Wife issued an ultimatum: Selling Volvo today (probably)

"boxrocket" (boxrocket)
04/13/2015 at 08:57 • Filed to: volvo, used cars, for sale, npocp, mazda, wagon, turbo

So as !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , I've replaced my beloved 1990 Volvo 760 turbo wagon with a 2003 Mazda6 S V6 sedan, because I needed something newer, safer, less persnickety, and my lovely wife had to approve of it because it would be our first major purchase together as a married couple (our house was owned and paid off before we married).

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So, with that there is good news and bad news: The good news, is - knock on wood - the Mazda has been great so far, and Mrs. Boxrocket is extremely pleased with the new 6, such that she's suggested - only slightly joking - that we should trade cars so she can drive it. The bad news is that because she's so pleased with the new 6 that she doesn't want to see the Volvo anymore at all, even if it means selling it for less than it's really worth, and there is no need to keep the Volvo as a backup car, even though the plates are good for another 18 months and the property taxes are paid through to 2016. So yesterday she dropped a bombshell: It needs to be gone today. I shouldn't have told her that a local Volvo specialty shop offered just over four figures for it, so she's convinced it's the best deal I'll get, and better to take the money and run than to string out the experience holding out for the best offer. She does have a fair point, and at least with it being sold to a Volvo shop (if I don't get anyone else to make a solid offer today) they'll be able to take care of it and I don't have to be paranoid about the new owner calling me every few weeks asking about this widget or that thingamajig. I'm a subscriber to the NPoCP school of used car pricing in that if it starts, runs, is a successful daily driver, and passes all local and state laws, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , or almost double what the local shop has offered.

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So, any takers?

DISCUSSION (26)

Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis > boxrocket
04/13/2015 at 09:05

I'd wait as long as possible before you make the move. If you can milk a few weeks out and get a few hundred dollars more I'd say its totally worth the wait.

Funktheduck > boxrocket
04/13/2015 at 09:06

I'll give you 3/4 a Twinkie but you have to pay shipping.

OPPOsaurus WRX > boxrocket
04/13/2015 at 09:07

wow, the oppo wife's aren;t getting a good impression this morning

Kinja'd!!!

just dont let my wife see that.

boxrocket > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis
04/13/2015 at 09:10

That's precisely what I've been campaigning for, especially as more folks will be receiving tax returns and wanting to spend them on something . It's frustrating, especially as I want the car to go to a home with as much enthusiasm about Volvos as I have, not to be a parts-runner or parts car in the back of the Volvo shop (though if I ever came into a bunch of money I could conceivably buy it back, haha). Adding to the frustration is that, while my wife and I both work good jobs and are doing fine, a few extra hundred dollars would be very well appreciated.

Tohru > boxrocket
04/13/2015 at 09:12

I would be interested but I'm broke as fuck.

Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis > boxrocket
04/13/2015 at 09:16

No matter how well any one is doing I think everyone can agree that more cash is better.

But seriously wait, get the extra cash and take her out to a restaurant for dinner or something...

boxrocket > Tohru
04/13/2015 at 09:17

I've gotten that a lot, haha. A lot of the CL replies have been in the vein of "Can I pay you $200 every two weeks? I'm good for it, I swear!" which I'd love to believe, but the gap in the savings account from buying the Mazda needs a guaranteed filling.

zeontestpilot > boxrocket
04/13/2015 at 09:22

So she's making you sell it? That doesn't sit right with me, :/. If you can afford it, why sell it? If you can't keep affording it, I understand selling it then. But because she doesn't like it? I'm not comfortable with that.

If I was closer and had the money, I'd take it off your hands. I love that style of Volvo.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > boxrocket
04/13/2015 at 09:32

Always remember that a dealer (especially a specialty one) needs to offer lower than market value.

They have to make money off of the car when they sell it, dealer trades or selling to a dealer is the absolute easiest way to get rid of a car, it's also (almost) guaranteed to be the least amount of money you can get for your car.

A dealer's offer is always going to be your lowest offer. You should NEVER try and sell something in 1 day. That's another (almost) guarantee you don't sell it for all it's worth.

Kawaii-Gon Jinn > boxrocket
04/13/2015 at 09:35

i dont know why nibbles will let me create on Oppo, but not start a response on Oppo, but 2k is a travesty. Graverobber has to post on this tomorrow. go park it in some kind of long term parking lot for a week and tell your wife it's gone, i can't see why somebody who reads NP/CP wouldn't spend more than 2k on a volvo turbo wagon.

Kawaii-Gon Jinn > zeontestpilot
04/13/2015 at 09:38

i get the feeling that this is the third car in a two-driver family. unless they have a three car garage or some other kind of unlimited space, i can see why a huge-ass wagon sitting in front of the house is a cause for concern. some housing associations probably would pitch a fit as well.

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > Funktheduck
04/13/2015 at 09:40

That's a good trade.

Twinkies and Volvo bricks - both guaranteed to survive an apocalypse.

Tohru > boxrocket
04/13/2015 at 09:42

Well, I've only got $500 to my name right now and a 1998 Bonneville SE, so it's actually accurate here.

boxrocket > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis
04/13/2015 at 09:46

I think I'll entice her with bribery. If the car sells for over $1500 she gets half the money to spend on whatever, versus the current understanding that if I sell it to the shop then I keep all of it (though as savings).

Kawaii-Gon Jinn > boxrocket
04/13/2015 at 09:46

the sad part is that you're in the MW and i'd drive down to get it for 2k, but my wife would flip if i brought home a 4th car for our two car garage.

EDIT: sent a tip to graverobber. this has to go NPOCP, this kind of anti volvo agression will not stand, man.

boxrocket > Kawaii-Gon Jinn
04/13/2015 at 09:47

I sent him an email about it last week or so, I didn't get a response.

zeontestpilot > Kawaii-Gon Jinn
04/13/2015 at 09:47

That is very true as well. But he made it seem the wife was the one who is pushing to get rid of the car. Other factors weren't really given. :/

boxrocket > Kawaii-Gon Jinn
04/13/2015 at 09:49

Same boat with the Reply option. I can reply to comments, make Oppo and other blog entries, recommend, but can't reply to original posts. I can't even reply to myself!

Kawaii-Gon Jinn > boxrocket
04/13/2015 at 09:52

Same boat with the Reply option. I can reply to comments, make Oppo and other blog entries, recommend, but can't reply to original posts. I can't even reply to myself!

Kinja....[Fry Seems Legit Image]

boxrocket > Kawaii-Gon Jinn
04/13/2015 at 09:53

Spot on. Two drivers, three cars, and the Volvo is clearly the oldest car on the block. It's not an eyesore, per se, and not a "derelict" since it starts, runs, and moves, and I am friendly with my neighbors so there aren't any complaints. It's in the way and takes up space. If it's on the driveway then either my wife or I have to maneuver around it. If it's in the street (as it is now) I'm paranoid it will get damaged, even though we live on a dead-end low-traffic street.

boxrocket > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
04/13/2015 at 09:57

My nearest Volvo dealer wouldn't even make an offer, but it drew a crowd of techs who all wanted it but - like most of us - didn't/don't have the money/time/permission to dedicate to such a classic machine. The nearby Volvo shop - which also sells cars, but only newer used ones - is one where I've had it serviced, and they know me, so the offer was fair if they were planning on selling it to one of the techs in the back or using it for deliveries and picking up parts. It deserves better fate, as it was treated as a commuter car, not the family beater.

CarMax offered me less than scrap value, because "none of our wholesalers would be interested".

boxrocket > zeontestpilot
04/13/2015 at 10:17

"Happy wife, happy life."

If it were a Mustang she'd find an excuse to keep it, though presumably it would be over twenty years older than the Volvo is, or twenty years newer.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > boxrocket
04/13/2015 at 10:21

That's what I'm saying, it takes a lot longer and it's a hell of a lot more work, but you need to find a private buyer

boxrocket > zeontestpilot
04/13/2015 at 10:22

My apologies. I've written a lot about this and don't like giving out too many personal details or repeating myself unnecessarily. This post explains the situation fairly well.

Two-driver household, the Volvo is the spare car as I have its replacement.

boxrocket > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
04/13/2015 at 10:25

Indeed, and I've only been at it a few weeks, but she's stuck on the idea of getting rid of it ASAP, like a dog with a bone, as the saying goes.

I had anticipated selling it closer to back-to-school season, or into the summer when folks are looking more. Not my decision to sell so soon.

zeontestpilot > boxrocket
04/13/2015 at 10:47

It's ok, i understand. Here in Internet-land, I only give out as much info as I care to. Though with the "happy wife, happy life" saying, I pick my battles. I usually don't care long enough to keep argue, or see it as futile/pointless. Other times, which I actually rarely do, is stand my ground and not budge.

Though with the safety issues, i do understand. Family comes first, right?