Damned Dump Trucks

[judecorp]

Jennifer and I have been trying to decide if it is better for us to sell my car before we move and only bring one car to Boston, or to take both cars. The pros of one car are: lower insurance, easier to transport to Boston, less reliance on cars, less registration/excise tax, chunk of money to use toward moving. The cons of one car are: not always having access to a car when we want one, selling the car that I'm really comfortable in, possible stress of trying to get the car sold before we leave. It definitely looks like the pros outweigh the cons, especially to me, so I was pretty much set on selling my car. I'm hoping to get $4000 for it. It's a 1998 Nissan Sentra with all of its maintenance records and no major necessary repairs. It has about 67K miles on it, which means (since it's a Nissan) it's probably got another 100K on it if it's taken care of.

Well, I drive around a lot for my job. Today, I was on the interstate and I got cut off by this enormous dump truck, which kept dropping gravel and kicking it up. The front of my car got showered in gravel. And I now have a ding and crack in my windshield. My formerly pristine windshield, since I had to replace it in 2002 when a giant boulder fell off of a bridge and into my front seat. At 70mph. Yeah.

So there's the debate now of: do I spend money we don't have to replace the windshield (and a couple of other minor repairs) in the hopes of easier sale? Or do I hope that this crack won't influence a good sale price? Or do I just suck it up and take the car, since it will be too much of a pain to sell anyway? Yuck.

I wish time would just magically transform and we would be moved and settled and making money.

Comments

[juliann.livejournal.com]

A) The windshield will affect the price as it's something that is likely going to need fixing in the future. (After a good freezing spell when it starts to crack :/). I wouldn't worry about the ding though. Contact your car insurance company, they may be able to do more than you think.

B) I'd take the car with you. You need it so much for your job now, can you be sure that you won't have the same need there? Yes, Boston has a decent public transport system, but what if you work way out in the suburbs and have to ferry children between two points not well connected by public transport? You can always sell it once you get there and that's less immediate stress. (And if you're not selling it right away you don't have to worry about getting it repaired.) (None of your options above were "sell it when you get there" which I think makes more sense!)

[laughingsal.livejournal.com]

I agree. Would it stand to reason that you would get more for the car in Boston anyway, since the cost of living is higher? I'm not sure.

Also, there is some sort of quick fix coating that you can put on your car so that the crack won't get worse. You may want to check into that.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

The problem with taking the car with me to sell is that a) I would have to GET it there (with another car and a moving truck), b) I need the money to move, and c) I would have to get the car inspected in Mass, and I'm not sure it will pass inspection.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Also, if I have a similar job that requires a lot of driving (which I /shouldn't/, since Mass has an intermediate social work license for masters-level clinicians so you don't get a lot of masters-level case managers), we will have a car in town. We're bringing Jen's car, the 2003 Focus.

my 2 cents

[luloubelle.livejournal.com]

If you take the car with you, you have that much more room to cram stuff. When you get there, trade it in for a better car, or sell it once you get all settled in. You might not want to add the stress of relying on one car to a move as big as this.

Re: my 2 cents

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Well, we have to rent a truck to move stuff, so having a little Nissan isn't really going to affect that. However, it will be more challenging to move one moving truck and two cars... and I'm not sure if it's worth it.

[geniusorafool.livejournal.com]

Wait, is it official that you are moving to Boston now? I haven't read my journal much in the last two weeks or so.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Yes. The 1st of June.

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

Hi--funny inspection rules in MA mean that if you have a sizable crack in your windshield, you can't get it inspected (for it to pass, anyway) until it is fixed. You should keep that in mind.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Yep, I sure do remember that! We don't have any inspection process in Ohio, and another of my concerns is that my car may not pass emissions. (It probably will, but I'd hate to find that out AFTER I go through all the trouble of dragging a second car here.)

[calledmara.livejournal.com]

My friend Nancy is looking for a car in that price range if you decide to sell it. (This is somewhat dependent on the fact that she's on NYU's waitlist, if she moves she won't be buying a car) Let me know when you decide and I can put you in touch.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

That would be seriously cool. Do you know when she would find out if she got in?

why, yes, i am a nerd!

[therewaslight.livejournal.com]

Ask Dave Ramsey. Seriously. I listen to him all the time on the radio. Email him from his website.

Re: why, yes, i am a nerd!

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Who?

[vorpalbla.livejournal.com]

Take it to Boston, and if you need money more than car you can always sell it after moving. You'll probably get more for it there, too.

BTW, 1998 Sentras on ebay motors, with similar mileage, seem to bring in $3000-$3500.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Hey, thanks for looking it up on eBay motors, I really appreciate it! :)

In some ways it would be good to move the car "just in case," but it really is a big hassle to move the car. First, I will need to get it there (and with already bringing a moving truck and another car, that's not so easy). Then, I will need to hope it passes Massachusetts inspection and emissions tests (which it /should/, but if they reject certain things I will need to get pricey repairs). And it's not certain that I would get more money for it.

We already have one car definitely going.

[00solstice.livejournal.com]

You've got a good point regarding fetching more money for the same product in Boston.

here (http://www.edmunds.com/tmv/used/1998/nissan/sentra/index.html?tid=edmunds.u.tmvmmindex.content.num8.0.nissan*) is a listing of market value prices for different models of '98 Sentras.

[kieron.livejournal.com]

We wouldn't get more money necessarily in Boston....at Edmunds.com the same car and make and model etc is actually appraised at almost $350 less for the Boston area as opposed to the Columbus area.

[hazelpeach.livejournal.com]

I wish time would just magically transform and we would be moved and settled and making money.

Dude. If you discover that magicially transformation thing, could I borrow it?

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

I will definitely keep you in the loop.

the deal

[volumeat11.livejournal.com]

OK Sparky, here's the deal...

You may recall my mess when I had a hockey rink tossed at my windshield as I was driving (see http://volumeat11.livejournal.com/14268.html), but the bottom line is that here in MA, you don't pay for windshield repairs -- EVERYONE does. How nice.

SO. You drive out here con el auto, find a place, register your car (does not need an inspection to be registered, I think -- at least, that's what I did when I moved back from Vermont), INSURE your car, and then oh no, how awful, you get a crack. Eleven million Commonwealth residents help pay for your crack (how funny does that sound), THEN either inspect it and keep it, or sell it.

Do ya got it?

Re: the deal

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

I remember when you had the windshield "incident," but didn't you end up having to do the windshield repair through the "no-fault" part of your insurance? Or did you end up paying out of pocket? Or something? I'm fuzzy on the details.

I guess my dilemma is that I don't want to go through all of the trouble of getting the car out there, registering it, inspecting it, etc. AND THEN JUST SELL IT, when if we ARE going to sell it, we can do it here without having to drive it anywhere, get any inspections, or change any registrations. You know?

And I thought a car had to pass inspection before it was drivable. So while you don't need to show proof of inspection to register the car, if you have Mass plates and you're driving on the road, you can get busted for no inspection. Whereas my car with my Ohio plates does not need an inspection, because, you know, we're "visiting."

Re: the deal

[jadefu.livejournal.com]

When I moved back to MA, they did take photos of our cars when got our new insurance policies, however, to verifiy the condition first. I don't know if every company does that or not.

[tetonkid.livejournal.com]

maybe someone's already said this ... but sometimes windshield repair is free with your insurance company -- regardless of your deductible ...

mine is, anyway. but it could be because i live in some disrupted and unstable mountains and small rocks and/or large boulders fall randomly from the sky fairly regularly.

you might check it out though.

hey! best of luck with your move though. i know you've spent a lot of time thinking about it and analyzing it and worrying, etc. but, IT WILL BE SO EXCITING!!!

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

I will definitely look into it. Although for some reason I can't find the scratch anymore. Hunh.

It /will/ be exciting, and I am excited! But it is also very nervewracking, like, do we have enough money? will we make enough money? Stuff like that.

*sigh*