Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Used and Salvage Cars

Everybody knows that the value of a vehicle depreciates almost instantly—as soon as it is driven out of the car lot. The more miles that you put on a vehicle, the less it is worth. This is because mechanical problems are more likely to occur as the mileage increases. When it comes to selling a vehicle, then, you should be aware that you will not be able to sell the vehicle for the same price that you bought it for.

For example, suppose that you purchased a pre-owned1998 Audi A4 in 2008 for $4,500. When you purchased the vehicle, it was already ten years old. When you purchased it, the vehicle had 100k miles on it; the interior was in mint condition and there were no mechanical problems with the vehicle. It is now 2013.

The vehicle is now 15 years old; it has 110k miles on it. The interior is no longer in mint condition. The two front seats have tears in them, and the sunroof and driver’s window no longer open. Since you purchased the vehicle, you had to replace the starter and battery and have gotten new shocks and a few tires replaced. You decide that you’ve put enough time and money into the vehicle, and you are thinking “I’m ready to sell my car.”

Because the vehicle is not in the same condition as it was when you first purchased it, it is unlikely that you will be able to sell it for the same price that you purchased it for. So, if you bought the vehicle for $4,500, you could perhaps now sell it for $3,000 if you’re lucky enough. If, however, your vehicle has more serious mechanical problems such as an engine or transmission problem, you will be lucky if you receive any more than a few hundred dollars for your vehicle. When a vehicle has serious mechanical problems such as these, the vehicle is deemed as a salvage car. That is, the vehicle is not worth selling as a used vehicle because the damages exceed the cost of the vehicle. It is not worth fixing the vehicle. What you would do in this situation is contact a Sell My Car company or a junk car removal company. The operator will ask you a few questions about the vehicle such as the year, make, and model as well as the body condition, mileage, and mechanical problems. Based on these answers, the operator will retrieve an accurate quote for your vehicle, and if you like the quote then you can schedule a convenient pick up.

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Towing Away Vehicles in Parking Lots

Today I got a phone call from a woman who had a vehicle in a parking lot on Rikers Island. I’ve been working for a junk car removal service for a few years now and have never received a call with a car that needed to be towed off of Rikers Island. I asked the woman if tow trucks are even allowed to go onto the island, and she said that they are but that she would have to accompany him onto the island. She said that she would have to meet the driver at the end of the bridge and get a pass for them to get onto the island. This posed an issue because, for insurance purposes, we do not allow pedestrians to ride in the truck with the towers.

I brought the issue to my manager’s attention and asked what I should do in this matter. My manager assumed that getting the vehicle would be a hassle. My manager thought that the driver and/or the vehicle
would have to get searched and that this would take a great deal of time. Our tow drivers are paid by the hour and run on a schedule each day. If it takes more than an hour to pick up this vehicle then we will miss out on other vehicles to pick up. For example, if it normally takes approximately one hour to pick up two vehicles, suppose getting this car on Rikers Island will take 2 hours, then we would miss out on two or three other vehicles that could be picked up. My manager weighed the pros and cons and concluded that picking up this vehicle would not be worth it. I, therefore, told the woman that we were not interested in towing her vehicle away; it would be a hassle for our company and not worth picking up.

After hanging up with the woman, I discussed the situation with a coworker. I told him that I thought that police stations were affiliated with some tow companies and why doesn’t she just contact one of her affiliate tow companies. He told me that usually prisons have their own tow trucks. Why, then, doesn’t she just have the prison tow truck tow the vehicle off of the island and then our tow truck can tow is from the other end of the bridge? That would make the situation so much simpler.

Even though we were not interested in picking up the vehicle, there may be other tow companies that are interested. All the woman would have to do is go to Google and type in Junk My Car Queens and contact other junk car removal companies that are listed.