What’s the best thing to do with a crap car?

[DianaPrincessOfThemyscira]

I have a Zafira, it’s nearly 20 years old now, and while it runs absolutely fine, it’s just too costly to keep going. It needs some repairs as well - one is the door lock - so I don’t really know what to do about it!

It’s had a new exhaust and the MOT is valid till September. Ideally I want rid before April when insurance is due but I don’t know what to do with it. It seems like such a daft question!

Can I eBay it, as long as I’m clear about the defects? It’ll probably need new tyres soon (for example) but the mileage is only 98k. It drives fine but the handbrake needs tightening. Or might I be better scrapping it?

Are you investigating buying another? Have you asked about trade-in value? Might be easier than eBay?

I might get another but I’m thinking I’ll get one on finance. I didn’t think I could do a trade in tbh due to the issues - as I said the lock is broken, as in, I literally can’t lock the thing!

You can get a trade in and a car on Finance. Just be aware you won't get much for the car but a 20 year old car with all those issues isn't worth much anyway.

You, however won't have the problem of getting rid of the car then, it will be the dealer who has to sort out the problems or scrap the car.

I traded in my 10 year old car recently. The handbrake didn’t work and the body work was a disaster. They still gave me £500 for it which was better than a kick in the teeth!

Trade in, no question! They'll give you something for it, condition doesn't matter and you'll have far less hassle.

Dh just traded his perfectly working 15 year old car with about 80,000 on the clock and due to the age it will be scrapped. It was worth a whopping £250 and would have been a great first car for a young driver (solid, reliable car.)

We didn't realise at first that it would be scrapped due to its age. We traded it against a 1 year old car at a local dealership.

Just be honest, you can look up what you car is worth on confused.com

Either trade in or see if a local mechanics/FE college will take it as a donation, if it's literally worthless?

I traded in my 10 yo Zafira with 140,000 miles on the clock last year. Gave me £500 for it! Just go around some garages and try.

This is great, thanks for all the advice!

I’ve been driving for 18 years but this will be the first car I’ve bought and sold without the help of my dad!

I stuck my 2004 VW Golf on Facebook marketplace last spring. Over 100,000 miles on the clock and a fair few scrapes to the bodywork but perfectly reliable, great as a first car. I asked for £1,000 and could have sold it 10 times over, it was sold within a couple of hours. Usually I always do a part-ex because I don't want to be lumbered with the hassle of selling it and maybe getting stuck with it, but I was only offered £250 from the garage I was getting my new car from so thought there was no way I could do worse than that.

Obviously you could get a load of time wasters but I think if you price it right and be completely honest you can shift things pretty easily on there.

Put it on ebay or facebook selling pages and be honest about the faults. No need to scrap it. Plenty of people will be interested either to fix up and use or to cannibalize for spares. If you can't be bothered then part ex it but you will likely get a better deal selling yourself.

I advertised my crap Focus on gumtree for something like £250. It only had 1 weeks MOT, and had high mileage.

Be prepared for the abrupt phone calls/texts. I sold it for only about £120, but sold it to the politest person. Some of the calls/texts were so rude you’d think it was a satirical sketch of car selling. Honestly, things like “I give you £100. Best price u will get. Sell me now.”