Ho to get rid of a car at very short notice!

[R3v 1]

Hi all,

Long story short, on Thursday I was given a last minute job that I really cannot turn down. It requires me to leave the country on Thursday next week for between 9 months and 1 year. Ill be able to return to UK for short leave but not any major lengh of time. I rent and have a fairly 'Flexable' agreement with landlord so my flat isn't a problem at all, however I am at a loss as to what to do with my car.

I offered it on Webuyany and got a stupid offer of £673 which I find closer to insulting than reasonable. I asked family/friends and no one really has the space to look after it or wants to buy it. It's only a 2.0 Ford Focus but even I'll struggle to sell it in the two working days I have left. I'm probaly one of few people hating bank holidays!

Any suggestions very much appreciated.

Ohh and live in Leeds

Thanks in advance.

PS, Yes I'v just seen my spelling error in title... stupid crappy bloody pointless keyboard!

[RemainAllHoof]

If you lived closer, I'd have offered to look after it while you're away as long as I could use as a runaround. Maybe you could do a similar deal with a local PHer.

[Angry Sheep]

Put it on ebay with a 99p start and no reserve, stating that it needs to be picked up before a certain date. You might not get a lot for it, but hopefully more than WBAC.

[Krise]

Price it to sell !! If you can afford to price it lower than the other similar cars

[mybrainhurts]

Don't worry, you'll be out in four months with good behaviour...

[R3v 1]

mybrainhurts said:

Don't worry, you'll be out in four months with good behaviour...

I was waiting for that!

Thanks for the advice to all the above. Found a car that was pretty much exact match to mine on AT and its was just under £2000 so think if I stick it up at £1250 ono I might shift it. Unfortunately Bank Holidays have kind of put me in a sticky position. Absolute worst case scenario I'm thinking of sticking it off road somewhere and giving the keys to a friend so they can fire it up every few weeks or something. Just not sure where to stick it so it will still be legal without MOT/TAX etc but not get towed.

[RemainAllHoof]

R3v 1 said:

Just not sure where to stick it so it will still be legal without MOT/TAX etc but not get towed.

As I understand things, it won't be. If you declare it SORN, it has to be kept off a public highway.

If you don't mind spending a bit of money, get it taxed, MOTed, insured and let a friend drive it for 9 months; you'll lose more selling it then buying another car afterwards. Of course, it does put you in a position to buy a more interesting car if you so wish.

[anonymous-user]

You could try a short auction on ebay with 99p starting price and no reserve.

I would expect to get between £1k-£1500, maybe a little more on a good day.

[valiant1]

The thing with ebay is that while you can ask them to pick up quickly there is no guarantee that the winning bidder will actually show up in time. They may buy it as a bargain thinking that you will wait a bit longer until payday or when the banks open especially if they are travelling from far away.

[Liquid Knight]

I'd get that "Ho" and say "Oi bee-hatch take my car and get rid of it!". imp:

[R3v 1]

RemainAllHoof said:

R3v 1 said:

Just not sure where to stick it so it will still be legal without MOT/TAX etc but not get towed.

As I understand things, it won't be. If you declare it SORN, it has to be kept off a public highway.

If you don't mind spending a bit of money, get it taxed, MOTed, insured and let a friend drive it for 9 months; you'll lose more selling it then buying another car afterwards. Of course, it does put you in a position to buy a more interesting car if you so wish.

I was considering that option. This job is my big payday though to be honest so I'll be going for something alot more interesting when I land back.

I'm thinking about just saying sod it and letting WBAC have it at a very big discount.

I like the EBay idea and hadn't considered it but if the end buyer even messes me about by a few hours I'll be in trouble. We all know the horror stories from Ebay...

[R3v 1]

Liquid Knight said:

I'd get that "Ho" and say "Oi bee-hatch take my car and get rid of it!". imp:

Ohh I'm in a VERY big doghouse with the Girlfriend already, I think making her get rid of my car would mean I'd have bleach in my coffee tomorrow morning.

[anonymous-user]

R3v 1 said:

I like the EBay idea and hadn't considered it but if the end buyer even messes me about by a few hours I'll be in trouble. We all know the horror stories from Ebay...

You could try it with an auction of just a few days and maybe chuck it on AT at the same time, if some one takes it from AT happy days and just cancel the auction.

Plus you've always got WBAC to fall back on if neither of those work out.

[mybrainhurts]

Liquid Knight said:

I'd get that "Ho" and say "Oi bee-hatch take my car and get rid of it!". imp:

Thought he meant Ho Chi Minh...

[h0b0]

R3v 1 said:

Ohh I'm in a VERY big doghouse with the Girlfriend already, I think making her get rid of my car would mean I'd have bleach in my coffee tomorrow morning.

I have been in the same situation as you. When I moved country the girlfriend was forced to move from our beautiful triplex apartment in Manchester city center to a basement flat that flooded everytime it rained in Sale. That relationship didn't last long afterwards.

I sold my car on eBay from the US and got a very good price. The buyer picked it up from my dad's house with no issues.

[Deluded]

As already said, if you need someone to look after it, I wouldn't mind as long as I can use it.

Doubt it's the kind of offer you're after though.

[geeteeaye]

R3v 1 said:

Any suggestions very much appreciated.

You could start a thread on a motoring forum regarding your predicament which will serve well to advertise your car.













Oh...

Only joking, hope you get it sold chap, I'm sure someone will take it off your hands!

[carreauchompeur]

Try some local dealers, or no reserve auction with strict buying terms on eBay. The trouble you have is that a Focus is a fairly "family" car and most people think 2l is a huge gas guzzling engine... At least you have WBAC to fall back on, although be aware they will probably cut that price down a bit upon inspection. Local dealers could be a reasonable middle way.

[Allblackdup]

Not sure about access but it could be worth signing up to the ford focus owners clubs. FFOC is a big site and I'm sure there could be local members who could help or be interested, especially given what price you've already been quoted.

[va1o]

Just stick on Gumtree and Autotrader at a low price and someone will buy it. I'd imagine if you started advertising now you could have rid of it by the end of Tuesday. Price is key, it needs to undercut the competition.