UPDATE: Carmax YAY! Oh no! Trying to sell car and it can't be smogged! WWYD?

[bisous]

AND we sold it to Carmax for $1000! We are thrilled to get that much money and it was so easy. THANK YOU for that suggestion!!

XXXXXXXX

We are trying to sell our 2001 Mazda Protege. It *looks* great, perfect body, good condition. It runs pretty reliably. It also leaks oil. And has 195k miles. And the electrical system is completely shot. KBB estimates its value between $1500 and $2000. Not a ton of money but helpful!

But we can't sell it in CA, (we think) because before a sale, the car must pass a smog test and anyway, it is due to be smogged in anticipation of renewing registration. Evidently, the electrical system is our biggest obstacle. DH just took it to be smogged in anticipation of trying to sell and the test cannot even be run. The computer in the car needs to talk to the computer at the smog test station and because of the electrical problems it will not work! An electrical analysis will cost a fortune, not to mention the cost of the fix. I'm not even sure that it is a polluter, but cannot verify.

We can donate it for sure. My CPA (aka my Dad), says that if we can sell it even for $500 we'll get a lot more money than trying to claim it on our taxes if we try to donate.

Anyone ever been in this situation before? We absolutely do not want to sink any more money into this car. Yet, I do think it has life in it yet and some value to someone. Our situation is such that I can afford to spend some time and inconvenience to maximize our monetary gain. A couple thousand dollars (even 500 dollars) would be money put to good use in our family!

WWYD? TIA,

Jen

[minnie-zb]

Well, it sounds pretty easy from what I'm reading, but maybe I'm missing something? If you don't want to put money in for the fix, then I would donate or sell it for parts/scrap.

I'm not sure what else you could do?

[bisous]

I guess I'm trying to figure out HOW to sell for scrap/parts?? Or if there are ways around selling a car (not trying to do something illegal but to work WITH the law in a special instance??) I'm not sure if that makes sense. I just think (based on what my CPA dad told me) that we'll get more money from selling it in any way possible than from donating it.

Or am I being a scrooge and I should just find a nice charity and take the tax write off?

[crl]

I think you can sell to a dealer without passing smog in CA. I'd call your nearest CarMax and ask. Or call DMV and ask.

Catherine

[lhafer]

Not sure because we don't live in CA. But we had a 2000 mazda protege with almost 200,000 miles on it that we ended up selling back in 2008. It was dh's car, and he had put a huge scrape all the way down the side of the passenger side while a work one day (nasty yellow paint/scrape on a dark green car...nice). To get it fixed was going to be $1,500....uh, no. We left the body shop and took it to a Hyundai dealership, where DH traded it in for a brand new elantra.

The protege had electrical issues, had a bad sensor that we could never get fixed - thus could not pass inspection, had seat belt in the back sat that didn't work, had a nasty crack in the windshield, among many other issues.

The dealership looked it over and gave us a trade in value of $1,000! After picking our jaw up off the floor, we took it. I have no idea why they gave us hat much for it as a trade in, but we felt like we got the better end of that deal. :)

[AnnieW625]

I would have him take it to a test only station. That seems strange that it wouldn't work with the equipment.

Here is a link to the Bureau of Automotive Repair smog station look up. I would look at the gross poluter list and then call some local stations and see if they will evaluate your car for you. If not try another regular smog shop.
http://www.smogcheck.ca.gov/pubwebquery/Station/StationList.aspx

Selling the car to a dealer doesn't require smog. I would be headed over to CarMax pronto if you think you might be able to get what you want for the car.

[hellokitty]

Call your local recycling center and ask them how much they would give you for the car. DH had to do this with his ford explorer. The yr of his car had this tiny little plastic piece and basically, w/o that piece the car wouldn't work and his mechanic could not find it anywhere. The car was in good shape internally, but outside was rusting and had a/c issues. His friend helped him to tow the suv to the recycling place. I think we got about $500 for it, maybe a little bit more.

[westwoodmom04]

We are trying to sell our 2001 Mazda Protege. It *looks* great, perfect body, good condition. It runs pretty reliably. It also leaks oil. And has 195k miles. And the electrical system is completely shot. KBB estimates its value between $1500 and $2000. Not a ton of money but helpful!

But we can't sell it in CA, (we think) because before a sale, the car must pass a smog test and anyway, it is due to be smogged in anticipation of renewing registration. Evidently, the electrical system is our biggest obstacle. DH just took it to be smogged in anticipation of trying to sell and the test cannot even be run. The computer in the car needs to talk to the computer at the smog test station and because of the electrical problems it will not work! An electrical analysis will cost a fortune, not to mention the cost of the fix. I'm not even sure that it is a polluter, but cannot verify.

We can donate it for sure. My CPA (aka my Dad), says that if we can sell it even for $500 we'll get a lot more money than trying to claim it on our taxes if we try to donate.

Anyone ever been in this situation before? We absolutely do not want to sink any more money into this car. Yet, I do think it has life in it yet and some value to someone. Our situation is such that I can afford to spend some time and inconvenience to maximize our monetary gain. A couple thousand dollars (even 500 dollars) would be money put to good use in our family!

WWYD? TIA,

Jen

I'd go the sell for parts route mentioned by others. I think the KBB value won't be attainable given the mechanical issues and very high mileage. We tried to sell my husband's 2001 saab which was in very good condition (no known mechanical problems) with only 75,000 miles, and it took some hunting around to get a dealer to give us more than $2000. The KBB book value was at least twice that. Saabs are a bit weird given that GM is no longer making them, but it gives you a sense of what the market might be.

Do you itemize your deductions on your taxes? If you don't, giving the car to a charity doesn't help you at all with a tax break. If you do, it could be worth $400 to $600 tax break, assuming you deduct the kbb value, depending on your tax rate.

[s7714]

The issue of it not being able to connect to their computer sounds fishy to me but perhaps it's a miscommunication or something. If there is a check engine or alert light showing on your dashboard, then they can not legally pass the car. The actual emissions test involves putting a measuring device in the exhaust pipe not connecting directly to the vehicle's system.

I would suggest taking it to CarMax and see what they say. We sold a old car that had a glitch in the gas tank lid causing the dashboard light to be on and they still bought it. We wouldn't have been able to pass the smog with that light on either and it was a ridiculous amount of money to replace the sensor causing the program.

[lcarlson90]

I just sold my Honda Pilot that was due for Smog in July and they didn't require a smog check. I sold it to Carmax.

[bisous]

I think I'm going to try CarMax. I'm not sure why they would want our vehicle but if they do, fantastic! If we were buying new, we might try the trade in option but that isn't going to work for us--we just bought a new (to us) used car! If that doesn't work, we'll try the recycling place.

My CPA dad mentioned that when he donated his car they told him they would notify him if the car was sold at auction for more than $500. He was not notified so claimed only 500 on his taxes. Of which, (since he itemizes deductions) he only got about 1/3 back.

DH took his place to a test only station. He does have a check engine light on but the real problem was the electrical connection. I'm not sure if it matters or not but per the instructions on the registration renewal form, he had to take it to a STAR certified station so maybe that is why things must be electronic?? The guy didn't charge DH at all so I'm not sure why he would not be telling the truth... But I suppose it is worth a second opinion?

Thank you for all the suggestions!

[vonfirmath]

We are trying to sell our 2001 Mazda Protege. It *looks* great, perfect body, good condition. It runs pretty reliably. It also leaks oil. And has 195k miles. And the electrical system is completely shot. KBB estimates its value between $1500 and $2000. Not a ton of money but helpful!

But we can't sell it in CA, (we think) because before a sale, the car must pass a smog test and anyway, it is due to be smogged in anticipation of renewing registration. Evidently, the electrical system is our biggest obstacle. DH just took it to be smogged in anticipation of trying to sell and the test cannot even be run. The computer in the car needs to talk to the computer at the smog test station and because of the electrical problems it will not work! An electrical analysis will cost a fortune, not to mention the cost of the fix. I'm not even sure that it is a polluter, but cannot verify.

We can donate it for sure. My CPA (aka my Dad), says that if we can sell it even for $500 we'll get a lot more money than trying to claim it on our taxes if we try to donate.

Anyone ever been in this situation before? We absolutely do not want to sink any more money into this car. Yet, I do think it has life in it yet and some value to someone. Our situation is such that I can afford to spend some time and inconvenience to maximize our monetary gain. A couple thousand dollars (even 500 dollars) would be money put to good use in our family!

WWYD? TIA,

Jen

Take it to a junkyard and sell it for parts.

Can a dealership take it in as a trade-in?

[bisous]

BUMPING for update. THANK YOU!

[sunshine873]

Awesome! We just sold our car to Carmax too. I was blown away by how easy the process was and they offered us exactly the amount I had listed it for on Craig's List. Done!

[crl]

Yay!

Catherine

[Mommy_Mea]

Yay, great update! We aren't in CA, but our car currently wouldn't pass inspection and so we are evaluating our options when we buy our new car, so this thread and update is great!

[s7714]

:thumbsup: We were really happy with how easy the process was too. Glad you got it off your hands easily!