In our relevant tale of the 2001 Honda Civic Type R vs. the 2007 Honda Civic Type R, the 2007 did well in terms of its power, speed, etc but had some flaws in handling & finish. The 2007 was about £17,000.00 while its 2001 predecessor could be had for a handy £10,000.00 with reasonable mileage. Considering that the spoiler on the 2007 was right in the line if sight in the rear view mirror (just like the 2009 Nissan 350Z NIZMO’s spoiler), that could be a deal breaker for some buyers looking for a sporty car. Also, a 2001 has gone through the biggest loss in depreciation while the 2007 will dump about 40% in the first 18 months. So… buy the 2001, right?

Well, don’t be so fast, Speedracer! There are many things to consider when buying used and especially with cars that have a tendency (ahem- just speculating here) to be involved in street racing.

Newer cars that tend to be tuners like the Type R may appear to be well cared for on the surface but often they are driven hard regardless of the age of the previous owner (but lets be real- they tend towards the younger and younger thinking crowd).

• Accidents will be found
• Original parts will be checked
• Non-original parts will be listed

Lets put it like this:

You find a gorgeous 350z that (you could almost swear) the seller had you in mind when they customized it.

• Your insurance company won’t cover your injuries because of the aftermarket seat belts!

That Scion Xb looks like the perfect price and the thing to keep your tuner heart humming!

• But they neglected to mention the wreck. And the insurance fraud.

And that darling CRX has a modified system to die for!

• And your car may not be street legal.

Just buy smart and enjoy your ride.

Originally posted here

If the car being donated is valued at more than $5000 then an appraisal needs to be done by a qualified appraiser no more than 60 days before your tax deadline (including any extensions). Whether the car is worth more than $5000 or less, the charity will provide you with the amount that the car sold for and that can be itemized on your Schedule A of your From 1040. It is important to remember that deductions cannot be more than 50% of your adjusted gross income. In the case of the Corvette Z1 that was recently sold at RM Auctions in Pebble Beach to benefit GRACE Charity, the sellers/donors would, in theory, be able to deduct the appraised fair market value (FMV), in this case the MSRP, of $118,000 while the buyer was able to deduct the amount that they bid over FMV (the high bid was $151,252.oo) minus the buyer’s premium which was paid to RM Auctions except in this case the sellers had stipulated that only the amount over the MSRP would be donated to GRACE and therefore the only portion which was deductible.

If the amount if the car exceeds $500 then Section A of Form 8283 must also be completed and you must have a written acknowledgment from the charitable association on or before your taxes are due. Publication 526 on the IRS website has the qualifications for charitable organizations. Once the charity sells the car they have 2 years to notify the IRS of the sale and provide you with a copy of the form it sends to the IRS notifying them of the sale and the amount that it sold for.

Because they have 2 years however, it is often easier for you to sell your car yourself and donate cash to the charity directly. Your charity will often benefit more by making a donation this way because in most cases charities use third party services to sell the car on their behalf at wholesale auctions where the deductible amount can end up being less than FMV. Selling a car private party will bring more money and establishes a documented FMV while your charity gets more money and you get to deduct more.

For more information, always talk to your accountant before you decide to take the charitable plunge and make sure that you do all of the steps correctly. It will be worthwhile for everyone!

At first I was focused on trying to help them chose a car and then I had to stop and ask: “Did you say a Geo and made money?”

I remembered some eBay Motors research that I had from a couple of years ago that showed that one of the cars with the highest sell through rate (successfully sold) on eBay were Geo’s. That isn’t to say that they were selling for a ton of money. What it did mean was that when they were being listed they were usually started at a very low price and the auctions were run with no reserve. Highest bidder wins and since someone is always looking for a bargain on eBay, they would sell. But the Geo selling in 2006 were going for under a $1000. Pretty much the bargain rate car.

Out of curiosity I went to eBay Motors completed auctions and found to my surprise that there was a Geo Metro that recently sold for $7300. Another went for $7200. Not only are they selling, they are selling high!

Why is this? The Geo series, a joint effort of General Motors and Suzuki, were pretty well built cars. The Geo Prizm, for example, is a Toyota Corolla rebadged. The Geo Metro though, specifically, gets 40+ miles per gallon. Sure, they were never sexy but with gas prices on the rise, they are looking a lot better everyday. Cute with benefits.

Like the Prizm the Metro has its own re-badged twins which will probably start selling well as used cars soon: the Pontiac Firefly and the Suzuki Swift. I am expecting that the Subaru Justy will have its own comeback as well. Who would have ever guessed that these originally low cost cars would see their renaissance so soon!

Originally posted here