I'm seriously thinking of getting rid of my 2010 Corolla. It has 100,500 miles on it and needs some work on the front end and the upholstery. The latest offer I have (through CarMax/Edmunds) is $4,300. The guesstimate on repairs is around $1,500. I could get it fixed, but then it still has 100,000 miles on it. Granted, that's not much for a Toyota.

The Scion (Larry's car) is chugging along at 47,.000 miles and running great. While I really like the look of the Corolla and the sun roof, do I really need the 2nd vehicle? Getting rid of one of them would definitely drop the insurance rate. Plus, it would make room in the car port for when I finally am able to get someone to share the house.

Plus, the $4,300 would go a long way with accumulated debt.

One the bright side, I got my real estate tax bill last week. I was expecting a real jump due to the rising home values this past year and the house being up for its 3-year re-assessment. SURPRISE! If it went up, it's only by a tiny amount. The best part about that, is that with the sale of the Internet domain name that we used for our business, the taxes are paid for.

Hmmmmm...... I wonder how many more of these 'windfalls' I can expect?

Sister just sold her car via CarMax, all over the internet. Used cars at this time are getting a premium, dealers are looking at Facebook Marketplace to obtain cars, thinking you could get more via one of those venues.

I've checked several sites, and the Edmunds/CarMax is the better deal by as much as $1,000.

Rick have you tried Carvana?

Yep. They were one of the lowest.

S N A G . . .

I cleaned out the corolla this afternoon. I vacuumed, cleaned off the mildew (it's been sitting for a couple of months.) and wiped down all of the surfaces with Armor All.

Windows down, sun roof open and off to the car wash.

The snag started as soon as I left the driveway. Damn, this sucker rides smooth and quiet. Got to the car wash and just got the 'regular' wash and vacuum.

The snag come to full fruition. It is one nice looking car!

I did some running around in it to help charge the battery and 'blow out the cobwebs'. I stopped at Advanced Auto and got a heavy duty upholstery cleaner and an air freshener bomb. As I was pulling into the driveway, I started having some real second thoughts about selling it.

Now, I'm back to square one on the decision process.

I was just watching some TV and an ad came on for WeButAnyCar.com. Oh, what the hell. What do the value it at? Their valuation is $900 more that Edmunds/CarMax.

Now, I'm really torn.

From a former Corolla owner: if you can sell your 10-year-old car for more than $5000, go for it now. Yes, your Toyota might run almost forever, but that doesn't mean it isn't going to need repairs and replacement parts. Other things will start to get ratty like the weather stripping around the windows, upholstery and headliner. Soon you'll realize that you've spent more on repairs than the car is worth and it's STILL a 10-year-old car with more than 100,000 miles.

Yeah, that's what prompted the whole 'should I sell it' process. The other car, a Scion xB, is also 10 years old, but it only has 46,600 on it.

Now, all I need to do is find the title, which I haven't seen in years. But, I filled out the paperwork to get a duplicate

Sell it.
You have no need for two cars. You have debt to use the money towards. You want the space. You save the money from insurance. Used cars are selling great right now.

Did you price the Scion to see what it would sell for, with only 47K miles?

Seems like it might be worth more versus what insurance costs. You like driving the Corolla and what it looks like. Keep it; sell the other.

Other than financial and esthetic concerns, which can haul more garden stuff? lol

Funny you should ask Judy! That's another reason to sell the corolla and keep the scion. I ca fit 15 2cf bags of mulch in the scion. The corolla, maybe 8.

I had a feeling that the cargo style of Scion had a big appeal but there are always other choices.

Sally summed it up well. If it's still in your driveway, sell it while it's still all clean and looking good!

I got the duplicate title the other day in the mail. The work schedule has been screwing things up and I'm back to working 5 10s instead of 5 8s. That leaves Saturday as the only free time. Getting a Saturday appointment is rough.

Sorry you're working so hard again. Extra $ is good, but exhaustion is not.

Can you post somewhere at work that you're looking for a housemate? Or let HR know (for new hires)? Or do you see enough of those people already? LOL

I have a couple of people in mind. Also, my neighbor works for NIST and he says they're always looking for temporary housing for visiting whatevers.

I' back in the mood to clear and clean. I made a trip to the dump this morning with old, reeeeeally expired canned goods. Larry would get on this kick where he really liked something... for a while, and then had no interest in it again. Of course, this always happened after we had laid in enough for a meal or two. Vary that across just a few types of things and the shelves fill up fast.

Slow and steady. . .

Don't pick a venue to sell a car based on their "valuation." They can pick a number out of the air but that doesn't mean that is what your car will sell for. Try to sell it yourself before giving someone a large percentage of the sales price.

FINALLY!

Well, I sold the corolla this morning. The online valuation was for $6,800. But, it had problems.

The back seat had a roughly 6 inch diameter hole where the mice had chewed through. The cabin A/C-Heat wasn't working. (Actually, it worked when it wanted to, which was almost never.) And, the front end suspension needed an overhaul.

My mechanic had given me a ball park on the front end work of $1,200. Parts to fix the heating/air would have been about $125 plus installation, assuming is was the 'simple' repair I thought it would be. Repair to the back seat is anyone's guess.

I walked out with a check for $5,000. I'll also be saving every month by not having to pay for insurance.

Plus, and here's a biggy... I gain a 200sf covered space in the car port that can be used for potting plants, etc. ! ! ! !

I'm going to miss the car, but I don't need 2 vehicles. And with the Scion only having 40,000 miles on it, it was a no brainer.

That's great Rick! Enjoy the new space.. try not to spend the whole check filling it up.