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Mom has finally agreed to part with her 2002 Chrysler Sebring convertible. She loves that car more than anything in the world. The electrical system is shot and needs a total replacement (The computer or something, nothing electric works at all, including the MPH, lights, etc) The cloth top needs repair or replacement. THe interior is pretty gross due to her constantly spilling coffee in it. (it reeks) It sits in her garage and alternates between having a flat tire or a dead battery. It has not been driven in at least 18 months. She thinks about 80K miles.
I bought her a 2005 Sebring Convertible last year which she complains about bitterly. It is not the right color. But she drives it.
Today she mentioned selling the old one!!! Hooray! And then she started going on about having it fixed. Her conversation with the mechanic across the street from years ago has been duly revisited. All she needs is a freakin tow truck to come and get it and deliver it to his shop.
BUT if we are going to sell it, should we bother to repair it? She says that last year the answer was YES, but I think it was two years ago and perhaps the answer is no longer yes.
Honestly, she bought it used, loved it well, and IMHO considering all the stuff she is currently dealing with (she is 80 with a husband in a home and health/cognitive problems of her own) she should just be done with it, regardless of the potential financial gain.
Either way, she does not seem mentally capable of executing either plan. So it falls on me or my brother. We would like to put her better car in the garage before December.
it depends on the cost of repairing the car vs how much you can get for the car. for instance if as the car sits right now you can sell it for lets say $1000, and if it will cost $1000 to repair the car but you can then get $2000, then it is a wash, sell it or fix it and sell it. less than $2000 repaired just sell it, more than $2000 repaired, repair and sell.
I think you need to take away her keys to both cars. She doesn't really sound like she's safe to drive alone.
^ This, or better yet, see if your local DMV has any requirements for the elderly to renew their license. or look into courses through AAA. A 2000 Sebring in good running condition is not worth much, fixing it is probably throwing good money after bad. The scrap metal value is what you would get. See if the local high school could use it for their tech classes and maybe get a tax write off too.
I would sell it as is, because she will not make back the value of the repairs. Put it on CraigsList as a mechanic's special, and see what offers you get. I would probably look to get no more than $1k for it.
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Answering your post without sarcasm is difficult considering the cars but you probably need more advice than the sarcasm will bring. Per Edmunds appraisal the 2002 is worth 600 bucks in a not running condition and in their "rough" condition. That's also for a Texas zip code which will allow more $$$ for a soft top car. Dumping anymore money into it is foolish to the max. Frankly, it's a salvage car. Your best customer for this car is going to be a junk dealer. The car is not worth fixing. The 2005 car is worth $1500. to $3000 for a pristine, like it came off of the showroom floor, condition vehicle. But it sounds like it's more in the rough condition or $1500.00. There's no money to be made ever fixing this car either. If mom isn't happy with the 2005, I'd consider selling both cars and have her pick out a car that is reasonably priced, considering her age, and let that be the end of it. I would strongly suggest though, to stay away from anything wearing the Chrysler badge. When they were near bankruptcy, the cars were crap. When Daimler took the company over, they basically took all of any Chrysler technologies, emptied the bank accounts to the tune of 66 BILLION dollars and drove off leaving Fiat to hold the bag on a spent company. Obviously the company is having to reinvent itself from scratch. But anything with a Chrysler badge is near junk....even when it was sitting on the lot new. The new Ram trucks, they are making some serious headway at Ram and the newer 300s are a decent ride but otherwise avoid them. I doubt you'd want to spend that kind of money anyway. Might take a look at Estate Sales for cars. There's a lot of them to be found with real low mileage and cheap. They don't finance at estate sales so bring cash money. Estate sales are easily found on the internet. If it's a multiday sale, go on the last day and make a ridiculously cheap offer. You'll probably come home with it. Find Estate Sales
BUT if we are going to sell it, should we bother to repair it? She says that last year the answer was YES, but I think it was two years ago and perhaps the answer is no longer yes.
No. The costs in repairs which you mention alone won't be recouped in selling the vehicle, not to mention the ones you didn't list (e.g., good chance of tires, fuel lines, etc. being dry rotted after sitting so long, rust, exposure, etc).
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She doesn't really sound like she's safe to drive alone.
