My car broke down and I need it for school!?
(2011-03-14 14:30:09) 1. Says: My car has never given me any trouble and I've had it for almost a year. It's a 97 ford escort. I was on my way home yesterday and suddenly my engine started misfiring and making a loud knocking noise. So I left my car there and called my stepdad. He's a mechanic. He said my engine is blown and that it's a common thing on my model car at that mileage. It's been suggested that I can get a new engine for that car (which isn't worth it), or buy another car. How much money could i get for it. I'm on unemployment and go to school. I need a car to get back and forth. I have found a few cars that seem like a good deal but I'm short like a thousand bucks. I could get the money for them but it would take me about another month to save the money. What would you do in my situation?2. Says: donating is by far your best bet on that vehicle, even if it still ran and was driveable.misfiring and knocking could certainly be a blown engine.
if labor is free, a used motor may be a good option. but the vehicle is certainly not worth putting much into.
and if its an automatic tranny, those often fail about the same time as the orginial motor does.
donate it and the donater would get the full max blue book value. then the donaters tax rate comes into play, if they say the vehicle is worth $4,000 and the tax rate is 25%, you would get $1,000 back or towards what you owe on april 15th 2012.
its probably in your best interest to sign the vehicle over to your parent(s) and let them donate it because of how the tax brackets work they should get more out of it then you would.
but a quick get rid of it now and get some money, you wont get $1,000 for it even if it ran and drove still.
in my area we have a business called "wheels and deals". its a used car lot, but the cars are mostly still owned by their soon to be former owners, not the lot.
you get all the selection and salesman advantages but no pressure from the salesman. they tend to have a wide selection of somewhat older and cheaper vehicles that can be afforded even by those who are just starting out.
with a mechanic as family to help you look them over, you should be able to find a good vehicle for a good affordable price at a lot of that nature, all big population areas have one of that nature.
both myself and a friend purchased vehicles from that business for just $1,000.
mine was a older chevy truck, 78 c30 camper special with a 454 big block (just a running 454 can be worth $1,000 or more). had 120k when i bought it for $1,000, sold it at 180k for $800 just by asking a few friends if they were interested in it. still going strong today with 250k, my friend still gives me crap about selling it to him.
my friend got a 15 year old honda accord which got her through school and into a career in which she could replace it.
used car shopping with a good mechanic, you can find something that will be more reliable then you can believe within your budget.3. Says: Just put a low mile junkyard engine in it. They're cheap. Try car-part.com for a list of wrecking yards from all across the country.4. Says: Its worth $75-150 depending on who tows it.
You might be able to have your step dad install a used motor fairly cheaply.5. Says: You will get $100 from a junkyard.
Even if it were running, you wouldn't get more than $500. Tag: My car broke down and I need it for school!?