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Albuquerque Auto Repair

What Happens When Your Car Gets Old?

When your car is reaching the end of its rope, you have a couple of decisions to make. An Albuquerque auto repair business can help keep your car up and running, but when you are ready to move on, you may be looking for something more. Read on for some tips to get that last bit of value from your car.

albuquerque auto maintenance pictureThe Ideal Value

When it comes to getting the most  money for your old car, private sales are the way to go, ideally done on platforms like Autotrader or even Craigslist.

The issue here is that you need to do the most work in order to get to that point, no matter how old your car is. For example, how much money are you willing to invest in a car to get it ready for sale? Most used car buyers expect to do some repairs of their own, but they still may have some reservations. If you go this way, it’s best to be honest about issues the car may have.

When establishing your price, you want to take a close look at what other people are offering. In order to figure this out, you can either see what people are asking for the same car or comparable cars, or you can use various tools for this purpose. A good example is something like  Kelley’s Blue Book. Once you choose to sell a car, though, you need to realize that your local used car market will ultimately determine your success. If you’re not having any luck here, you may want to trade in your car to a dealership as a part of a deal for buying a new car. You’re not going to get as much money this way, but something is better than nothing.

Making The Best of a Situation

Many people may have dollar signs in their eyes, but due to age, repairs, or the used car market, you may have to realize that you may not be able to resell your used car in this way. This doesn’t mean that you have no options at all, though. The difference is that you need to sell for scrap versus resale for use, generally to a garage versus another driver. This puts some money in your pocket, as roughly 75% of a car’s parts are recyclable, and by reusing a few useful parts, there’s less of a carbon footprint than if you started it from scratch. less of a carbon footprint than making the parts from scratch.

Another option, if you’re not interested in trying to maximize your profit and just want to get rid of the car as quickly and as conveniently as possible, is donating the junker car to a non-profit. Here, you may get a few hundred dollars or a tax-writeoff, as well as the opportunity to help a cause you value. The main practical benefits are the facts that you can unload your car, no matter how old or what condition it is, and many of these non-profits will take the car for free.

Contact the professionals at McKinney Motor Company to learn more!

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