     
     
     Can't Sell Your Car? Break It Up!


                                                  By Gary Bryant


           Somewhere in that long series of days we call life, we find
     ourselves tripping over an unwanted piece of  our past.  A worn
     relic of our by gone days.  This item,  having once been so
     personal, desired by no one else,  now sits abandoned by the side
     of the house, no longer  given a respectable position in the
     driveway.

           I'm  talking of course, about the car you can't sell, your
     '71 Volkswagen or your '69 Chevy, maybe it's your '76  Toranado or
     your 1979 Honda.  You called it your college  car, or work vehicle. 
     The car with the Burger King wrappers stuffed under the back seat.
     You know the one.  The car that  never had the oil changed or body
     washed.  The one that  just ran and ran...until a month ago.   

          You've since procured a healthier vehicle  but are now left
     with the task of removing the old  beast from your premises.  You
     have placed several ads  in a number of places.  You have even
     called in on the  radio to plead with the local population to take
     it off  your hands.  No one comes to your rescue.  
     But wait! There may be  another way.  

           Backyard automotive technologists (my son and his
     friends) call it "Parting Out".  This is the marketing  tool of
     wrecking yards and teenage auto enthusiasts. The  sales tool that
     transforms a hundred dollar wreck into a  thousand dollar gold
     mine.  

          Try running an ad like this: PARTING OUT, 1970   Chevette,
     good engine, tires, body parts, radio and  seats excellent.  No
     reasonable offer refused.  Call  555-5555   

           I've broken my own rule of always printing the  price.  In
     this ad I make the exception because any  buyer of these items will
     already be highly motivated  just because he or she may need the
     parts.  Besides, you  probably don't have any idea what any of this
     is worth  anyway. Not too mention you were going beg someone to
     take it of your hands tomorrow.  Say yes to any offer.    

           Even  after  collecting  five hundred dollars or  more from this
     enterprise, you may find yourself left  with a large unsightly hunk
     of metal aside your home.  Never fear, many wrecking yards will
     take it away for a  small fee (sometimes for nothing at all) if you
     can  sign over title.  Now, you'll be ready to enjoy your new  car
     with a little extra cash knowing your old workhorse has been
     distributed among it's needy  counter-parts.


              
