3800 toasted - part it out or fix?

[MichEE]

Wife was driving and "it just quit" after making some knocking noises. We drained the oil and metal and antifreeze in it - it won't turn over at all even with a breaker bar.

Question: Should I punt and part it out or replace the motor? I don't have the time right now to to swap it out or fix it and my wife needs something to drive. It has 195K on it, new tires, the body is in good shape and so is the interior! Any hints? Should we just "part" our ways or should hang on to it? Decisions, decisions...

[Hippo Machine]

Hmmm. you could probably get a good amount for new tires with the wheels, as of the rest i have no idea. probably part at that many miles.

[MichEE]

Thanks for the feedback...

if someone wants to give me $700 for it, should I take it? Not sure really how much its worth!

Maybe I should have quit last year after the last repair!!
http://www.grandprixforums.net/3-8-locked-up-31462.html

[98L36]

I'd say how much it's worth depends on quite a few things. Factory options, exterior condition, interior condition, tire condition (which should be a plus since they are good), mechanical condition like brakes, tranny, A/C and all that fun stuff (engine is obvious), and probably any other future costs that the new buyer would have or want to fix.
Like on my car I had to fix a bunch of smaller stuff like rear defroster, rearview mirror, dash lights, dome lights, defog taillights, window motors, door locks, headlights (just got new ones) etc etc etc. I managed to talk the previous owner down quite a bit just cause I kept going through all the stuff that would eventually need fixing. Granted none of those were super huge fixes, but by mentioning those and playing the....."well I really don't know if it's worth that....." card I got him talked down quite a bit.

If I were you I'd start with a KBB value (and make sure it's an HONEST value) to give yourself a ball-park estimate then put it out there and see what happens. With no running engine though I wouldn't be surprised if people try to low-ball you or play the cold hard cash offer card. Don't sell it too cheap, but if you're really looking to get rid of it I wouldn't deny too many people's offers as long as they are reasonable.
That's my advice anyways, take it or leave it.

[Scottydoggs]

the way i look at it is, if the car has been working good and caught up on all its maintenance, up till the motor locked up, you know what you have already, so i think if it cost 1500 to get a used engine put in it, thats still cheaper than a used car that you know nothing about.

[MichEE]

the way i look at it is, if the car has been working good and caught up on all its maintenance, up till the motor locked up, you know what you have already, so i think if it cost 1500 to get a used engine put in it, thats still cheaper than a used car that you know nothing about.

thanks for the info guys - my thought is that someone is going to replace the motor and if I can only get $500 out of it, I'll keep it until next year when I can replace the engine!!

[99PontiacGTP]

With scrap prices as higth as they have been you could probably get 400ish scrap value. with the high miles though.... I think 900ish would be the most you could get.... unless you find a sucker. I bought my gtp with a bad transmission for 1500$ and it had 130k. If you can do the work, or get it done cheap, i'd just keep the car. Its getting harder to find decent cheap cars. I can remember when i could get a car for 150$ and drive it a couple years with only minamal repairs. now the same car goes for 500+. =( dang cash for clunkers anyway!

[MichEE]

With scrap prices as higth as they have been you could probably get 400ish scrap value. with the high miles though.... I think 900ish would be the most you could get.... unless you find a sucker. I bought my gtp with a bad transmission for 1500$ and it had 130k. If you can do the work, or get it done cheap, i'd just keep the car. Its getting harder to find decent cheap cars. I can remember when i could get a car for 150$ and drive it a couple years with only minamal repairs. now the same car goes for 500+. =( dang cash for clunkers anyway!

thanks for the suggestion. I've got a couple potential buyers for about that... its worth it to me for now since we're going to buy a new car anyway. Time is $$ right??

[GPCharlie]

Until you sell it and regret that you did! Take a few days to think about it. New car payments are most likely going to be a lot higher than you are anticipating.