How much to have a mechanic appraise the value of an old car?

I have a very old, just-this-side of working car that I'm ready to pass off to someone else. Trying to decide whether it's worth it to just send it to a junk yard.





If I do want to sell the car though, I'd like to have a mechanic do a check-up on the car to help me appraise its value. How much do mechanics usually charge for this service?How much to have a mechanic appraise the value of an old car?
Most mechanics don't appraise vehicles, not as far as value. They generally give you a report, or at least an idea, of the mechanical condition of the vehicle. That will probably run 50 to 100 dollars, depending on what they actually do of course.





Well, if someone else is willing to buy it, then it's worth selling don't you think? If it's barely working, it's probably not worth much. I would just have a mechanic take a look at it, a quick look, and get his opinion on value. Then just run an ad, anyone who wants to buy it can have their own mechanic do an inspection on it and give you an offer.


It's really only worth what someone is willing to pay.How much to have a mechanic appraise the value of an old car?
Usually 40 to 70 dollars, or 1 hour's labor to look it over, put it on a lift and make suggestions.





Good luck!
I dont know how the car is but you should go to kbb.com and se if they have a value dpending on its mechanical condition.
mechanic's are not appreisers, depends on the type of car you have. your best bet if you really want to give it away give it to a charities, like purple hart, red cross ect ect you can have them appraise your car for retail worth and maybe a tax deduction
do you want an appraisal or a check up? A mechanic isnt the best person to get to appraise the cars value. To be honest an insurance adjuster NOT working for an insurance company can appraise the value of the car. The check up is an excellent job for a mechanic. Depending on how bad off the car is, a check up/ tune up can run you from $150.00 to $1,000.00
It depends. What is the state of the body? How old is the car? Is it over 25 years old? If so, it's probably worth keeping and fixing up as cars after 25 values go up. It depends. I am sure that someone out there would love to have that old car and fix it up. You never know. Check around, place a ';FOR SALE'; sign in it and see what kind of interest you get out of it. You may be able to get a nice price if someone is willing to pay it. Best wishes!!!
live near a bodyshop. . For real quick repairs or ';nothing in writing'; estimates, his fee is 1 Pizza.
I is easier to look up the value of the car on bluebook.com. This website is the official reference for many banks in determining lone values for used automobiles. If you are set on having the car looked at by a mechanic there are several things you should consider. First it may cost more money to have the car towed to a machanic shop than the car is worth so it is important to first look up the value and then decide if further action should take place. Second if you do decide to have the car checked out, don't tell the mechanic you are just checking it out to sell. He should do a free inspection and be able to give you a discription of the problems and a quote. This can be deducted from the blue book value and will give you a close estimate of the total worth of the car. Last the you have to take into consideration that unless it is some sort of car that is in demand such as a 57' chevy or a certain year model of that make it will all make a difference in the sale. Some parts are hard to find and the car can be sold for parts. Oh yea, when you find a mechanic, be sure that you check him out. They can give you a ride that will end up fooling you into just wanting to just leave the car at the mechanics shop and letting him dispose of it. I have seen people sell an old truck for $100 that with a little work ended up being sold a month later for $5000 becuase the person selling it did not know that there were very few of them left on the road today making it a colectors item in an condition. Also check ebay for cars like yours. Most people will drive across the US to pick up a junker that there are no parts for anymore. Ebay is a good indicator of this.
A mechanic is the worst appraiser of a used car. Use a reputable dealer, or e-mail me direct with the specs and I will help you. (Stevenlaureys@hotmail.com)


S. Laureys
You could have an interesting situation on your hands if you take your car to a mechanic (whom will usually know what a cars $$ potential is). You see a mechanic is usually always looking for good deals and if this car is potentially valuable and he knows it but you don't then he could take advantage of you and say it is only worth a few hundred and offer to buy it from you. BE VERY LEARY ABOUT THAT. Your best bet to get a fair market value for you car is to decide what type of condition your car is in. (i.e, lots of rust, does not run, in parts....etc.) then take that information along with the year/make/model and anything else you can dig up on the old car and go to www.ebay.com and do a search in ebaymotors for something similar to your car. There you can get a good idea of how much someone is willing to buy your car for. I have done several classics this away and have seemed to come out pretty good on the deal.