I hope someone here can help me - I got lots of advice when I posted a question about buying my first car.
My Dad died recently, and since my mum doesn't drive, we need to sell his car. Mum doesn't want to advesrtise it, and have people phoning up, and wanting test drives etc.
It's a 9 year old Carina, so we know it won't be worth very much, but we don't want to be completely ripped off either.
Is it worth asking the local Toyota dealer if they'd buy it do you think, or is it to old?
If not, can anyone suggest what the best thing would be?
I've phoned his insurance company, and they have a 1 month grace period in which to sell it, before the insurance is cancelled.
Any advice would be much appreciated.
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I'm sure you'll get better advice than this, but you have to start somewhere:
I think, unless you find a very sympathetic salesman, the Toyota garage would be very unlikely to take it, main dealers generally only sell new and nearly new cars on their own forecourt, so all they'd then do is send it to auction, and get the very minimum for it, and they'd want to give you less.
A small trader would be more likely to pay for it, but again, only if he felt he could sell it on, and at a profit. But at least he'd be marking it up to a garage price, not marking up to an auction price, so possibly you'd get a little more, if you see what I mean.
You'd get most money selling privately, but if you don't want to do that then it's immaterial.
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A quick snoop on Autotrader has a couple of 94 M reg 1.6GLi Carinas from trade sellers at £2000. Someone more experienced than me here will tell you what that means in terms of what a dealer will pay you for it, but I think taking it round a few local dealers who have lower value cars on their forecourt and getting the best offer is the most sensible solution.
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I can't answer your actual question, but I'm sure there was a thread recently (I've searched but can't find it) about the car becoming part of the estate, and possible problems with a quick sale until the estate is resolved. I might be talking out of my hat though. But it would be worth checking the situation.
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Firsly, my sympathies on your loss.
The Toyota dealer will only take the car out of sympathy and, if attempting to make money on it, will probably offer no more than £300. However, especially if the car was serviced there and they knew your father as a regular customer, they may be willing to keep the car on their forecourt and pass it on to one of the traders who deals with their part exchanges at a fair(ish) price.
Otherwise I'd say a fair trade price on this car is about £600 if it is in very good condition. Local traders seem to be putting cars like this (Primeras, Mondeos, etc.) through for about a grand at this age and need to make some money and allow for some haggling downwards.
As for the legal aspects - there shouldn't be too many problems as it is likely that your mother or someone else will have power of attorney over the estate and so be able to enter into transactions with your father's property as he would if he were still alive.
Have a look here: www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=15185 for some of the legal issues that may be raised.
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Is there no family member or good friend that would like the car? If the car is well looked after and in good nick then you should be able to meet somewhere in between traders price and private sale value making both partys happy.
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I think it would be worth trying an AutoTrader ad for a week or two, especially if the car has a low mileage and some history - after all it is a Toyota. Your only snag may be guessing a price.
If you don't want to bother with that, check the car section in your local paper for traders selling in the £500-1500 range. They will usually buy for cash, but don't expect any favours. And a Toyota dealer will certainly not be interested, though a friendly one might possibly agree to 'put it into the trade' to help you out - again if it's in good nick.
I doubt that driving round with a For Sale notice in the window will do much, or parking it on a verge somewhere. The unpalatable fact is that the world is overstocked with unwanted cars, and the important thing is to find a buyer soon.
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As well as the suggestions already made, if the tax has run out, don't forget to contact the DVLA and SORN it.
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Thanks very much for all the replies.
Legally, there's no problem with selling it - my mum is the sole executor, and only beneficiary of the will, although we dont need to get probate as it's quite a small estate.
We know we'd get a better price with a private sale, but it's upsetting mum seeing the car in the garage all the time, so basically, she just wants to get rid of it. Most of all, she doesn't want to deal with people on the phone or calling round if we advertised it.
Following on from one of the posts, I dug out the service record for the car, and although it wasn't done through Toyota, it was serviced every 6 months by the same mechanic. I rang him, and told him what had happened, and he said he'd make some enquiries for me - he said it was a really nice car, & he'd ask round at some local garages for me, and keep an eye out for anyone who might be interested in a private sale.
Apparently (according to mum) he was a friend of hers and my dads, so I'm sure he'll do what he can to help.
Thanks again to everyone who replied.
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If no luck that way, why not take it to an auction yourself, that way it will be out of site, and you probably wont get a huge amount less than a private sale with none of the hassel.
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