My car is toast ... now what?

So, last year, I refinanced my Mustang to purchase a 2001 Honda Civic for my now-ex fiancee (it's been a fairly amicable split). During the split, I agreed to let her use the Civic until her dad fixed an old car of his. Well, two days before his car was due to get out of the shop, she had a seizure while driving to a doctor's appointment and crashed.

No one was hurt, thankfully, but the body shop tells me it'll cost me $3,500 to $4,000 to fix because the chassis is bent. He also said there is a danger that in straightening the rail, it will tear or break, and thus cost me about $1,500 to NOT fix it. He seemed to think the chances of the "pull" working are slim.

Car is worth about $6,000, but after the accident, I'd probably only get about $5,000 to $5,500 for it. The kicker is, I was dumb enough not to have collision on it, so I've got no insurance to cover the vehicle (her hospital bills and the property damage are covered).

So, basically, the car is toast.

Now I have to decide what to do with it so I don't get completely raked over the coals and lose all of my $6,500 (for reasons I won't go into, there's no shot in hell she can pay me off for the car).

If I junk it, I'll get about $500. If I try to sell it whole, there's a chance I can get $2,000 (maybe $3,000 if I get really lucky). If I sell the parts individually, I'm sure I can get $3,000, maybe even as much as $6,000 (the doors alone will go for $300 to $400 each according to the shop, and the mechanical parts are all great as is most of the body), but it's a much bigger hassle.

Anybody ever go through something like this? Any advice? Anybody looking to buy a 2001 Honda Civic for its parts?

 

My 04 sentra just threw a rod after 250,000 miles. I could have sold it for parts, but you have to find buyers.

Maybe eBay?

I ended up junking mine. Got 600 bucks at junkmycar.com.

The used car market SUCKS right now.

 

yeah, def ... I was thinking of putting the parts on craigslist ... problem with eBay is I'm not handy enough to take the mechanical stuff apart myself and shipping an engine, for instance, isn't really an option for me. I'd basically need people who want stuff to come and take it off themselves.

 

If your area has more than one junkyard, see what they will offer. If you KNOW that people will want parts, check with them to see what is wanted.

An '01 Civic is a common car, and the fact that many people keep Hondas long-term could be to your benefit. For some of them, much easier to spend a couple hundred dollars to keep their Civic going a while longer than deal with either Leisure Suit Larry at the used lot or another slick-wannabe guy at the dealership.

 

Are you sure the problem isn't just something transmissiony?

 

I'd at least try. Honda engines run for ever. If you're strapped for cash, junk it. If not, put it in the swap sheet and Craig's List for a month and see what happens. If not, you're out a few more bucks. If you get a bite, it might be worth it.

 

does that matter when the body damage is 3k or am i missing something?

 

You're missing something.

http://www.sportsjournalists.com/forum/threads/82939/

Let the joy just wash over you.

 

I can't believe smallpotatoes hasn't posted on this thread.

 

Your '04 has 250,000 miles? Jesus, what kind of a commute do you have? My '04 Accord has 86,000.

 

I'm kind of surprised he didn't start the thread.

 

Gator,

Commute used to be 130 daily. Not to mention I live in the middle of nowhere.