On selling a used car for parts

JHunz

So, we bought a new car, and then the old one stopped starting. So that was good timing. Unfortunately this has left us with an old Accord sitting outside that won't start. The thing was pretty well-maintained, and it has a radiator that we just put in it last year, so it's pretty irritating even if we were planning to get rid of it anyway. We've tried the various low-cost things you can do and they were a no-go so we're thinking it would probably be pretty expensive to have it repaired, relative to its current value.

The Subaru dealership we got the new car at gave us what seemed like an infuriatingly low offer for the old Accord ($750), and that was before we knew it wouldn't start so it'd probably be significantly worse now. Is there any chance we could get more than that by trying to sell it for parts? (it's a 1999 Accord Coupe LX, to be exact) And I've never gone about this, is it just a matter of posting a Craigslist ad and waiting for someone to bite? What do I need to know?

mts

you probably could get at least that posting it as a nonstarting car that needs work

FDR

Not a car expert but it could be something as simple as a dead battery (you've checked this right?) or alternator or maybe ignition or sparker. Regardless if you get it towed to a shop and put in the money (Most of the things listed above should run significantly less than a $1000) I'm sure you could turn around and sell a running 1999 Accord for at least $2500 assuming it's not in horrible shape.

For what it's worth I'd probably be willing to buy it for $750, nonstarting, and do the leg work to figure it out.

a5ehren

I looked into it before, and it's a real pain in the ass apparently. If the problem is something relatively cheap like an alternator or battery, you are much better off as a running car in any condition is worth way more than the parts. If it's something expensive to fix and you don't have the time or inclination to part it out yourself, you probably would have been better off taking the $750 from the dealer.

urahonky

Call up Carmax. I literally had a PIECE OF SHIT 96 Ford Contour that would die every 5 minutes of driving, no AC, and two of the 4 windows broken... Without a radio... That they bought for $500 from me.

Skoal Cat

I love CarMax.

Djeet

Echoing a5ehren, parting out a car is a royal pain in the ass unless you know how to disassemble. If you knew how to do that then you could probably fix it rather easily and net at least 2-3X what you would trying to sell a non-starting car. If you're not all that handy and have ANY inclination to become so, well you have functioning transportation, so pick up a shop manual (or a haynes/chilton) and figure it out. A couple of weekends of sweat plus parts ought to net you at least $1k more than selling it for scrap.

wmelon

I would also suggest finding some honda forums and posting it there. Depending on the condition of the rest of the car i'd be surprised if you couldn't get significantly more than $750 for it.

Bartholamue

My dad just sold his for parts. He had a piece of crap '95 Taurus, and he sold it to a pick your part place for $250 (keep in mind, when he bought it, it was only $800, so it isn't that bad of a tradeoff).

japan

Remember that if you do decide to part it out yourself, at some point you're going to reach the point where you've stripped off the most valuable parts, nobody will want to buy what's left, and you'll have to dispose of it at your own expense. Can be difficult and expensive to do that, especially if it no longer rolls.