for sale -vs- part out car

[tntcorvette]

Just wondering which will bring in more money? My car is once again acting up, this time stalling when I put the car into gear. Either drive or reverse. My days of turning wrenches are over and im at the end of the road.

So if the stalling problem isnt fixed in my garage then im getting rid of the car. Im not paying some mechanic $75+ a hour to work on my car.

So what does everying think? Parting out a car vs selling it? Which would bring in more money?

 

[JonM]

Parting it out would bring in much more money then selling it outright. But its a hell of alot of work...You have to remove the parts, list them someplace like EBay, box them up, ship them, hope you don't get burnt or get agravated to the point just short of homicide.

 

[tnovot]

Just wondering which will bring in more money? My car is once again acting up, this time stalling when I put the car into gear. Either drive or reverse. My days of turning wrenches are over and im at the end of the road.
So if the stalling problem isnt fixed in my garage then im getting rid of the car. Im not paying some mechanic $75+ a hour to work on my car.

I totally agree with everything Jon said. Being in the Chicago area might help the sale of speed parts and Vette parts because of the larger market there.
You sound frustrated with your stalling problem but what a shame if it were something simple and you sold or parted the car without knowing for sure. Maybe $75 / hr would be worth knowing. There is a Rick guy on this forum who sounds like he is competent and trustworthy although I have not dealt with him personally. If you change your mind about paying someone to check it out, he is in Downers Grove.

ASE Master Certified Auto Technician
Owner / Rick Anthony Motorsports
"http://www.RickAnthonyMotorsports.com"
Ph.630-272-8170
Looking for performance parts e-mail me at
"mailto:Rick@RickAnthonyMotorsports.com"

 

[tntcorvette]

I am not frustrated. Just not in the mood to work on cars any more. Something in my gut says go for it and get rid of the car and get a newer model.

 

[Jack]

Parting it out would bring in much more money then selling it outright. But its a hell of alot of work...You have to remove the parts, list them someplace like EBay, box them up, ship them, hope you don't get burnt or get agravated to the point just short of homicide.

I agree on all counts ... plus ... answer tons of questions ("will it fit my year?") ... many won't yield a sale. Seems you're tired of working on car. With all the questions, work & aggravation in parting out ... that might end up being too much like working on car.
JACK:gap

 

[tntcorvette]

not really. Some stuff would be pick up only and other parts I can ship.

 

[tyrel]

Well, you did say your days of turning wrenches were over, and parting out is a lot of work. I say sell it outright if you're tired of it.

 

[Edmond]

Well, you did say your days of turning wrenches were over, and parting out is a lot of work. I say sell it outright if you're tired of it.

I agree with that because parting the parts out is a lot of work. But what are you going to do with parts that no one seemingly needs to buy? Or the parts like brake lines or other lines that can't be reused?

 

[vetteboy86]

If your days of turning wrenches are over, I wouldn't buy a newer model. Most all cars have their problems, some more then others. The harder a vette is driven usually yields more wrench turning. From your signature it looks like you have alot of money in that engine. I would fix the car. Parting it out is too much work, and you will never get out of the car what you want in a private sale. However just parting out your engine alone probably would yield more money then the whole car. Although you will have skeptics that are narotic and dont' really know if it will fit their application.

Good luck, whichever route you choose. If anybody can help here let us know.

 

[OldSkool]

This reply is totally unrelated to your question, but...

I had a similar problem with my Jeep. Turns out the throttle body just needed a good cleaning. A lot of crud had built up in there, and I guess it restricted airflow just enough when the throttle was closed to cause the engine to stall.

I also had a similar problem with my 88 GTA L98, and it turned out to be the MAF.

Both are really easy fixes. Hope that helps.

 

[tntcorvette]

thanks for the tip. I doubt the throttle body needs cleaning since its very clean not over 1K on the miles.

 

[AdvancedAutoCC]

Tap test the MAF

Try the MAF "tap test"... start the car, tap the MAF with a suitable object (I use a rubber mallet) CAREFULLY (don't break it) and if it stumbles or dies...you've found trouble. MAFs from the mid 80's were frequent failure pieces and the cause of many a driveability complaint.

 

[Achilles]

Had a similar problem with a non-vette, stalling as soon as it was put into Drive. I believe it was a nuetral safety switch that needed to be replaced on the tranny. I'm not certain on this since it was a long time ago. But it was a relatively easy fix that was on the outside of the trans. Maybe check it out with a local mechanic. Then at least you can sell a "running" car and be done with it.

 

[RIISITAS]

If you have a nice Vette outside of this stalling problem....Why not sell it whole to someone else? Just looking at your engine mods shows you put a lot of time, care and resources into your Vette. It would be a shame to destroy a nice Vette for such a small problem. I almost lost a great high performance car for a similar reason. I had it quite a while, had a minor problem with it, no time to wrench on it due to my job and extensive travel, got frustrated, seriously considered selling it....(It was way too nice to part out even though that would have brought more money.) Then when I took some time to consider it...It was the wrong thing to do. I waited...Hired a guy I trusted to look at it...He found a simple problem and repaired it. I am so glad now I didn't sell it! Since I hadn't driven it in awhile...What a revelation! It was fantastic! I'm just saying take your time making your decision. Personally seeing something like your Vette that I had so much fun with, put that amount of time and sweat equity into, slowly disappearing piece by piece as it was parted out and sold would be very disturbing to me. Do what you feel is best.....JMHO.

 

[Edmond]

tnt,

Did you come to a decision as to what you're going to do?

 

[BlackNBlue95]

I totally agree with everything Jon said. Being in the Chicago area might help the sale of speed parts and Vette parts because of the larger market there.
You sound frustrated with your stalling problem but what a shame if it were something simple and you sold or parted the car without knowing for sure. Maybe $75 / hr would be worth knowing. There is a Rick guy on this forum who sounds like he is competent and trustworthy although I have not dealt with him personally. If you change your mind about paying someone to check it out, he is in Downers Grove.

ASE Master Certified Auto Technician
Owner / Rick Anthony Motorsports
"http://www.RickAnthonyMotorsports.com"
Ph.630-272-8170
Looking for performance parts e-mail me at
"mailto:Rick@RickAnthonyMotorsports.com"

Thanks for the reccomendation. We changed servers and domain names recently basically .com is now .net www.RickAnthonyMotorsports.net
-=Rick

 

[Edmond]

Did you decide to part it out or sell it outright?

 

[WhalePirot]

The money thing should be clear. Which is more dear to you, between time and cash, is yours to decide.

I know the frustration of spending so much time and money and wanting OUT. I had to take a break and listen to fellow enthusiasts; then wait for my frustration to pass. There are so many wanna-be clowns in shops, who claim to know how to make cars fast. Most is B.S. I was lucky to cjeck all over and find some guys who really know their stuff.

I am glad I waited for the clouds to pass, as this car is unbelievably fun to drive, relatively economical when not pushed real hard, and reliable. Did I mention fun-to-drive?

Don't jump just yet, pal, if you can, even if the drive season is about over in WindyTown.

BTW, did the car ever run properly after all these mods?

 

[vetteboy86]

That is good advice. The biggest problem is not knowing who to trust other then yourself. In my situation, I did not have the time, experience, and tools to complete the engine work myself. Just had to hope that this guy would get it straight.

Best Wishes

 

[Edmond]

That is good advice. The biggest problem is not knowing who to trust other then yourself. In my situation, I did not have the time, experience, and tools to complete the engine work myself. Just had to hope that this guy would get it straight.

Best Wishes

But I'm sure a lot of us here don't have the machinery to complete some of that work so it's not just you. I'm sure that if you had access to that machinery, you could've gotten someone to help you, and you would've been more involved with your build.

I won't have access to the machinery but my neighbors are very knowledgeable and they're quite eager to help me do work because it's fun to them. One of them is retired and likes working on stuff while the other is just a diehard hotrodder. :L