Selling my car, do's and dont's

binarysoul

I bought a fairly good a car (Corolla 2003) from a Toyota dealer about eight months ago and am thinking to sell it, so I could buy an SUV

I've never sold a car before, so I'm not sure whether I should put an ad in the local paper, go back to the dealer or what. On average, how much value can I expect to lose on it in a year?

Please help me!

EJizzel

try going to KBB.com for the value of your car and start form there.

Darthn3ss

binarysoul wrote:

I bought a fairly good a car (Corolla 2003) from a Toyota dealer about eight months ago and am thinking to sell it, so I could buy an SUV

I've never sold a car before, so I'm not sure whether I should put an ad in the local paper, go back to the dealer or what. On average, how much value can I expect to lose on it in a year?

Please help me!

yay for selling your fairly economic shitbox car for a gas hogging SUV.

seriously, i did that, no regrets. 16MPG > 30 MPG any day.

Plantwiz

binarysoul wrote:

I bought a fairly good a car (Corolla 2003) from a Toyota dealer about eight months ago and am thinking to sell it, so I could buy an SUV

I've never sold a car before, so I'm not sure whether I should put an ad in the local paper, go back to the dealer or what. On average, how much value can I expect to lose on it in a year?

Please help me!

Well, get familiar with the laws of your State (and County as well as CIty ordinances) for selling a vehicle.

If you are not available so people can look at the car, then consider trading it in. Yes, you lose some money...but hten you aren't dealing with people calling all hours to come by and look and not show up.

Most people I know who have sold cars enjoy it to some extent. I don't have that much spare time and usually opt to trade it in or find someone else to sell it for me (like a relative).

KBB is a great place to start. Look under the correct heading though...independant sales for yourself or reseller if you are trading it in.

Many vehicles can lose 40% their first year and by the second year be 60% down from the sticker price. Depends on the make, model and condition overall. Read your paper and autotrader.com for getting a general idea of how to value your vehicle. You may even wish to pay for a copy of carfax.com to have available to interested parties.

Check with your parents/grandparents if still around and find out how they've done it. Check with the people you work with. It's good to ask on-line, but sometimes people in your own community can help you with some of the local laws that might make your sales process more challenging.

And did I say:
get familiar with the laws of your State (and County as well as CIty ordinances) for selling a vehicle. Many States require you to keep a paper trail of your vehicle for 18month or longer in case they find it abandoned somewehre....if you cannot prove you sold it...you will be responsible for it's disposal.


Good Luck!

supertechCETma

Save yourself the headache and just use the Toyota as a trade-in with the dealership.

Mishra

autotrader seems to always be the best bet due to their ability to post your ad in other magazines

Schluep

Corolla's hold their value better than many of the cars I have seen lately in terms of their price. They are rated very well for reliability and maintenance which shows in their value on KBB. On a 2003 vehicle that you had for 8 months you will of course still lose some value, but not nearly as much as with some other types of vehicles. A large part of the value will depend on it's condition and mileage. If you crashed it a few times in the past 8 months or have some noticable damage on it then I would expect a much larger drop in price. Also, keep in mind when you buy it from a dealer you likely paid more than it's value for the vehicle or it wouldn't have been worth the sale, so you may see an additional drop in terms of what you paid for this reason as well.

I would recommend checking out the numbers and then do as Plantwiz suggested in terms of determining whether it is worth the hassle and time to get some more money out of it. You will have to evaluate it based on your situation, but for me it is never worth the trouble so I usually just trade mine in to the dealership. If you a bit tighter for cash and have free time that can't be better converted directly into profit to account for it then you may be better trying to sell it yourself.

binarysoul

thanks guys. It may be a silly question, but would the Toyota dealer buy the car back rather than a trade-in? In other words, if I take the Corolla back to the dealer, will they buy it in case I find a better SUV some place else?

Silver Bullet

They may. But they will only give you wholesale value for it. Given that it is 4 years old they may not want to mess with it if they are a new dealer. Most new dealers will take the cars they get in on trade to an auction. Your used car lots will end up with it then. You will probably have more luck selling it to a Used dealer rather than a New dealer. But your not going to be happy with what they offer you.

During most sales transactions, when a trade is involved, the amount of money they show that they are giving you for your trade consists of a combination of
* the actual amount of money they are willing to invest in the car
* plus
* they will take some of their profit from the car you are purchasing and tack that on to the actual
* amount they are giving you.
They do this to make you feel better about trading your car in. I would say that happens on most all trade-in transactions.

You will be better off selling the car yourself unless you just HAVE to get rid of it immediately

Plantwiz

binarysoul wrote:

thanks guys. It may be a silly question, but would the Toyota dealer buy the car back rather than a trade-in? In other words, if I take the Corolla back to the dealer, will they buy it in case I find a better SUV some place else?

It's pretty rare that a dealer won't FIND what you want for you...at least around here. Years ago, you had to take the make/model to the same dealer (ex Ford to Ford, GM to GM, etc...) Those days have changed. They ALL want your business, and if you find one who doesn't....move along as there will be one who will deal


SO, you could go in, tell them what you are looking for and they may have it or can find it, or will call you if it comes in. You'll get mroe for your TRADE-IN then if you were to simply sell it back to them.


Good Luck

blargoe

KBB is a good resource, edmunds.com is more realistic and much more comprehensive if you really want to do your homework on your current car and a propective SUV if you haven't decided on which one you want.

garv221

binarysoul wrote:

thanks guys. It may be a silly question, but would the Toyota dealer buy the car back rather than a trade-in? In other words, if I take the Corolla back to the dealer, will they buy it in case I find a better SUV some place else?

No, only if you are selling the car below wholesale.

If you have extra money and enjoy the convenience of not having to sell your car then a trade in is the way to go as you will loose money.

If you don't mind putting in a little extra time and saving possibly thousands of dollars than selling your car on Autotrader is easily the best option.

I personally never purchase a brand new vehicle because the loss of value once its driven off the lot, I buy them one year used and still under warranty. I have sold two of my cars on autotrader, a Honda and Lexus and both times saved over 3K when compared to a trade in quote. Think about it, when working with a dealer they knock money off both the trade in vehicle and the purchase vehicle thus keeping your actual money in your pocket the same and you really gain nothing. Its a convenience not a deal.

What SUV are you getting? I am thinking about an SUV as well this spring.

motherwolf

Keep the Toyata!!!! If it runs fine, what's the problem? Don't fall prey to "Status Symbol" America!!! Not to mention SUV's get terrible gas mileage and put out a $h**tload of carbon emmisssions which is killing our environment(among other things). Anybody watch 'Planet in Peril' on CNN last night? Alarming to say the least !!!! And I'm not a tree-hugging hippie!

garv221

motherwolf wrote:

Keep the Toyata!!!! If it runs fine, what's the problem? Don't fall prey to "Status Symbol" America!!! Not to mention SUV's get terrible gas mileage and put out a $h**tload of carbon emmisssions which is killing our environment(among other things). Anybody watch 'Planet in Peril' on CNN last night? Alarming to say the least !!!! And I'm not a tree-hugging hippie!

I don't think its a status symbol but a matter of preference and you get what you pay for. I currently have a bmw coupe which I drive like a bat outta hell and now gets the mpgs of an suv. I live in MI so an suv would fit me fine and I will have more room, can haul material, tow a boat and have 4x4 in the winter. Theres not a whole lot a car can do and its not too safe if your in an accident.

Mishra

garv221 wrote:

motherwolf wrote:

Keep the Toyata!!!! If it runs fine, what's the problem? Don't fall prey to "Status Symbol" America!!! Not to mention SUV's get terrible gas mileage and put out a $h**tload of carbon emmisssions which is killing our environment(among other things). Anybody watch 'Planet in Peril' on CNN last night? Alarming to say the least !!!! And I'm not a tree-hugging hippie!

I don't think its a status symbol but a matter of preference and you get what you pay for. I currently have a bmw coupe which I drive like a bat outta hell and now gets the mpgs of an suv. I live in MI so an suv would fit me fine and I will have more room, can haul material, tow a boat and have 4x4 in the winter. Theres not a whole lot a car can do and its not too safe if your in an accident.

Nothing personal to you Garv, but I can't see the excuse all these people that try to say they have some giant car because "have more room, can haul material, tow a boat and have 4x4 in the winter".

90% of those people take their boat out MAYBE once a summer and very rarely haul material. If you need to take your boat out then you can either rent a truck or borrow a friends and you save a lot more money. You can put chains on your tires in bad weather and you if you drive carefully you don't need 4x4 or chains. Actually the car I see the most on the side of the road in an accident is some redneck in a truck who thinks 4x4 means invulnerable. My favorite excuse is women that say "I like sitting up high".

The only excuses I don't mind is that you DO live in a very high snow state (like if you lived where lake affect snow is), you have more than 1 kid, or you use your truck for work.


Being in Kentucky and seeing all these trucks and SUVs drive around with 1 person in them and pristine shape makes you a little more passionate about it so I don't mean to offend.

motherwolf

If your an avid outdoorsman, tow a boat or trailer, etc. etc. than having an SUV is understandable. But my message was, don't sell a perfectly good Toyota Corolla because you want an SUV just to have an SUV. But to each his own.

garv221

Mishra wrote:

Nothing personal to you Garv, but I can't see the excuse all these people that try to say they have some giant car because "have more room, can haul material, tow a boat and have 4x4 in the winter".

90% of those people take their boat out MAYBE once a summer and very rarely haul material. If you need to take your boat out then you can either rent a truck or borrow a friends and you save a lot more money. You can put chains on your tires in bad weather and you if you drive carefully you don't need 4x4 or chains. Actually the car I see the most on the side of the road in an accident is some redneck in a truck who thinks 4x4 means invulnerable. My favorite excuse is women that say "I like sitting up high".

The only excuses I don't mind is that you DO live in a very high snow state (like if you lived where lake affect snow is), you have more than 1 kid, or you use your truck for work.


Being in Kentucky and seeing all these trucks and SUVs drive around with 1 person in them and pristine shape makes you a little more passionate about it so I don't mean to offend.

Nothing personal taken. For instance I'm a homeowner and recently ordered a new bathroom door with a built in mirror. I had to borrow someones suv to get it to my house, more times than not I cannot fit large items in my car. It is more of a hassle to borrow a vehicle than it is to own something useful and readily available. Even my Dad mentioned me getting some "more practical" that can be put to use. I will leave the car to my fiance' or longer trips.

Motherwolf- you are correct buying an suv just to have one without the need is not the smartest decision.
Anyways I think autotrader is great place to list or even buy a vehicle.

binarysoul

With all due respect, I don't see driving a SUV as a matter of status symbol. It's a matter of lifestyle. Some like passanger cars and that's their style; others like SUV and roomy cars since they were few years old.

Remember, the large truck toys you may have insisted on purchasing for your 4th birthday?
The only differnce is now we want a real one, but at a later age.

Bottom line, although not buying a SUV may sound like helping the environment, buying it actually promotes the economy. A good eonomy is needed to invest on environment. Ummm, somebody will argue against it, I know it.

motherwolf

Buying an SUV helps the economy which in turn helps the environment? Great rationalization You're right, owning an SUV is a matter of preference. However, as I stated before, they get $h***y gas mileage and put a ton of carbon emissions into the atmosphere which contributes to global warming. Everyone who drives a car is guilty of this, it's just that it's some more than others and it seems to me that "others" are either misinformed or don't care.

binarysoul

motherwolf wrote:

Buying an SUV helps the economy which in turn helps the environment? Great rationalization You're right, owning an SUV is a matter of preference. However, as I stated before, they get $h***y gas mileage and put a ton of carbon emissions into the atmosphere which contributes to global warming. Everyone who drives a car is guilty of this, it's just that it's some more than others and it seems to me that "others" are either misinformed or don't care.

If we are at the point when the planet is threatened by us driving SUV's, then we're in serious trouble.

Global warming is to be blamed on large corporations, governments, expansion, growth, compitition, consumerism, poverty, capitalism, ignorance, low ethics and selfishness .

Global warming didn't arrive at our doorsteps overnight. It took it decades; the only thing is we just got alarmed as we're threatened by it.

I'm willing to dismantel my SUV forever if others dismantel their greed, growth and feelings of consumerism to want big houses, bit TVs, upgrading their cellphones, ipods, PC's, laptops and many other gadgets every six months. All these are a burden on the environment.
Why are poeple pointing only to our upcoming honorable SUV

Schluep

I tried to keep my mouth shut (or my fingers, but the expressions doesn't fit) when I saw the topic starting to change earlier this morning for fear of ruining binarysoul's thread on trading in his car and the potential of using the internet as a way to help do so. As I stated above I have always just traded me in to the dealership where I purchase my new vehicle to save time, but if the saving for sellings it yourself are really that substantial maybe I will consider otherwise. Since this topic seems to have changed however I will now respond to some of the more recent posts.

Mishra wrote:

The only excuses I don't mind is that you DO live in a very high snow state (like if you lived where lake affect snow is), you have more than 1 kid, or you use your truck for work.

Being in Kentucky and seeing all these trucks and SUVs drive around with 1 person in them and pristine shape makes you a little more passionate about it so I don't mean to offend.

So one kid is not as important for the increased safety of an SUV? I don't have children yet but I would pay anything to keep my loved one safer. If that means buying an SUV then so be it. Regardless, I don't see why people should need to make what you refer to as "excuses" to spend their own money on a vehicle of their choice. I don't see why it matters if it is one person or 8 riding in them, they still cost the same amount to the buyer.

Not everyone who buys an SUV does it for status reasons. Even if they do that is their decision and it won't negatively affect me. If anyhing it is good for economic reasons. Tne person is satisfied with what they believe to be a worthwhile purchase and many people benefit from researching the technology used in the vehicle, creating the parts, manufacturing the vehicle, selling the vehicle, transporting the vehicle, taxing the sale of the vehicle, and so much more.

I am thinking of buying an SUV not for status, but for dozens of other reasons. First, it is much safer than my current car. Even though my car has very high safety ratings, a large SUV wth high safety ratings has substantially higher odds of performing well in an accident. While I am certainly at risk of potentially being injured or losing my life in any accident, I would rather have as much safety as possible for not only myself but for any passengers I may be responsible for at the time including family, friends, and business acquaintances.

A larger vehicle certainly as more room which is more comfortable to me. A lot of time I will arrive early for a meeting or go on a long drive and need some leg room. It is a lot more comfortable trying to work with my laptop when it isn't touching the steering wheel and I have some room to spread my legs out in the back.

Living in Pennsylvania we certainly have our share of snow and bad weather from time to time. I am not one to stay inside when there is work to be done so I would rather not be as much of a hazard to myself or others on the road by being able to drive safer in these conditions. My current vehicle is not very fun in the winter.

motherwolf wrote:

Buying an SUV helps the economy which in turn helps the environment? Great rationalization You're right, owning an SUV is a matter of preference. However, as I stated before, they get $h***y gas mileage and put a ton of carbon emissions into the atmosphere which contributes to global warming. Everyone who drives a car is guilty of this, it's just that it's some more than others and it seems to me that "others" are either misinformed or don't care.

I don't see why people feel it is necessary to tell others and determine for others why their vehicle purchase is or isn't appropriate. I was in a Home Depot parking lot a few months ago and an environmentalist driving a very high mileage 1990 Geo Metro was literally screaming at an owner of a new SUV about vehicle emissions. I can guarantee that with the technology available today compared to 17 years ago the emissions on the Metro would be FAR worse despite its high mpg.

As for environmental concerns and even specifically emission issues, there are far worse things to worry about than Carbon Dioxide. I believe we are up to around 0.04% and Carbon Dioxide is still a trace gas. While it is true that burning fossil fuels releases Carbon Dioxide due to the carbon present, there are also incredibly high levels released due to portions of the ocean becoming heated, and animals/humans releasing it with every breath we take. Carbon emissions would have had to have been much higher during the early stages of our planet when most archaeological evidence supports the theory of incredibly high volcanic activity during that time, which would have resulted in far greater carbon emissions and far worse toxic gases than anything we can do, yet our atmosphere and planet survived. The fires in California were likely to have just released more Carbon Dioxide than any machine we could ever create. Every tree, leaf, rock, building contained carbon which was released into the air by that terrible fire. The temperature and currents in the Oceans have been proven to release Carbon Dioxide into the air. In particular, warmer ocean currents tend to release more Carbon Dioxide.

Politcal issues are addressed by consensus, but scientific ones by theories and the evidence we have supporting or refuting those theories. I am not scientist but I do read a lot (including peer review journals) and there is a tremendous body of evidence refuting the theory of man-made global warming due to carbon emissions from the use of fossil fuels. For years we didn't believe countless Greek Philosphers that determined through mathematics that the Earth was round (in fact there are a lot of people who post on blogs and such and STILL don't believe it). The same was true when it was factually proven through several different methods that the Earth was not the center of the universe. Even every scientist except one believed in alarmist style political man-made global warming but one had sufficient factual data opposed to it that does not make it factual. Scientific theory must be constantly re-evaluated based upon our level of understanding and our ability to gather evidence. For the time being I throw man-made global warming due to Carbon emissions up there with the alien abductions, Y2K ending the world, and political conspiracy theories until such time that more evidence supports the theory than refutes it.

In the meantime I would prefer people select their own car to drive instead of everyone else's. I don't expect people to agree with my religious beliefs or political beliefs and most people I meet on a day to day basis tend to feel the same way in not pushing their beliefs on others. For some reason when it comes to the environment however everyone must believe a scientific theory based upon TV shows and documentaries instead of on evidence. When I disagree with the TV show and present peer review studies showing evidence to the contrary however I am a villain trying to destroy my own beautiful planet. It just doesn't make sense to me. I see the entire movement including the marketing campaign and hysteria as one more way for people to try and control my life through laws, treaties, and policies.

I have an old magazine talking about the next ice age approaching due to the Earth cooling at a rapid rate, yet now we are talkng about it frying as if it wasn't cooling off all that long ago. We had to come out of those Ice Ages somehow, so clearly global warming occurred before the evil industrial humans started burning fuel to power our technological advancements.

In fact, to revisit a quote from this page:

motherwolf wrote:

SUV's get terrible gas mileage and put out a $h**tload of carbon emissions which is killing our environment(among other things).

The load you mentioned would be responsible for some carbon emissions .


EDIT: Corrected name inital quotation.

motherwolf

Schluep,
If you're going to cut and paste other peaple's threads into your own and then comment on what they wrote, make sure you get it right.

motherwolf wrote:
The only excuses I don't mind is that you DO live in a very high snow state (like if you lived where lake affect snow is), you have more than 1 kid, or you use your truck for work.

Being in Kentucky and seeing all these trucks and SUVs drive around with 1 person in them and pristine shape makes you a little more passionate about it so I don't mean to offend.

I didn't write this!

And after reading your own post I thought what a poor, uninformed Schluep you are. I don't even know where to begin in trying to help you see the big picture, so I won't.

You were right about one thing though, and that is that this thread has gone off course. To the OP: Keep the Corolla, and some extra cash in your pocket

[/quote]

Mishra

Bigger cars does NOT mean better safety.

Great Article! I don't even need to type.

http://www.net-monster.com/blather_suvs_part2.html

If you can argue with that then there is no need to even try to debate. :-p

garv221

All things aside, there are some pretty good points about SUV from every angle but this topic is way off base in a discussion that now one will ever win. It needs to be reeled back into the best method of getting rid of a vehicle not a political discussion emissions argument in a certification forum.

BeaverC32

My Lord, some people have too much time on their hands...

binarysoul

garv221 wrote:

All things aside, there are some pretty good points about SUV from every angle but this topic is way off base in a discussion that now one will ever win. It needs to be reeled back into the best method of getting rid of a vehicle not a political discussion emissions argument in a certification forum.

Back to my original question:

Since I'm still doing monthly payment on the car to the dealer, can I sell it privately? I don't know the legal aspect of it, but I don't think I'm the real owner as I'm still paying.

Any thoughts. Once I sell my car, we can talk about emission

Schluep

motherwolf: I apologize for misquoting you. I would never do such a thing intentionally and have editted my post above to include the correct name. I knew it was a different poster when tryping my response but added it later and accidently typed the wrong name.

Mishra, I checked out the article you mentioned. Most of the source links are broken now. With the exception of the issue with SUV bumper regulations they were all focused on the studies regarding the safety of the driver in the small car, not the larger one. The regulations have changed substantially since that time and SUVs now have very strict bumper regulations. Even back then however, many SUVs went well above the regulations and a smart shopper would have chosen such a vehicle. I cannot refute the fact stated that a smaller vehicle would be a greater risk in an accident with a larger size vehicle. Every study performed will likely confirm this and that is the reason why I quickly pass or stay well behind large commercial vehicles. My statements regarding safety were regarding the safety of the passengers and occupants of the SUV.

A "five star security rating" is based on the Frontal Impact and Side Impact tests. Maybe it is just me, but I have never seen a vehicle in a real accident hit flat impact barrier at a perpendicular angle going a set speed. A slight change in the speed or angle has a huge impact on the damage caused by the accident. Manufacturers will obviously build their vehicles to pass this test, so the most important thing is the real world statistics. I don't have a link off-hand to some of the numbers I viewed previously, but with the exception of roll-overs the fatality rates were much lower in the SUVs than in smaller cars involved in accidents. Many SUV fatalities were roll-over related however which is a definite concerns since they sit higher off the ground.

The height and mass of vehicle have a large impact on its safety. A train would go through an SUV and hardly even be affected by the impact, however two trains colliding would have very dangerous results. Mass, speed, and height, and vehicle design all have a large part in the results of in impact. If safety is your highest priority howeve, SUVs definitely seem to be a wise choice from what I can see.

I apologize if I perpetuated this tpoic steering more off course. If binarysoul was considering the purchase of an SUV I didn't want him to change his mind and keep the Corolla based purely on one side of the argument, so I do feel my response had relevance to the topic at hand. Since emissions specifically were mentioned I feel it was valid to post a counter-position.

binarysoul wrote:

Since I'm still doing monthly payment on the car to the dealer, can I sell it privately? I don't know the legal aspect of it, but I don't think I'm the real owner as I'm still paying.

Any thoughts. Once I sell my car, we can talk about emission

Differences in state will be a big issue here. I do not know where you live or what state laws you have to work with there. Definitely check your local laws. Contacting the Department of Motor Vehicles for your state would likely be a good place to find accurate answers.

Usually you can still sell it, but there are some things you will need to keep in mind. You will need to transfer the title to whoever purchases the car from you. Since you likely don't hold the title while making payments you cannot expect to sell the car and continue to make the same payments you have been since you won't have the title to transfer when you go the notary. If possible it would be better to pay the car off before selling or else your buyer will not be able to quickly purchase the vehicle. If you pay it off first you will have the title and a notary could guide you and the buyer through the transfer process since they will need to notarize the sale anyway.

You could possible arrange paperwork with the financial institution and your state DMV to transfer the remaining payment to the buyer and deduct that amount from the sale price (only if the sale value of the car is more than the cost of the remaining balance on the debt). The buyer could thenpay it off immediately or do so over time on the schedule you were obligated to. This would likely require a lot more paperwork and more time involved to sell the car. Many buyers would not be willing to do this so you would likely lose some opportunities to sell the vehicle this way. Going through a site such as autotrader.com or others that Garv mentioned may be able to eliminate this issue through negotiating the sale. You would need to contact them to find out. I have never used such a place to sell a vehicle so I really don't know.

Trading in to a dealer would eliminate post of the issues described above since they have the financial capability to pay off your remaining loan, obtain the title, and subtract it from the sale price of your new vehicle on the spot and complete all of the neccesary paperwork. If you want to eliminate some of the hassle regarding the above payment issue and recieve a quick exchange the dealership would be a good way to go. If you can pay it off and are willing to spend the time selling it privately could definietly save you some money however.

By the way, my post last night did not take very long to type. I needed to take my mind off a programming project I had been working on for a few hours straight. It was getting late and I needed a few minutes to relax a bit more with that post before doing my last 15 minutes of reading and going to bed. Since like most everyone here I work with computers all day I can type fairly quickly and didn't need to do any additional research since it was a topic I researched extensively in the past.

garv221

binarysoul wrote:

Back to my original question:

Since I'm still doing monthly payment on the car to the dealer, can I sell it privately? I don't know the legal aspect of it, but I don't think I'm the real owner as I'm still paying.

Any thoughts.

You shouldn't have an issue selling unless its a lease. Its the same concept as having a car loan from the bank. You would just notify the lien holder or car dealer you are selling it (you may need a signature and transfer of title from them )and then pay the loan off.

binarysoul

Thanks a lot Schluep for the advice, hats off to you

No worries, sometimes topics should go off the track and that's how the discussion becomes interesting. There will always be questions and arugements against and for 'to have SUV or not to have'. Environmentalists will always push you not to drive SUVs; while they themselives live in large masions and houses that puts as much burden on the envrionment or even more.

Politicians always try to engage people on topics that may never have any impact on the environment. True, SUV, or any car for that matter generates carbondioxide, but it's discrimantory to single out SUV's only (If I were a SUV, I would take environmentalists to court and allege discrimination ). What about oil companies that pocket billions every years and pay no 'pollution' taxes? What about the military that spends billions of dollars on heavey machinary, hardware that only destroy things?

A techy-style suggestion for SUV supporters/oponents:

If you want to drive SUV, don't let some persons who want to worship the earth discourage you. If you don't want to drive a SUV, that's to our benefit as by then there won't be excessive demand and its prices won't go up.

Darthn3ss

binarysoul wrote:

garv221 wrote:

All things aside, there are some pretty good points about SUV from every angle but this topic is way off base in a discussion that now one will ever win. It needs to be reeled back into the best method of getting rid of a vehicle not a political discussion emissions argument in a certification forum.

Back to my original question:

Since I'm still doing monthly payment on the car to the dealer, can I sell it privately? I don't know the legal aspect of it, but I don't think I'm the real owner as I'm still paying.

eh, i belive you just sell the car for the whatever is left on the loan+interest you owe (or more.. may as well make some money off of it). then you get to own the car, and transfer it to them...makes sense to me.