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Old 02-25-2008, 08:18 AM
 
Location: Hampton Roads, Virginia
1,123 posts, read 5,315,811 times
Reputation: 709

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My 2000 Ford Explorer has engine damage (don't have the specifics yet - but it is bad) and it has 140k miles on it among various other issues so it is a goner and not worth fixing. It is sitting at the shop and wont drive.

Someone told me I can sell it to the junkyard for scrap metal. Any ideas what I should expect to get for it? Just wondering so I have an idea and don't get totally ripped off. I just spent $900 on it Friday, drove it 20 miles and it died again

This is so sad..... when your car dies it is so emotional. Even with all it's minor issues - as well as the major ones, I loved that car!

Thanks for your help!
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Old 02-25-2008, 08:32 AM
 
9,803 posts, read 16,113,469 times
Reputation: 8265
if any car I owned had major problems at only 140,000 miles---------I would have no love left for both the car and the company that made it !
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Old 02-25-2008, 08:42 AM
 
Location: Hampton Roads, Virginia
1,123 posts, read 5,315,811 times
Reputation: 709
I admit I am a heavy driver - at least in the early 2000's. When the car was newer, I was a PI - took that car over medians, followed someone at 90 mph (dont ask) among other things. Much calmer now in my old age - lol.

2 doors dont work (one doesn open at all - one opens from the inside)
elec locks are 'almost' dead
needs back brakes
front brakes replaced in aug, but there is something wrong - maybe rotors?
2 new fuel pumps - 1st one was reconditioned and must have been a POS
cracked radiator

Anyway, I know - it shouldnt have to go to the graveyard yet, but it isnt worth it to fix it.

Looking at a 96 Honda Accord right now, so hopefully I will do better.
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Old 02-25-2008, 03:50 PM
 
28,107 posts, read 63,405,895 times
Reputation: 23222
I received $100 for the last car I sold to salvage. The car was drivable... it just cost too much to make it pass Smog. The salvage yard would have come and picked it up for free if it didn't run.

Last year I sold a 73 Ford for $500 through the California voluntary vehicle retirement program... Your car is too new to qualify, unless the rules have changed..
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Old 02-26-2008, 12:55 AM
 
Location: Dallas, Texas
506 posts, read 2,140,673 times
Reputation: 385
What about donating it to charity? We did that a number of years ago and they probably wholesaled it off for parts. It was "Cars for Kids" or something like that. They hauled it away and we took a tax write-off.
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Old 02-26-2008, 01:12 AM
 
28,107 posts, read 63,405,895 times
Reputation: 23222
Default Check with your Tax Advisor

Quote:
Originally Posted by kt2le View Post
What about donating it to charity? We did that a number of years ago and they probably wholesaled it off for parts. It was "Cars for Kids" or something like that. They hauled it away and we took a tax write-off.

Charitable Deductions rules have been tightened a bit... check with your Tax Advisor for up to date info if your are depending on a deduction.
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Old 02-26-2008, 02:15 AM
 
Location: Seward, Alaska
2,741 posts, read 8,857,041 times
Reputation: 2022
The auto junkyards actually make pretty good money off used junk cars. They will strip every last piece of re-saleable stuff off of it. Example: windows, doors, wheels, hub caps, tires, mirrors, alternator, engine parts, transmission, radio/stereo, seats, etc. And...they will remove the catalytic converter...which is worth around $150-$200 for the highly valuable platinum it contains. (it takes them all of 60 seconds to saw it loose) And...they will drain out any gas left in the tank...at $3/gal it may be a fair chunk of change if the tank is full. They may actually end up getting $500-$1000 or so, for the stuff they strip off of it...not bad. (for them)
I would say don't let your car go for less than $100 if you deliver it...(or $50 if they have to come and get it). Why so cheap? 'Cuz...nobody else will give you more...(usually). And...if it's still setting at a garage, they will not tolerate it being there for long, they will want it "outta there"...like ASAP...
If you have the time, and the real estate, to let it set on the side of your property for awhile, then maybe you can get a little more. Push it to the end of your driveway in plain sight, and park it just out of the roadway. Get a plain old bar of hand soap, and use it to write in BIG LETTERS on the windshield: (and other windows) "4-SALE...U-Tow....$200" + your contact phone #. Sometimes this works fairly well...young guys love to tinker with these "projects". A few years ago I had a junker car that wouldn't start, and was beyond repair. I tried to GIVE it away for a month. No takers. I then towed it to the end of my driveway, wrote "4-SALE...$100, and my phone #). It sold within 2 hours...for cash money...
(I guess if you want some small amount of money for it, then somebody will happen along and think it must "obviously be worth something" (even if it's junk), because you are asking money for it. If you try it give it away, then everybody thinks it's totally worthless, and you just can't get rid of it...) People are funny sometimes...

Honda Accord has a generally good track record...usually a darn good dependable car...great mpg...goferit!

Bud
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Old 02-26-2008, 06:37 AM
 
1,000 posts, read 3,592,648 times
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try putting it on Craigslist.
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Old 02-26-2008, 10:15 AM
 
Location: New Jersey
691 posts, read 1,422,570 times
Reputation: 1339
Quote:
Originally Posted by stacylee926 View Post
My 2000 Ford Explorer has engine damage (don't have the specifics yet - but it is bad) and it has 140k miles on it among various other issues so it is a goner and not worth fixing. It is sitting at the shop and wont drive.

Someone told me I can sell it to the junkyard for scrap metal. Any ideas what I should expect to get for it? Just wondering so I have an idea and don't get totally ripped off. I just spent $900 on it Friday, drove it 20 miles and it died again

This is so sad..... when your car dies it is so emotional. Even with all it's minor issues - as well as the major ones, I loved that car!

Thanks for your help!
you will get nothing to 100 dollars if you junk it. When my parents junked their 1995 windstar 2 years ago, they did not get anything, because the junkyard guy came to our house and took it away. However, I did get 100 dollars when i junked my dodge daytona last year, however this is only because I sold it to a guy with a tow truck, not a junkyard. I think he got 200 bucks for the car, because he delievered it straight to the crusher. I loved that car, but it sat for 9 years, I was supposed to fix it when I was younger, but i never got around to finishing it, and as it sat, the worse everything got.

Personally, I would put the car on ebay before junking it. You never know who needs parts or who might drop another motor in it, and since it is a 2000, the body doesn't have rust issues yet, so someone might need body parts.
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Old 02-27-2008, 09:13 AM
 
Location: Hampton Roads, Virginia
1,123 posts, read 5,315,811 times
Reputation: 709
Thanks everyone! We decided to tow it home, clean it up and post it on Craigs list.
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