Re: [MLUG - DISCUSSION] should I kill off this car (a 1993 Subaru Impreza)?

["Christian M. Cepel" <EMAIL:PROTECTED>]

Part it out on Ebay :)

Jonathan King wrote:
> So we have a 1993 Subaru Impreza wagon that just flunked inspection
> for (primarily) a hole in the left (driver-side) headlight assembly.
> As far as I can tell, that means we either need a new part (cheerfully
> available for $275) or a part off of a car from the model years
> 1993-1996 (one junkyard quotes $175). Ouch. This car is now so lightly
> used I would ordinarily say we should just sell it, but I don't see
> anybody much picking it up unless it can pass inspection. The car has
> 132K miles on it and runs well otherwise; the body is not in perfect
> shape, and we have long lost all the wheel covers.
>
> Edmunds seems to think this would fetch around $620 in my zipcode, but
> I'm guessing that would be more like $550 for the lack of wheel covers
> (it is not a pretty car). I'm also guessing that would be in condition
> to pass inspection, so I'm looking at spending $225 to get that. In
> any case, it's clear that the parts value well exceeds the driving
> value (hey, it's got a perfectly good *right* headlight assembly worth
> $175, and a working engine!).
>
> At this point, I think I have accepted the fact that fixing it is not
> a winning move, since parts are not going to get cheaper on this, it
> inevitably will be needing work, and if I really needed it to commute
> in the DC area (I don't now, but our lease will be up in the spring)
> that this car wouldn't be the best or most reliable choice. So the
> question is whether I should:
>
> 1) Try to sell it as is to somebody (hard to do in Maryland if you
> can't get it registered).
> 2) Try to sell it to a junkyard (should be doable, but I only have an
> out-of-state title).
> 3) Donate it to charity at a likely cushy valuation (I'm guessing they
> would tell me it's worth $800 or so) and take the tax deduction (but
> my rate isn't that high).
>
> Oddly enough, I've never been in this position before. Our VW rabbit
> was "sold" to a yard for the cost of towing it there, and I "sold" our
> Chevy Spectrum for $25 to a needy grad student (but it was
> registered). Any comments or advice? Note that Maryland is way more
> anal about car stuff than Missouri, and insurance rates are higher, so
> the options probably aren't very pretty in any event.
>
> jking
>
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--
Christian M. Cepel - Thistledowne Productions - http://thistledowne.org
Computer Support Specialist, Sr. - University of Missouri - Columbia
College of Education - School of Info Science & Learning Technologies
VRCbd, KidTools & StrategyTools Support Systems Projects, and Truman,
Library Whistlestop Project - Web Design & Programming - 573.999.2370


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