Hi OzBargain,
Had a car accident (my fault) and thought I was covered by insurance (expired years ago, my fault again). So I got a quote to repair the damages for at least $4,000. Redbook says my car is worth $3,900 - $5,500. On carsales the price is around $6,000. Also I recently spent $2,000 replacing the gearbox.
Should I get my car repaired or have it wrecked (don't know how much I would get for it) and buy another car for around the same amount of the repairs.
Cheers
Yes I did. I've already covered their repairs. Trying to sort out my car
This, plus it depends on the damage…
If it's superficial, and you're confident that your car is in otherwise better condition than similar models available for sale, then repair.
If it's structural damage, or if your car has been poorly maintained, then you're better off writing off the current car and investing the $4k into a replacement that will be safer and better than your current car repaired.
You may be able to sell the current car to a wreckers to reduce that $4k figure slightly too.
The car is in good shape (Just recently replaced the gearbox). But the whole front part of my car needs replacing. The headlights, front bumper, radiator, air con, bonnet, and side fenders. I'll try to find out how much I can get selling it to the wreckers.
Thanks for your input!
I don't know much about cars, but I'm guessing that sort of damage means some, if not complete, compaction of the crumple zones.
Given that assumption, if it were me, I'd be wrecking the car and buying a replacement cause I value safety highly.
I had a similar dilemma when my engine on a 10yo car gave out a couple of months back. Ended up going down the replacement route, and I managed to sell it for $500 to a mechanic who was going to replace the engine themselves. It didn't cover my towing and initial mechanic costs, but it was better than scrap metal dealers would offer. I sorta wish I'd hit something instead as the car was comprehensively insured, but I'm safe and accident free so I guess things are all relative.
Echoing scubacoles get rid of the car if there is anything structural going on. Another option, depending on the model of your car, is to try flog off things of high value (engine management unit, wheels, seats, intact doors, stereo, roof racks, tow bars) before selling the shell for scrap. This will probably net you more than any other option, but involves time, space and effort. You also have all the downsides of dealing with scumtree/eBay and the like.
Another hint on approaching wreckers is to draw up a list of all scrappers in the area and mass call one afternoon. Most will ask for an email with photos, and there is no harm targeting wreckers who specialise in your brand or part of the world (eg. Japanese/Asian, European or Aussie vehicles). The best thing about this latter bunch is that if they express no interest in buying the car themselves, you can ask them if they know of any of their customers who might be interested in a private sale. I got one such name, and in the end they offered the second highest amount to me, before I sold to a friend-of-a-friend.
Finally, keep the plates and claim any residual rego. In Victoria the refund amount is approximately your last rego minus $80 admin and minus the prorated amount of registration you've already used.
I don't have the knowledge/skill to strip it myself and sell parts individually.
But that's a great idea, hitting up all the wreckers to find out if other people are interested if they're not themselves.
Thanks for your advice
And pull out the back seat to look for spare change that has slipped down behind.
Sorry, I should have said that I made ~$514.75 and an expired metcard from getting rid of my car. The balance was from the backseats and under the rear drivers side floormat.
How many quotes did you get? They can vary by a huge amount.
Only three from wreckers/scap metal outfits. Most weren't interested because my car had 220k on the clock, and I was starting to zero in on a friend-of-a-friend who was offering to tow the car too.
Did you damage anyone else's car?