Auto Repair Facts » vehicle pricing http://www.autorepairfacts.com Tutorials to repair and maintain your own car Fri, 31 Dec 2010 04:59:30 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 How to tax deduct or get cash for your junk cars http://www.autorepairfacts.com/vehicle-pricing/how-to-tax-deduct-or-get-cash-for-your-junk-cars/ http://www.autorepairfacts.com/vehicle-pricing/how-to-tax-deduct-or-get-cash-for-your-junk-cars/#comments Sun, 30 Nov 2008 06:55:52 +0000 kgrubbs http://www.autorepairfacts.com/?p=2284 Have you ever had a car it seemed like you were putting money into it for what seemed like every week of your life? You know the one, you’ve starting referring to it as ‘the ol’ money pit’ when you’re around friends. In this article I’ll cover a couple of ways that can help you re-coupe some of that money. Here are some helpful ideas to dispose of your car and resources to use for making a little cash. With the end of the year closing in and the economy in the rough, the idea would be to cash in, not to pay out.

Over the last few months, I’ve noticed a ton of 25-30 year old cars coming out of the wood work. I guess everyone’s grandparents have decided to let go of their Chevy Citations and Pontiac Catalinas.

Donate to Charity

One way to get rid of an old car and get a tax deduction would be to donate your car to charity. There are lots of places to call that would be glad to take an old car running or dead.

Step One

Before handing over your car to just any charity, review the IRS.gov website for helpful information about donating your vehicle.

Step Two

The next step would be to find the value of your car. Check out the Kelley Blue Book.com website to find the value of your vehicle. When trying to find the value of your car, use the private party section of Kelley blue book to get the value that the IRS recommends. If possible, make sure to print a copy for your records of the tax deduction value.

Step Three

Check out the charitywatch.org website for helpful information with planning your deduction.

Here is an organization called donationline.com that has an extremely large group of charities to choose from.

List of helpful Charities

Here are a few other ideas that you can try.

Scrap metal/Recycle

Next would be to scrap the car to your local scrap metal recycle company or a salvage yard.
When checking this method, always call for current scrap metal pricing. Depending on the economy, the price of scrap metal could fluctuate as much as gas prices. One of my favorite places is Pull-a-Part.com. They will pay cash for your car. Just push, pull, or drag it onto the weigh in scales and cash out. Scrapping your car this way is one of the quickest ways to rid yourself of that old money pit. Unlike a tax deduction where you wait until next year, the cash is in hand the moment you give them the title.

Example of pay out

Scrap metal is paid by the ton. Assume that your old rusted out junk Cadillac weighs around 5200 pounds. A good price now could be around $120 per ton. This could bring in around $620 cash. Be sure to call for current pricing in your area before making the trip there. If the prices are low, wait until they fluctuate up to cash in.

]]> http://www.autorepairfacts.com/vehicle-pricing/how-to-tax-deduct-or-get-cash-for-your-junk-cars/feed/ 0 Finding and researching a vehicles value and history. http://www.autorepairfacts.com/vehicle-pricing/finding-the-value-of-your-vehicle/ http://www.autorepairfacts.com/vehicle-pricing/finding-the-value-of-your-vehicle/#comments Tue, 07 Oct 2008 03:46:07 +0000 kgrubbs http://www.autorepairfacts.com/?p=1226 Have you ever thought about where to find information on car values and what they are worth? Here are a couple of links to websites that can price cars based on the year, mileage, and options. This could also be great information for research when trying to purchase a new or used vehicle.

Vehicle Pricing

Kelley Blue Book will give you used car values based on trade in, selling out right, or suggested retail. They also have current news and reviews with videos on the latest cars for 2009 as well as a classified section to purchase or sell used cars. Another good resource to have is the ability to locate dealers who sell new and used cars in your area.

Alternative Vehicle Pricing

NADA (National Automobile Dealers Association) is a similar site when it comes to pricing current cars. The great benefit to using NADA is that you can research a variety of vehicles like, classic muscle cars, vintage sports cars, motorcycles, boats, and RV’s. If you have one of these vehicles to sell or are looking to purchase one you can get great use from the NADA guide.

Vehicle History Report

Before making a vehicle purchase, a good research tool to use is Carfax. This site has you input the 17 digit vehicle identification number, and they do all the work for you. The vehicle you are researching will show up a complete vehicle history good or bad. This will help you make a good investment and save headaches from purchasing a car with an extremely bad history and being a money pit.

Automotive New Car Articles

Another car pricing website that I found is Cars.com. More than using this site for new or used car pricing, I found a better reason for visiting cars.com. The research and writing staff are on their game when it comes to new car comparisons. Some of the articles that I would recommend reading are listed under “Top 10s and car lists”.

  • Best & worst gas mileage
  • Best and worst resale values
  • Most popular new cars
  • 2008′s Best-bet cars
  • Best crash-test ratings
  • Current rebates & hot deals
  • Car photos and videos
  • Auto recalls 1983-present

These are excellent articles with very informative information about recalls and interactive videos with 360 degree viewing on new car models. Safety related crash standard testing, which cars have good and bad fuel economy, and good and bad resale values.

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