(by Pat)
We've had five people from Craigslist ask to see the car so far, which feels good, since it was only posted on Monday. Two people stopped by on Tuesday, and I'm hoping for two more today.
The first guy came with his wife and small daughter, looking to move into a larger car for their growing family. They were Hispanic immigrants--she didn't speak much English, but he was fluent and we hit it off pretty well. He seemed to like the car, but she was disappointed it doesn't have electric windows. (It's a pretty basic car, but I figure that's just less stuff to break.) They didn't have time to take it for a drive, but said they might come back for another look. We'll see.
The second guy was a mechanic, I'm guessing he was from India, and brought along his aged father. He looked it over and didn't turn his nose up at the car, which is a good sign. Turns out he's looking for a car for his wife, so he said he'd have to come back with her, maybe on Friday.
My experience selling other things on Craigslist is that half the time people never show up, so I was glad these folks actually came to look at the car. I'm curious to see how many viewings it'll take. Ten?
So far, we've only listed it on Craigslist, but we might try cars.com pretty soon, as well as other sites. It's been a busy week around here with other life stuff, so this has been about all the traffic I can handle at the moment.
At the moment, the idea of having this extra cash from the sale of car gives us a perpetual list of stuff we plan to do with the money--buy a new light for my bike, sign up for a bike repair class, frame a picture, go out for pizza, etc. We have a growing list that would require us to sell several cars, but it's fun to think about anyway.
We're still using the car a little bit, while it's here, but are trying to do a lot more by bike and T (though there's a soccer tournament this weekend, where I'm supposed to bring five players, and it might not be so bad if the car isn't sold quite yet...)
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Tips and Notes on selling the used car
(by Pat)
I found a few helpful web sites with info on selling a used car. The Car Guys have a few pages that break it down, step by step, that was particularly helpful. Also the Rocket Lawyer has a place where you can get a free Bill of Sale document.
The Car Guys reminded me that I should call the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles, just to make sure I'm clear on what needs to happen. They have a ton of info on the web site, but I just couldn't find the answers I needed, so I tried by phone. I had to wait on hold for about 20 minutes, after twice getting lost in the phone maze (calling it a tree seems too kind), but I finally did get to talk to a human. She was both friendly and helpful and confirmed what the Car Guys had written, that once we make the sale happen, getting signatures and copies of the Bill of Sale and signed Title, we need to keep the license plates (I'd forgotten about that part) and then turn them in at an RMV office. They'll give us a Plate Return Receipt, which we will then give to our insurance company, and we can also use it to get back a refund of the excise tax we paid this year on the car.
Now we just need to get it to happen.
I found a few helpful web sites with info on selling a used car. The Car Guys have a few pages that break it down, step by step, that was particularly helpful. Also the Rocket Lawyer has a place where you can get a free Bill of Sale document.
The Car Guys reminded me that I should call the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles, just to make sure I'm clear on what needs to happen. They have a ton of info on the web site, but I just couldn't find the answers I needed, so I tried by phone. I had to wait on hold for about 20 minutes, after twice getting lost in the phone maze (calling it a tree seems too kind), but I finally did get to talk to a human. She was both friendly and helpful and confirmed what the Car Guys had written, that once we make the sale happen, getting signatures and copies of the Bill of Sale and signed Title, we need to keep the license plates (I'd forgotten about that part) and then turn them in at an RMV office. They'll give us a Plate Return Receipt, which we will then give to our insurance company, and we can also use it to get back a refund of the excise tax we paid this year on the car.
Now we just need to get it to happen.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Starting to feel real
(by Pat)Washed the car today, and Tracy listed it for sale on Craig's List tonight. Which made it start to feel a little real--this might actually happen.
Within two hours, we had our first response by someone who might come by tomorrow. This makes it seem a lot more real and makes me feel a lot more nervous.
We're so conditioned to feeling the importance of owning a car. Learning to drive is an American rite of passage, as is buying that first car. I've owned cars for the past 21 years. Buying and owning a car makes me feel like a grown up. Which, now that I think about it, sort of pisses me off, because I don't want my adult identity defined by something that someone wants me to buy.
I'm curious to see how this goes tomorrow.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Almost Ready to sell the minivan
(by Pat)
I spent a couple hours hours emptying the car of all the crap that had accumulated and cleaning every possible inch. It's amazing how much junk falls in a minivan courtesy of two kids (food and pencils, mostly). Sometimes I wonder if empty water bottles actually have the ability to breed in minivan captivity. And blue marker really does come out of the backs of the driver seats (yay). I'm a bit puzzled as to why car washes are not open at 8pm on Sunday nights, but I assume it's some odd Boston Blue Law, dating back to the Pilgrims (they were very strict about drinking, public lewdness, and the washing of cars).
According to the Kelly Blue Book online, we could expect to get as much as $3,985 for our car. It's a 2003 Dodge Caravan with 75,000 miles. Runs pretty good, but has a dent in the back from some idiot who didn't realize he didn't know how to parallel park. It's a sturdy, reliable car. Since we're ready to move ahead and sell this thing, I think we'll probably try to sell it for $3,400- $3,500, which seems to make it competitive with other cars for sale.
It's been 10 years since I last sold a car, so I'm curious to see how things have changed. I figure we'll list it on Craigslist and see what happens, and maybe try a couple other web sites, if necessary.
Now that I've got it all cleaned, I don't really want to let any children back inside. Tracy says we should just basically act like it's already been sold and start living our lives as if we don't have the car. Which makes a certain amount of sense (especially since we had another little car binge day today, with a visit to the garden and 3 grocery stores and Target (we stocked up on kitty litter for a while--very hard to get home on a bicycle)).
I'm a little nervous about all of this. In a way, it feels almost like moving. Once this happens, we'll have a different sense of geography for a while, just like when you move to a new house--our patterns of movement around the Boston area will definitely change.
I spent a couple hours hours emptying the car of all the crap that had accumulated and cleaning every possible inch. It's amazing how much junk falls in a minivan courtesy of two kids (food and pencils, mostly). Sometimes I wonder if empty water bottles actually have the ability to breed in minivan captivity. And blue marker really does come out of the backs of the driver seats (yay). I'm a bit puzzled as to why car washes are not open at 8pm on Sunday nights, but I assume it's some odd Boston Blue Law, dating back to the Pilgrims (they were very strict about drinking, public lewdness, and the washing of cars).
According to the Kelly Blue Book online, we could expect to get as much as $3,985 for our car. It's a 2003 Dodge Caravan with 75,000 miles. Runs pretty good, but has a dent in the back from some idiot who didn't realize he didn't know how to parallel park. It's a sturdy, reliable car. Since we're ready to move ahead and sell this thing, I think we'll probably try to sell it for $3,400- $3,500, which seems to make it competitive with other cars for sale.
It's been 10 years since I last sold a car, so I'm curious to see how things have changed. I figure we'll list it on Craigslist and see what happens, and maybe try a couple other web sites, if necessary.
Now that I've got it all cleaned, I don't really want to let any children back inside. Tracy says we should just basically act like it's already been sold and start living our lives as if we don't have the car. Which makes a certain amount of sense (especially since we had another little car binge day today, with a visit to the garden and 3 grocery stores and Target (we stocked up on kitty litter for a while--very hard to get home on a bicycle)).
I'm a little nervous about all of this. In a way, it feels almost like moving. Once this happens, we'll have a different sense of geography for a while, just like when you move to a new house--our patterns of movement around the Boston area will definitely change.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
the weirdness of transportation costs
(by Tracy)
No wonder our economy is so messed up. The costs of things don't really match the energy or effort required to provide them.
Lately I've had to price a few trips. Here's the summary:
No wonder our economy is so messed up. The costs of things don't really match the energy or effort required to provide them.
Lately I've had to price a few trips. Here's the summary:
- one-way Amtrak train trip to New Haven, CT, regular, not Acela - $74
- weekend car rental (2.5 days) from Enterprise Rent-a-Car, pick up at Logan Airport, which I used to drive to New Haven and back - $89
- one-way flight to Chicago on American Airlines - $89
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Back in the Saddle
(by Pat)
Actually rode my bike to a doctor's appointment today, rather than taking the car, despite some light drizzle on the way out. 6-7 mile round trip (when you add on some errands to the end). It only takes an extra 5-minutes each way to go by bike vs. car (though it's faster by bike at rush hour), and I really liked getting some exercise. (And very glad that my bike didn't get stolen, despite having forgotten my lock. That's a big advantage of having a $65 Craig's List special rather than a fancy bike.)
The thing I love about riding is how alert I am when I get someplace. My mind is always super sharp after dodging cars in Boston traffic.
Actually rode my bike to a doctor's appointment today, rather than taking the car, despite some light drizzle on the way out. 6-7 mile round trip (when you add on some errands to the end). It only takes an extra 5-minutes each way to go by bike vs. car (though it's faster by bike at rush hour), and I really liked getting some exercise. (And very glad that my bike didn't get stolen, despite having forgotten my lock. That's a big advantage of having a $65 Craig's List special rather than a fancy bike.)
The thing I love about riding is how alert I am when I get someplace. My mind is always super sharp after dodging cars in Boston traffic.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Auto Bingeing
(by Pat)
As we're getting closer to the day of actually getting rid of the car, you'd think we'd sort of ease into it, right? Start the month using it two or three times a week, and then wind down to almost zero. Instead, we've been doing the opposite, taking part in a frenzy of internal combustion (which sounds vaguely unseemly).
On Sunday, we went on a little road trip to visit small farms and farm stands in Concord and Bedford and went to the mall. Grocery shopped by car. Visited the garden by car. Yesterday, I picked up some films I'd had transferred to DVD, by car. And drove to the garden again. Today, I drove an hour each way to a play reading at a high school in Littleton, MA (the kids were great), then off to coach soccer practice in the drizzle.
Maybe we're just trying to make the most of having the car around while it's still here. Or else it's subliminal denial, or something. Tomorrow the rain is supposed to let up, so maybe I'll take my bike to my appointments instead of the car. This is a particularly busy time of year, and the car is a tool I use when I try to cram too much into too little time.
I wonder if this little pre-disappearance surge is how it works for everyone who tries this.
As we're getting closer to the day of actually getting rid of the car, you'd think we'd sort of ease into it, right? Start the month using it two or three times a week, and then wind down to almost zero. Instead, we've been doing the opposite, taking part in a frenzy of internal combustion (which sounds vaguely unseemly).
On Sunday, we went on a little road trip to visit small farms and farm stands in Concord and Bedford and went to the mall. Grocery shopped by car. Visited the garden by car. Yesterday, I picked up some films I'd had transferred to DVD, by car. And drove to the garden again. Today, I drove an hour each way to a play reading at a high school in Littleton, MA (the kids were great), then off to coach soccer practice in the drizzle.
Maybe we're just trying to make the most of having the car around while it's still here. Or else it's subliminal denial, or something. Tomorrow the rain is supposed to let up, so maybe I'll take my bike to my appointments instead of the car. This is a particularly busy time of year, and the car is a tool I use when I try to cram too much into too little time.
I wonder if this little pre-disappearance surge is how it works for everyone who tries this.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)