Here is an interesting question I'm sure most of you have never considered...

"What would your Maxima be worth as a parts car?"

The reason I ask is... I've been trying to sell my Maxima for over a year and a half now... with no luck. I've been slowly lowering my asking price to what I owe... and have never really gotten any interest.

Specs:
1997 SE 5 Spd Manual
Light Green Exterior, Greenish/Gray Leather Interior
Bose, Sunroof, Heated Seats, Black Floormats, Trunknet, Wind deflector, Mudflaps

Anyway... I had some financial issues that I'd been able to fend off for a while that I finally got tired of juggling and borrowing money from family to keep current and decided to declare Chapter 7 before I really f'd my credit (had ZERO bad marks prior, just a lot of credit). Well, being that I wasn't able to sell the Maxima prior, I called the bank and told them I no longer wanted the car and to come take possesion as I'd filed for Chapter 7 (which you can legally do by the way), and guess what the bank told me... "Its too old, our repossesion group won't come get it!". So I'm like, "ok, what am I supposed to do with it?". Anyway, I haven't made a payment in 6 months, and I still have the car (I'm still driving it actually), but its slowly getting into disrepair. It needs a new front windshield, tires are iffy (I sold the wheels and tires I had on it to a guy and he gave me his 95 SE wheels and tires in trade with cash, but the tires are crap), the paint is a little iffy (front and rear bumpers have nicks etc) and the engine needs a little work (timing chain tensioner, tune up, etc). And being that I don't really want to keep the car, I have no interest in spending the money to repair it, especially since the bank could eventually come get it one day... also... being that I still owe $5800 on it from 6 months ago... I doubt I'm going to be able to get the title for it...

My lawyer said I have two options... have it removed by the city (turn in the tags, remove insurance, park it on the street and call the city and report it as an abandoned vehicle) or sell it for parts... still being a little financially strapped.. I'm looking into the "selling it for parts" option... but rather than parting it out, I'd just like to sell it as a whole... I mean the car drives great, still pulls, its fun to drive, its just I can't get the title (thus unless someone doens't mind buying it without a title, they can't really "own" it, unless they know how to get a salvage title for it) or they could just use it to make money to sell it off as parts... I wish I had the time/space to do it, but I don't...

Anyway, I was just curious what everyone thinks it might be worth as parts? I was hoping I could maybe get $2k for it... its got just over 126k miles on it... nice interior (driver's seat is a little worn) no major dents in any of the panels, never been in an accident... engine is good, just needs minor work, transmission is perfect, brand new alternator...

Thoughts?

Thanks in advance for any comments / suggestions.

So your thinking about selling all the parts for $2k when you still owe $5800 on it? If your going to take that big of a loss, why not lower the price? Is your car listed on autotrader?

hey kaz where do u live?...

Well the reason you cant sell it is because you dont have a clear title. Would you buy a car without a clear title?

if you sell parts, PM me when you do I want your trunk lid and bottom latch, let me know you have a buyer already.

i had a friend that had 3 debts, i think it was a TV, a loan on a car, and something else. the TV apperently came with this deal that he didnt have to pay any interest on it. he consolidated them all together and somehow ended up not paying intrest on anything because of the TV deal. im not even sure if im realy bieng accurate or not but maybe its a possibility. i dont know anything about consolidation :P
sorry to hear about your situation man, wish i could realy help out. it's such a shame , i hope you come out okay
your lawyer has probably told you the best way to go though.
good luck!

I can't sell it at $5800, but now its just in limbo because it has been marked by the bank as a loss... I'm selling it for $2k because its only worth parts now... I can't get a title for it... unless I pay the $5800. Which I won't get, and I don't want to take a loss (i.e. I can't afford to pay off the difference out of pocket), so I can't lower the price.

The car HAD and still HAS a clear title... it just had a lien. I couldn't sell it in that situation (no interest at what I owed on it) so I told the bank to come get it. It still has a clean title... if someone bought it for $5800 to pay off the loan, they'd get a clean title. But I don't think I'll get $5800 for it, so its a moot point. The title wasn't an issue in the initial problem selling the car.

Virginia, other side of the country JOMAN

Consolidation isn't really an option, and I really don't want the car... when I did the Chapter 7, I wrote off like $27k in unsecured debt (I've still got 34k in student loans) but I also kept my truck and my 91 Twin Turbo Z, which are both worth more than I owe... The Maxima was going upside down quicker and quicker, and I had no luck trying to sell it, here or elsewhere... they barely go for $6k on eBay in better shape and less mileage. I'd have people call and offer me $4k when I was asking $7500... I never got any serious interest.

I have read elsewhere that sometimes the bank lets you pay off "most" of the debt to minimize their loss... say like paying $4k of the $5800... I don't know if they'd really do that though, so I can't really advertise it that low... I'm basically looking to just eventually dispose of the car because the bank has determined its a loss irregardless of condition (they said a '97 w/ 125k miles was "too old" to be repossessed, go figure).

Anyway, thanks for the thought.

Call the bank and ask if they will reduce your loan. If they reduce your loan and you can pay off that amount, make sure you can get the title from them. You would most likely get $5,400 if the title was clear.

BTW- In case you didnt know, your debts that were wiped off are considered income, so you'll have to file the $24K on your taxes as income. Or else the IRS might come get you for tax evasion.

Interesting... I did not know that... I might have to call the Lawyer then and ask about that... hmmm that will definitely nix the tax return this year... d'oh.

But it could be different since you filed for bankruptcy

Actually I was just researching this (you peaked my interest), the actual act of declaring carries no taxes... but if you had property, and it is SOLD to pay off debt, you owe money on that value... I only discharged unsecured debt... there was no "value" to it... so thus no taxes. But thanks for bringing it up. I'll probably still call the lawyer later this week, but its something to think about.