Car has not been driven in 10+ months. Trying to sell.

Asked by Stephanie May 06, 2017 at 12:57 PM about the 1999 Honda Accord

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

We have a 99' Honda Accord in our parking garage that has not been driven in
10-12 months. The last time we drove it, white smoke started coming from the
hood, so we parked it and haven't touched it since. It's kind of a clunker with a
used transmission that was driven from Florida to Oregon last year. We kept
saying we'd fix it once we had enough funds, but a year has gone by and we
just want to sell it instead. Carmax seems to be the easiest route, and all they
require is that the car is somewhat drive-able for them to take it off your hands.  
It doesn't have to be in top-notch working order.

I'm looking for advice on a few things.

If the car has been sitting in a covered garage for 10-12 months and has not
been turned on once, is there anything I should be aware of? Should I worry
about the gas going bad, and if so, what do you do about that?

Carmax said even if it rolls in on its last thread, they'll still take it. So we're
thinking of changing the oil, giving it some fresh gas, and seeing if we can just
get it there. Does that sound okay or are there any serious safety concerns I
should take into consideration?

I appreciate any help or advice you can offer! We aren't expecting to get a
whole lot of money from it-- just looking to get anything + freeing up that
parking space.

Thank you!

1 Answer

101,665

I'd check the oil and top it off, not sure I'd bother changing it. In fact check all the vital fluids, recharge the battery and top off the gas as well and crank it over. People are always looking for fixer-uppers and beaters, as long as you have realistic expectations of what you can get for it you should have no problems selling it. If not on Carmax then you can always use Craigslist and even this site.

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