there on my own, which is a 12-mile sideways trip on a questionable engine that won't reach highway speeds. [B]3.[/B] Sell the car for parts/scrap on Craigslist - other Volvo owners might be interested in a couple of parts (I personally would take the door glass, window motors, interior trim pieces, and front seats out if I had somewhere to store them), but major engine components might be out of the question, as the car has well over 200,000 miles on it and the previous owners obviously drove it very hard (see: overhead motor mount completely devoid of rubber and now structurally insignificant). The most one might be able to get out of it is an alternator or compressor, but the engine itself didn't have terribly valuable parts on it to begin with being a low-pressure turbo, much less now that they're damaged. Thanks for any advice you can offer me.
The Pull-A-Part guys wont tow it for you? Pick-N-Pull(same idea I think) tows cars here, you just get a little less from selling it to them.
Depending on who you go with for scrapping, you won't get more than $400. I luckily managed to get $400 when I scrapped my old 1998 Bonneville with a blown piston.
Pretty much. When you scrap a car, it's only worth it's weight.
[QUOTE=Artemis;31158614]Depending on who you go with for scrapping, you won't get more than $400. I luckily managed to get $400 when I scrapped my old 1998 Bonneville with a blown piston.[/QUOTE] $400 is actually about double what I was anticipating, I would be thrilled with $400. The car weighs about 3300 pounds, but I have no idea how much scrap's going for by the ton. Pull-a-Part always has a sign out front with their current price per ton but I haven't seen it in a while. And also, I haven't actually checked with Pull-a-Part yet on whether or not they'll tow, they have an online form so I'll fill that out and see if they'll give me more info. I might be able to get more out of it as a parts car, but the parts are so old I'm not sure anyone would want them, or would come to me before going to the yard, especially considering they'll probably have to arrange for it to be towed.
Give your car a Viking Funeral. It's what we did to my old Corolla.
Drag that shit behind some Horses man.
Pick n Pull people pay pretty poor though. When my Neon's engine pretty much exploded i sold it to them for about 360. But they didn't tow it for me.
[QUOTE=3com111;31204699]Pick n Pull people pay pretty poor though. When my Neon's engine pretty much exploded i sold it to them for about 360. But they didn't tow it for me.[/QUOTE] That's pretty much what it's worth in scrap, maybe a little more.
Personally, I would turn the block and seats into furniture - I think you might be able to get a return on that way better than if you scrapped it. Besides, it's pretty easy to do, you just need some sheet glass for an engine block coffee table, and rails for the seats.
[QUOTE=spacedooky;31319589]Personally, I would turn the block and seats into furniture - I think you might be able to get a return on that way better than if you scrapped it. Besides, it's pretty easy to do, you just need some sheet glass for an engine block coffee table, and rails for the seats.[/QUOTE] Little easier to do that with a V engine, and pretty interior. This is a [i]Volvo[/i].
The seats will definitely make good lovechairs/sofa - they're soooo plush
Take all the windows out, those you can sell. Take the cat out, that's worth like 50 bucks. Take anything that is kinda of rare and you think you can sell. Then just take it to a scrap yard. You'll probably get about 400 bucks. You will probably lose money on this ordeal.
I'd say get parts to fix up that car, put the shit in yourself and sell it for 2000-2500 Get a new(er) rear axle, drop in a Turbo 850 engine and put in a 5 spd. Or I would say that you should put it on cragislist as an 850 shell if you don't feel like adding a ton of components to it. But I do love 850 Turbos
I'd probably rip everything of use out and just scrap it
could I have it? (serious) how much would you want for it. I'll buy it for up to $250
[QUOTE=3com111;31204699]Pick n Pull people pay pretty poor though. When my Neon's engine pretty much exploded i sold it to them for about 360. But they didn't tow it for me.[/QUOTE] Thats because Neons are worthless. Not ripping on the car itself but theres just so many of them I can walk into a junkyard and easily find 20 of them
I just scrapped my car (1995 oldsmobile cutlass ciera) it weighed out at 2584 and I got 295$ for it so scrap prices are pretty damn decent atleast in my area (Southern Illinois)
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