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.

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.

[juliann.livejournal.com]

I did the quick fix coating on my car. It worked fine in Texas, then I brought it to Illinois and it craaaacked. :/ I don't think those things are very good in subzero weather. Although the technology may have improved, this was 5 yrs ago.

[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.

[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.

[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.

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.

[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.

[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]

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]

I don't know if I would get any more money. As far as I can tell, cars are pretty close to the same price in both places. However, Massachusetts has a pretty tight inspection process - you can't legally drive a car that doesn't pass inspection. I'm not sure my car will pass.

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.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Yes. The 1st of June.

[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.)

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

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

Re: why, yes, i am a nerd!

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Who?

[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.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

I will definitely keep you in the loop.

[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.

[00solstice.livejournal.com]

Your insurance policy probably covers windshield divot/crack sealing, free of charge. (same thing happened to me in late December)

[calledmara.livejournal.com]

Well, OSU is her safety back up and she's about as fond of Columbus as I am. So she'll be waiting as long as possible. So if you find someone in the meantime go with it, but she's someone to keep in mind.

[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.

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?

[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.