Hi.
I have an old 1997 Ford Festival that has broken its alternator belt, has faulty CV joints and is unregistered.
I want to get rid of it for the most amount of cash possible.
What's the best way?
How much do 'pickup-and-tow' companies pay? Will I get more if I tow it to them?
Can you advertise on Ebay? How much can I expect to get for it?
I am in NSW Central Coast.
Thanks!
Lindy
You can check it from any local mechanics for best price an then sell it online.. :)
You will get almost nothing for it, because it is so old, is never going to be roadworthy again, and is presumably not running.
My advice is to:
Have a look at the tyres, including the spare. If they're pretty good/ have a lot of tread, tell a friend of yours who owns a car that has worn tyres (of the same size) that they're welcome to swap them over if they want. Could save your mate $100 or $200 by doing this, would be a nice gesture. Make sure they put their old, unroadworthy tyres onto your car though, cause it needs tyres (unroadworthy ones are fine) on order for the towing company to come and get it. They won't take a car without tyres. Notably, some peeps also have NO spare at all, one of your matesor their mates, or one of their kids etc. might appreciate being given your spare, even if the tyre on it is not roadworthy. The actual wheel (the hub/middle bit) costs a lot to buy, and even an unroadworthy spare is a lot better than no spare, as a stop-gap measure when you get a flat. I always carry a spare, but I also always ensure that the tyre on it is UNROADWORTHY… I mean, really, surely having a perfectly 'street-legal' tyre deteriorating away in the boot is /over-kill'/ tempting fate?!? But I digress.
Have a look at the JACK that's in the boot, and if it's in good condition, send a group email/ put a 'facebook post' on your 'wall' or do a 'tweet' thingy to all your friends, and ask if anyone needs a jack (i.e., is driving around without one in their boot, or has a friend or relative that is). A good jack is fairly costly, so again you could help someone out who is lacking one, by giving them your surplus one.
Unless you happen to know someone with the exact same type of car, that's about all you'd really be able to take from it, before you call the towing dudes. If you happen to know someone with the exact same type of car, you could invite them to drop by and see if they'd like to take any little bits and pieces from it that are missing or broken on theirs. Here I'm talking wheel-nuts, hub-caps, cigarette lighter, volume knob off the stezza', aerial, petrol-cap, etc. etc. If they get a bit excited and decide they want to take a door, or a panel, tell them it's cool, as long as they but their crap panel onto your car; to satisfy the towing dudes. They don't care how damaged the panels/ doors etc. are, but they like them to be there.
If it ran not that long ago (i.e. within about 3 months), check to make sure it doesn't have a tank full of petrol… if it does, siphon it out/ stick it in your car (provided it's unleaded!). That petrol could be worth almost as much as the towing guys will give you!
Call the towing company. Notably, none of the things I've suggested above will reduce the amount they'll offer you to come and take it away for you. And if you DON'T do any of the things above, they won't give you any more for it. For a car that's almost 20 years old, that is not registered, not running, and pretty much beyond repair (i.e., no one would ever 'invest' the money that would be required to revive it), the going rate is pretty much always the same. A hundred bucks.
Whatever you do, don't waste your TIME trying to get a 'reasonable amount' or whatever for it. In Australia, old cars are simply worth next-to-nothing, unlike your time. Just see if you can do any mates any favours (i.e., as described above), then get rid of it.
A final piece of advice, in case you have kids that are just recently of driving age (sorry, don't know how old you are so don't know if this applies). If one of their mates offers to take it, to use to go 'bush-bashing' on private property (i.e. hooning around on someone's farm, doing silly things, until the car dies), politely decline the offer. A friend of mine innocently/naively obliged such a request, and without going into details, it ended very, very badly.
I hope this helps.
GnarlyKnuckles is spot on. You could make more by breaking the car down and selling individual parts on eBay but I don't suspect it'll be worth the time, space or effort (and you'll have leftovers that you'd need to spend the profit on disposing)
As a word of warning, you probably wont get more than fifty bucks if the company comes and picks it up. You might get more if someone in the area specifically wants the car for parts, but don't hold your breath.
That's a hilarious Volvo-vid bargingass, I wish I'd thought of making one like that before I "sold my 1984 Carona for a song", back in the late nineties… It to had many of the mystical properties so poetically described in that vid…
Gumtree