Selling a car: Choices, logistics, and emotion

[Britan]

We have two cars. We do not need two cars.

Car 1:
Make/model/year: 2007 Hyundai Elantra
Mileage: ~125,000
MPG: ~30
KBB value: ~$4,000
Insurance costs: ~$700/year
Usage: 2x daily 30 mile commute (me) and 3x weekly trip to climbing gym
-2 new tires, 2 old tires
-Cosmetic scratches on both sides
-I am bad at keeping maintenance records
+Otherwise in great working condition

Car 2:
Make/model/year: 2000 Saturn S series
Mileage: 125,000
MPG: ~17
KBB: n/a, not in fair condition. Does not run. $1,000 with some repairs
Insurance costs: $200/year
Usage: literally has not been turned on in 13 months. Has not been driven except to re-park in >18 months
-Battery dead
-Power windows dead
-Sunroof leaks
-Smells of mold/mildew (sunroof leaks)
-Cosmetic damage to sides
-Old tires, no oil change in at least a year
-Has bees
+"But it's a good car"

I have not yet successfully convinced the other half that we need to get rid of one of these cars.

Question 1: How do I convince him to get rid of one without "nagging"? My previous attempts to say "well we don't use one ever" seem valid to me, however the counter point is "but what if one day I need to use it [to go to a location that my public transit pass doesn't cover, on a day that you can't carpool or work from home and let me use the car even though that has never happened in the past and is very unlikely to ever occur given current work circumstances]". How to counterpoint such a well reasoned counterpoint? Can you tell that part of the reason I haven't done this is because I don't want my immense frustration to show?

Question 2: which car to get rid of? Of course I'm leaning towards car 2, however "it's a good carrrrr!" And also not mine. We would also get more money from selling the Hyundai, and cut more in insurance costs. I am also not super attached to my Hyundai.

Question 3: How  to get rid of it. Hyundai is easy: Craigslist or whatever. But the Saturn? I'm at a loss as to how to do that when it doesn't run. Did I mention it has bees? Oh wait yes. There is a wasps nest growing in it. If nothing else, it would make for a very entertaining Craigslist ad.

So. WWYD in my situation?

[tanzee]

I've heard you can donate cars and use them as a tax deduction....  Not really sure how this works, but it seems like a good backup plan for cars with really low value. 

Also, selling junkers generally works pretty well on craigslist.  There is an army of folks who search for beat up cars they can either turn into parts or fix up and sell.  You get some shady characters and you WILL get lowballed.  But if your goal is just to be rid of it, that might be an option for you. 

As far as convincing your spouse....  I dunno.  You might be able to apply some of the principles in the MMM article Selling The Dream.  It sounds like your spouse is either emotionally attached to the car, really anxious about being stuck without a car, or just being stubborn.  Any thoughts on which? 

[Britan]

I've heard you can donate cars and use them as a tax deduction....  Not really sure how this works, but it seems like a good backup plan for cars with really low value. 

Also, selling junkers generally works pretty well on craigslist.  There is an army of folks who search for beat up cars they can either turn into parts or fix up and sell.  You get some shady characters and you WILL get lowballed.  But if your goal is just to be rid of it, that might be an option for you. 

As far as convincing your spouse....  I dunno.  You might be able to apply some of the principles in the MMM article Selling The Dream.  It sounds like your spouse is either emotionally attached to the car, really anxious about being stuck without a car, or just being stubborn.  Any thoughts on which?

Thanks for the thoughts. I didn't realize that non working cars could actually sell on CL.

I think it's a combo of all 3. At the end of the day it might just be easiest to sell the Hyundai. We would get more for it, save more in insurance, spare some feelings, and the Saturn can be fairly reliable when it's driven regularly. I don't think it would be more than a couple hundred bucks to get it back in working condition. I don't care about working windows. It would be ~$100 for the battery, we can kill the wasps with spray we already have, and work on fixing the sunroof. It would come down to how bad the mold smell is though. I'm not going to replace the whole interior too, but I have no idea how bad it is. We haven't even been in it for months because of the bees.

Also thanks for the reminder about those posts. I had read those posts but forgotten. He can be quite frugal in some ways (see old beat up Saturn he has driven for ages) though not always. I can't judge too hard since I'm hardly perfect myself. :p

[brotatochip]

I donated my very first car to the local fire department.  My neighbor at the time, a volunteer fire fighter, suggested it.   I got a receipt for a donation at full kbb value and he let me watch the fire school set it on fire, put the fire out and use the jaws of life on it.  It was awesome!

[tanzee]

I've heard you can donate cars and use them as a tax deduction....  Not really sure how this works, but it seems like a good backup plan for cars with really low value. 

Also, selling junkers generally works pretty well on craigslist.  There is an army of folks who search for beat up cars they can either turn into parts or fix up and sell.  You get some shady characters and you WILL get lowballed.  But if your goal is just to be rid of it, that might be an option for you. 

As far as convincing your spouse....  I dunno.  You might be able to apply some of the principles in the MMM article Selling The Dream.  It sounds like your spouse is either emotionally attached to the car, really anxious about being stuck without a car, or just being stubborn.  Any thoughts on which?

Thanks for the thoughts. I didn't realize that non working cars could actually sell on CL.

I think it's a combo of all 3. At the end of the day it might just be easiest to sell the Hyundai. We would get more for it, save more in insurance, spare some feelings, and the Saturn can be fairly reliable when it's driven regularly. I don't think it would be more than a couple hundred bucks to get it back in working condition. I don't care about working windows. It would be ~$100 for the battery, we can kill the wasps with spray we already have, and work on fixing the sunroof. It would come down to how bad the mold smell is though. I'm not going to replace the whole interior too, but I have no idea how bad it is. We haven't even been in it for months because of the bees.

Also thanks for the reminder about those posts. I had read those posts but forgotten. He can be quite frugal in some ways (see old beat up Saturn he has driven for ages) though not always. I can't judge too hard since I'm hardly perfect myself. :p

Yeah, they will sell.  I my experience, quite quickly.  But if you advertise it for 1000, don't be surprised if somebody offers you 250 for it.  Also, I think it's important to realize that if you are selling a clunker, I think there is less obligation to disclose every little thing that it wrong with it.  Some might disagree, but I would likely just list the bigger stuff.  I think that when people spend 1000 dollars on a car, they are expecting there to be all sorts of problems.   And if they aren't, that's on them.  That's how I think about it at least. 

Sounds like you are more inclined to sell the other car.  But those are my thoughts in case you choose to sell the cheaper one with wasps in it (that's real funny, btw).   

[Britan]

I donated my very first car to the local fire department.  My neighbor at the time, a volunteer fire fighter, suggested it.   I got a receipt for a donation at full kbb value and he let me watch the fire school set it on fire, put the fire out and use the jaws of life on it.  It was awesome!

That. Is. Amazing.

Also update: it has been agreed that the beemobile will either be lent to a friend or donated. I'm going to advocate removing the wasps this week so we can jump the battery. I will be happy to not have to worry about the status of the wasp wagon, not gonna lie.