<p>Well, it finally happened. After 7 years, ~210K miles, and numerous road trips and the associated shenanigans, the Gray Mule (My '87 Taurus) has a blown head gasket, and it’s time to send her to the Big Freeway In the Sky… she was my first car, and I’m feeling pretty sentimental.</p>
<p>However, I have to put her affairs in order. Those of you that have gotten rid of an old car before, do you have any advice? Specific for the St. Louis area earns bonus points. Also, as I need a new set of wheels, I’d love it if someone pointed me toward some good websites for looking to buy a new cars or just had any concise advice in general on the topic.</p>
<p>And my luck being what it is, it had to happen my first day of rotations…</p>
<p>usually people donate the cars that aren’t worth much to sell. are you looking for an actual new new car or one that has been used before (usually med students don’t have much money to spare)? I find autoshopper.com is a nice resource though I don’t know if it’s available in St. Louis.</p>
<p>Actually, I’ve been anticipating this event for a while, and I have enough scratch saved up that I can probably pay in cash, which should get me a better price. </p>
<p>After doing a little research, I don’t qualify for the cash for clunkers bill by about 1 mpg but there are places that will haul it away for free. I’m leaning toward some model of Kia because of Edmunds.com and the pricing/availability in the area after some googling, but if the CC community at large would like to chime in on its collective experience I’ll be sure to take some notes.</p>
<p>First decide on the car you want or at least the size car. Look at CR but I would stay away from KIA (no resale value - and if you get in a wreck thats all the ins co will give you for your totaled car) Toyota, Honda, and Ford’s are good bets (IMHO - in that order). Check the internet prices and ask your local dealer to match. You can check with Cosco, Sam Club or AAA for their best price on the model you want…</p>