Selling cars from an estate

[crazycars]

20 hours ago, Walt G said:

Give us an idea of location - east (North east, south east) west ( north west south west) mid west ( again north or south) that can determine someone of good reputation who can travel to see the cars. Or are you in Europe, Australia, ?? You do not have to be specific but we need a clue as usual to try and help.

Location Rhode Island

[crazycars]

20 hours ago, Matt Harwood said:

As someone who deals with this situation frequently, my first piece of advice is to start whittling down your collection now, before it becomes someone else's problem to solve. If there are cars you don't use often or don't love as much as others, maybe think about selling those now, while you can. Focus on the ones you like best, hard as it may be to do.

 

The problem with leaving it until you're gone is that there's all kinds of bureaucratic red tape and emotional baggage tied up and your next-of-kin aren't exactly going to be thinking clearly. They don't know as much about the cars as you do and they only have your valuation to go by when negotiating with any buyer/broker, and that may or may not be accurate. The bottom line is that they really won't want the stress. If the widows who I work with could, they would just push their late husbands' cars into a dumpster and be done with them--they're hurting too much to be rational and just want them out of their lives. The only reason they care is because their husbands cared and they feel like they're betraying his memory if they don't try to eke out every penny and work really hard to find them all good homes. Appraisals are often worthless, simply because they create a line in the sand that has to be honored regardless of whether it's accurate. It's a very tough situation for your loved ones.

 

It's not fair to your spouse/kids to force them to deal with your entire collection after you're gone. YOU are the expert.  YOU know the cars. YOU know their values best. A broker won't magically make this not a problem for your family; from titles to bank accounts to wills to probate court to the pile of paperwork involved with each transaction in an estate, it's going to be a royal pain in the butt for whomever lands the job. And they'll be miserable the entire time because they miss you so much and don't want to let you down.

 

Start managing your collection now, while you can and while you have your faculties intact. Anything can happen, and dealing with 3-4 cars will be far, far easier for them (and you) to manage. Don't pass off the problem to your family after you're gone--take an active role in solving the problem now, while you can. Your family will thank you for it.

Sounds like good advice. Thank you

[MikeC5]

Sell it all now and spend it on booze, broads and gambling.  And waste the rest...

[crazycars]

7 hours ago, John_S_in_Penna said:

I sounds as if Bob was referring to his state of Pennsylvania,

where the state's inheritance tax ("death tax") does not have,

I understand, any amount excluded.  The rate depends on the

relationship of the heir to the deceased person and ranges from

0% up to 15%.

 

But where does the original poster live?  We can't be specific to

his case unless he wants to give that information.

 

I am in Rhode Island. Thank you for taking the time to write.

[arcticbuicks]

I was wondering about people that get a reverse mortgage ? I see them advertised …..

dose it include everything including vehicles ?

The poor kids that show up on that day they were told about as kids 

“ some great day my son -this will all be yours “

[60FlatTop]

16 minutes ago, arcticbuicks said:

“ some great day my son -this will all be yours “

[arcticbuicks]

 

And as the kids show up at the estate standing in the driveway looking at the hoard in the garage busting at the seams 
…….. then the “ reverse mortgage “ guys show up ……..and say excuse me ……and close the door and padlock it …….? 
or allow the kids 24 hours to remove personal things ? And they are a 1000 miles from home and have to be back at work Monday morning ?

[Akstraw]

Agree with the advice to get the titles in order.  I think getting/keeping them running is important.   A running car has more value and is easier to move than one that does not.  My deal with my wife is that they all run and dive, and are licensed and insured.  I am allowed one long-term and one short-term “project” that doesn’t meet that criteria.  I have a notebook where I list three numbers for each car; a 6-12 month or “retail” price, a 60-90 day or “good deal” price, and a 30-day or “fire sale” price (the time period indicating how fast I expect it would sell at that price).  I update the notebook every year.  I also keep the piles of part sorted and stored by car, so if I go suddenly, it is clear what goes with what.  I have some high dollar books and literature that I have not catalogued and priced.  Perhaps I should attend to those, too, though I think paper items will continue to decline in value as more and more are digitized.

 

I purchased a car a few years ago from an estate where an attorney had been named to dispose of the cars.  Not a car guy, he methodically got each appraised, then advertised them in appropriate places (Hemmings, eBay) with a fair asking price.  He privately had a schedule for dropping the price every two months if they did not sell.  I think that the attorney had been engaged in advance, and the appraiser had been identified in advance (i.e. by the owner, before his passing.).  When I picked up the car, some of the descendants were on hand, and told me a few stories about the car, but it was clear that the attorney was in charge and the family was not interfering.

[Bhigdog]

Men plan. God laughs.....bob

[Paul Dobbin]

If you ever did an estate wchange it all around later.  Review it regulatlyith no plan or instructions by the deceased, you wouldn't want to do another.   The after death Lawyer's fees far exceed the cost of prior to death planning.    Get busy and just be prepared, you can always change it later.

[John348]

3 hours ago, 60FlatTop said:

 

I lived that dream! (or nightmare) Except my Father was gone when I discovered it. I was fortunate that I was an only child. but the time it took for no good reason, 11 years later and still ask why?  Could not find the paperwork on the 46 Chevy truck and the 54 Chevy, both did not run so they sold for pennies on the dollar. I am sure all of that stuff meant something to my Father 

 

 

 

[JFranklin]

That is exactly what an auctioneer is for.

[31plymouth]

Not sure if this was mentioned.

 

Don't keep anything in a bank safe deposit box that can't be accessed by others when needed.

[Johnny Lightning]

Lots of good advice above.  A lawyer friend of mine once told a class of his that I was in "If you hate your children die intestate".  My corollary to that is if you only hate one of them, make them your trustee.  I had always gotten along with my sisters fairly well.  When my mother became incapacitated I was made the trustee of her trust.  My sister wanted me to continue giving us a Christmas present that my mother used to give us every year.  I told her that I couldn't do that because it wasn't in my mother's best interest financially.  There were some other things that my mother did that she wanted me to continue doing that I also couldn't do.  These items were in the hundreds of dollars not thousands but it would likely have been considered elder abuse had the authorities discovered it.  I relate this story to show how seemingly small items can come between siblings when there is money involved.  My advice is to put the cars up for sale in an orderly manner starting tomorrow.  The advantage is that you convert them to cash which is easy deal with in an estate or trust (the preferred method).  Another advantage is that you get to see the joy on the face of the new owners when they pick the addition to their collection.  Another advantage is that you get to weed out folks that you think don't have the proper appreciation of what they are buying.  There are some folks that will take a completely factory stock collectible automobile and turn it into some unrecognizable custom sled.  You may not want that to happen to your car and if you have an auction that will likely happen to at least some of the cars, and you may not want that.  Whatever you do don't leave a mess for your wife or heirs, it's not a nice thing to do.   Best of luck.  BTW I have pared my small car and motorcycle collection down to one new bike that I ride and a 1969 Royal Enfield that I gave to my son-in-law and made up with my sister.

Edited February 4, 2022 by Johnny Lightning (see edit history)

[arcticbuicks]

One happy ending story of an estate sale ….

my friend saw a local kijiji ad for a 1928 Durant roadster $3500. 
 

he showed up and a sweat little old lady had it for sale and a lot of phone calls on the car , he was first ……the car was garaged 86 years same garage and family and original low milage ………perfect paint and top material , nothing weathered .

 

my friend had a heart of gold …..and he told the lil ole lady I am buying the car …….and she said “ how much are you offering ?” With her daughter there beside her .

 

my friend handed her $12,500. Cash 

and said “I think this is a fair offer ?”

Edited February 4, 2022 by arcticbuicks (see edit history)

[nick8086]

I wish I had this problem?

 

Cost 14 million - 2  million cost a year to run.

 

What was my Dad thinking owning a Kaiser?

 

Pic is from Key West just got back in town..

 

 

[nick8086]

John I feel  your pain..

 

I empty a 19000 , and 10000 and 10000 foot building full of stuff..

 

It took two years to do..

 

I had fun doing it for no pay..

 

It was as fun as looking for old cars parts..

 

After 11 years.. I still have 12 garages to empty.. 

[John348]

2 hours ago, JFranklin said:

That is exactly what an auctioneer is for.

 

As obvious that simple solution might appear to be, the logistics involved were not that simple.  I lived 1200 miles away, and my job  had limited time I could spend there. My youngest son was still in college, and my wife had some serious medical issues to deal with as well. The estate still had to go through probate even though I was an only child. The probate process was going to take a year and auction companies will not deal will estates until it clears probate {might vary from state to state]   My Father was also a toy collector so there was so very valuable items mixed in with junk. So this was an involved process. 

 

So this was best option, it took three of these containers

 

 

[pkhammer]

  I hate to see collections go to the dump but I've seen it many times. The heirs are so overwhelmed with the hoard, the easiest thing to do is just have it all go in the dumpster. I know a guy that sometimes purchases cars from estates. He would purchase them, clean them up, replace tires, make other repairs and get them running and then resale. He generally left the parts hoards behind because it was simply too much work to deal with so I started making offers on the parts. I have purchased many large parts hoards over the years and the story is always similar; the elderly collector (hoarder) passes and the family is left with the overwhelming job of figuring out what to do with all the stuff. Then the "friends" from the local car clubs swoop in and attempt to purchase (cherry pick) the valuable stuff "just to help out", or the deceased "would've wanted me to have it".

  The ones I've been involved with early on I usually offer these suggestions:

  1) Don't let people come in and "cherry pick" the collection.

  2) Realize there is value in the items and that it is not just junk.

  3) Consider engaging the services of an auction company to liquidate it

  4) Consider an offer from me or other interested parties that will take it all, not just cherry pick the good stuff. Someone that will sweep the floor and turn out the lights on the way out.

 It's a ton of work and I'm getting to the age myself where I question how much more of this I'm going to do but I've worked with some families that were very grateful for what we did for them.

[auburnseeker]

I'm always buying car sales related brochures and dealer literature.  Please everyone keep that in mind if you run across any of these deals.  It can be anywhere in the country and any quantity.  I try to give a fair price on the wholesale end.  Better than sending it to the recycle center for sure or worse yet paying by the pound to get rid of it.  Surprising when a file folder box can easily be a few hundred bucks or more and that's for nothing that seems real special.  You get a box like that full of prewar stuff and the price goes up.  And that's talking the whole sale price I would pay. 

 

I think often the literature gets overlooked as they are so overwhelmed by all the parts and other stuff, so the box of paper gets chucked. 

[60FlatTop]

From what I read particularly on this Forum would be the message of The Rising Son symbol on the tailgate. One last chance to get that lazy younger generation to get up and do some work rather than lie around wallowing in the instant gratification. At least that's what I have been reading in a lot of comments.

 

[MarkV]

1 hour ago, 60FlatTop said:

From what I read particularly on this Forum would be the message of The Rising Son symbol on the tailgate. One last chance to get that lazy younger generation to get up and do some work rather than lie around wallowing in the instant gratification. At least that's what I have been reading in a lot of comments.

 

Okay gramps! Haha No generation overall was more about instant gratification than the boomers. Which caused everything from Woodstock to real estate market crashes. 

 

I’m younger than probably almost everyone posting here all of these comments are valid.

 

I’ve had a trust for years and a will for all of the other items. I’ve updated it through the years following major situations like marriage and the birth of my daughter. Everything is spelled out and I have everything digitized and multiple copies.
 

the first thing I do when given a car or one is purchased is transfer it into my name literally within 24 hours. I don’t understand why anyone would not do this even with a parts car. 
 

I had the unfortunate responsibility of being the trustee for my grandmothers estate years ago and even though everything was spelled out well I ended up shelling out $50k in attorney fees over four years to settle everything and deal with some interesting relatives! I and the trust prevailed. But we ended up in LA superior court against one of them and we showed up and they didn’t. Apparently they didnt want to continue their claims in front of a judge! All there was was the house and stuff inside and a well used 11 year old Impala. 
 

when you die many people come out of the word work and make all sorts of claims and comments. None of them could ever be bothered with my grandmother in her final years when she was poor. But all the morons lined up real fast after she died. 

Edited February 4, 2022 by MarkV (see edit history)

[60FlatTop]

When I feel the end is near I am going to have a 4 foot berm built across my front yard. It's just to slow them down so my body will cool to room temperature before my stuff hits the curb.

[SC38dls]

My mother had a long lost uncle that was a hermit in Maine. His brother was the only one that knew where he lived but he was in CA and only saw the hermit every few years. He didn’t even have a telephone. He died a few months after his CA brother visited him. No one knew he had a brother, his estate ended up going to the state which auctioned off the land. He had 10,000 acres of virgin timber that was sold to a logging company for pennies  on the dollar that went to the state. The uncle in CA died and left his estate to the brother OR his 4 nieces if the uncle was dead. Both were apparently successful doing something.
Mom and the other three splint a nice inheritance but sold his house and two pre-war cars. The Maine property would have made the four of them set for life. They never told me about the cars before they were sold and no idea what they were or how old. So be sure you have not only a main inheritance person but an alternate or two also. 
dave s 

Edited February 4, 2022 by SC38dls (see edit history)

[West Peterson]

On 2/3/2022 at 11:18 PM, Johnny Lightning said:

  My advice is to put the cars up for sale in an orderly manner starting tomorrow.  The advantage is that you convert them to cash which is easy deal with in an estate or trust (the preferred method).  Another advantage is that you get to see the joy on the face of the new owners when they pick the addition to their collection.  Another advantage is that you get to weed out folks that you think don't have the proper appreciation of what they are buying. 

 

The HUUUGE disadvantage, tho, is that the federal government will get a whopping portion of the capital gains, whereas if the cars are sold by the heirs, no federal capital gains taxes.

[Fossil]

I'm afraid if I sold my car the capital would have little to gain. 

 

 

[72caddy]

57 minutes ago, West Peterson said:

 

The HUUUGE disadvantage, tho, is that the federal government will get a whopping portion of the capital gains, whereas if the cars are sold by the heirs, no federal capital gains taxes.

True and something to consider - especially if higher end vehicles but it sounds like the original poster's tax bracket is about as low as it will get. Plus, even with an estate someone has to spend time and effort to manage, negotiate with family, and potentially find a buyer - if you are not familiar with this market or any market you inherit like art, collectables, etc. the chances are it will be sold for pennies and the estate gets less than what the original poster may have cleared after taxes.

Just speculating, as I am not in this situation as the original poster, but piece of mind knowing you took care of your family without undue burden is probably worth more than any monetary delta that may or may not happen.

[MRJBUICK]

after reading all the above comments, some of which i was aware of, i am more educated.

i am now 63 last year i had 5 non daily collector cars, this year i have 4

as i age i am realizing many of the things that have been talked about, and my joints remind me of the rest

the 5th car i had needed alot of work and i wasn't getting to it. so i finally have achieved the age of realizing i cant do it all.

i took a long hard look at my collection and that car had to go, i was lucky i had been talking to someone at a cruise spot multiple times about the car and he showed interest. I was totally honest with him about all the flaws which i think is important.

without to many details i sold him the car, could i have gotten more probably but i got a reasonable price, he seems happy and the car is happily off my back, and my wife who loves and respects the hobby, is not talking about it any more. so we are both happy it is gone and the money is being invested in my good cars for improvements. a win win.

but remember once someone else owns it, it is their car and their vision, so let them do what they want even if we do not agree.

we wouldn't want anyone telling us what to do.

car number 4 may be moving out soon also, but i have to come to terms with it. that will be harder.

we are a breed that hold on to too many things sometimes to long.

both of our daily cars and my last collector car i purchased a few years ago are jointly owned and registered with my wife, my other two collector cars are in my will. makes things easier at the end.

i think this is a VERY IMPORTANT thing i haven't seen yet, both my children who are adults would like one of my cars, which is great, but i have made it clear to them multiple times, DO NOT LET THESE CAR SIT AND DETERIORATE, IF YOU ARE NOT GOING TO USE THEM SELL THEM BACK INTO THE HOBBY AND BUY SOMETHING YOU WANT.

release them from the "it was dads car i cant get rid of it" syndrome

i am looking forward to giving my future grandchildren a history lesson on the way to the ice cream store

even though i do not plan on leaving anytime soon God only knows that outcome, we are looking at the back end

planning is prudent and smart

 

[nick8086]

On 2/4/2022 at 10:07 AM, 60FlatTop said:

When I feel the end is near I am going to have a 4 foot berm built across my front yard. It's just to slow them down so my body will cool to room temperature before my stuff hits the curb.

Was this your house?

 

 

Fort Jefferson was built to protect one of the most strategic deepwater anchorages in North America.

By fortifying this spacious harbor, the United States maintained an important “advance post” for ships patrolling the Gulf of Mexico and the Straits of Florida. Nestled within the islands and shoals that make up the Dry Tortugas, the harbor offered ships the chance to resupply, refit, or seek refuge from storms. The location of the Tortugas along one the world’s busiest shipping lanes was its greatest military asset. Though passing ships could easily avoid the largest of Fort Jefferson’s guns, they could not avoid the warships that used its harbor.

 

That was the pic..

Edited February 8, 2022 by nick8086 (see edit history)

[arcticbuicks]

I wonder if it works well in USA , to have paperwork on car , title etc signed and back dated …..then kids can just sell for cash 

[Trulyvintage]

On 2/2/2022 at 8:06 PM, crazycars said:

Not quite sure what to do. My situation: I am 75 years old, in relatively good health, but I realize that I am a whole lot closer to the end than the beginning!  I own 17 cars, mostly from the 1920's, no trophy winners but presentable and in good mechanical condition.  I do not wish to burden my wife with my "legacy" and am hoping you guys might have some suggestions as to a broker or an agency who could handle this for her after my demise. Not trying to sound morbid, more like practical. All suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I picked up this Model T last week from a Widow of a collector outside of Tulsa, OK

who left her with a number of cars when he passed away about three years ago.

 

 

This car went to her son.

 

I transported it to Lilleker Auto Restoration 

in College Station, Texas who I recommended to get it in running

order again.

I took videos of five other vehicles

which included a couple Edsels that

have sat in storage without being ran.

 

I am helping her find new homes 

for these vehicles.

 

 

Many of the folks I have met over 

the last 16 years traveling the country

while transporting vehicles have become

friends - I connect Dots to find new 

Caretakers for vehicles of every sort.

 

Today I shot a video of a Telescoping 

Apartment Camper in Florida to help a friend find a new Caretaker for it.

 

 

 

I do this to Turn The Wheel.

No expectation or compensation involved.

 

These two examples serve to show the 

difference to being Proactive and being 

Reactive to finding the next Caretaker 

for any vehicle that you find of Value.

 

My Advice:

 

You are contemplating your Mortality.

That is Commendable.

Take Action Now.

 

Choose the new caretakers while you

have time to be involved in the process.

 

Gifting - Selling - Donating.

 

Set aside a personal favorite to

enjoy in the time afforded you.

 

I cherish each and every day.

 

I find value in Friendship and Opportunities.

 

Today I took a video of a historically

significant vehicle - went fishing on 

the dock - had the best homemade 

beef stroganoff with friends by the

ocean in Destin, Florida.

 

 

Jim

 

[Mikefit]

Matt your advise is always spot on I didn't have a large amount of cars and value was in the lower part of the market 

I sold off cars and parts till I only had 3 cars left ones I liked and drove on a regular basis I signed off on all titles my wife and daughter have a list of what I paid a d spent on each car  not that it matters. 

I told them to use a local auctioneer he may not know what each car is worth but I bet buyer's do just trust him to do his job that's what his pay is based on 

I'm over 82 years old time is running out. With the titles signed and not dated worst  case will have to pay a $5.00 delinquent title fee . They are instructed to sell all cars not to keep any of them  First and foremost they don't have garage space for them also cost of insurance etc.

I enjoyed the cars now spend the money on something you like  Just my opinion

[Johnny Lightning]

On 2/5/2022 at 10:47 AM, West Peterson said:

 

The HUUUGE disadvantage, tho, is that the federal government will get a whopping portion of the capital gains, whereas if the cars are sold by the heirs, no federal capital gains taxes.

I don't know if you've looked at capital gains tax rates lately but historically they are as low as they have ever been.  For someone who is married and filing jointly the rate on the first $83,850 is -0-% - it can't get any lower.  For the next $433,350 the tax rate is 15% and above $517,200 the rate is 20%.  None of those rates are what I would call huge, although the last two are not inconsequential.  My point being that you can gain $83,350 every year and never pay any tax on it .  It doesn't take  genius to figure out that if you spread your sales out over, let's say 5 years, you can have a total gain of $416,750 gain tax free.  Remember you get to subtract pretty much every single penny you've ever put into the cars, less things like oil changes and maybe tires and batteries, from whatever you sell it for to compute your gain. 

[mikewest]

My titles and NY registrations are all signed as SELLER. If and when I croak , Mrs West can sell anyone of them and they will not need to go through my estate. My dad did the same and its easy.

[Buffalowed Bill]

I have been reading your thread and the responses a little at a time. It has always seemed like when someone asks for advice on something like this, what he is really asking for is moral support for a choice that he has already made. The predisposition notwithstanding, I feel pulled into the conversation by my own recent experiences regarding the disposition of a good friends car collection.

 

In reading some of your previous threads I can see that you seem to have quite an eclectic collection of both cars and parts. What I don't know is how attached you are to your cars, how important the money that you, or your heirs, get from the sale, and to what lengths you will go to seeing that each item is saved. 

 

I am not going to revisit the process that my deceased friend and I went through (if interested you can do a search on these pages) but what may be of value to you are: 

1) Cars will sell but parts will not-unless very rare and valuable. Ebay is your friend, use it or get someone that you trust to sell for you.

2) There are people out there willing to dispose of what you have, but their vetting needs to be taken care of before you pass away. I had help from some people on the forum, Ed Minnie in particular, finding a qualified person to handle the dispersal.

3) Make a realistic appraisal of what you have and upgrade as the market changes. At any given point any dispersal after you are gone will probably net about 50-60% of your considered value.

4)There are bound to be certain cars that have good value and some, for lack of a better term, are just throw aways. If you choose to hold on to the collection until you die, do not cherry pick the best cars to sell first. Sell or give away the junk first, or the collection will have little value at time of dispersal. Your collection will need those good cars to sweeten the pot. The last thing that want is to leave your heirs with worthless stuff that they have to dispose of.

 

If you love your cars like I do, and like my friend did, I'm a believer in holding on to what you love the most. Culling makes sense, but only if you are ready want to part with a car. The stress level goes up when there is no planning. The process of dispersal was bittersweet for me because I knew and loved his collection, some memories go back almost 50yrs. The sweet part was helping him hang on to the end. The knowledge that someone besides the family would take care of the situation once he was gone was essential. The worst case scenario is to sell something that you love because you think you have to, because you usually don't.  

Edited February 11, 2022 by Buffalowed Bill (see edit history)

[Larry Schramm]

The parts discussion is a good one.  

 

A few years ago I gathered up every part that I could find that did not go to any of the cars that currently owned and put them in my  14 foot enclosed utility trailer. I did it over about 1 year.  Just cleaning out the garage, basement, etc...  I took all of the parts to probably 10 swap meets including Hershey twice trying to sell the parts and I had them priced mostly less than $5.00 and less.  The last swap meet I went to I ended up selling a working wench for $25.00 and about $5.00 on other misc stuff.  The spot cost me $25.00.

 

I said that's it.   I took the trailer back to my shop and with a friend I think I took 1 or 2 items out of the trailer.  The rest went into three piles. One was scrap metal, the second trash, and I let my friend take anything that he wanted for free for helping me sort out the trailer stuff to try to sell on ebay.   

 

I now have a clean utility trailer and am not stepping over a bunch of parts that I will never use, at least I think.  I have not missed any of what ever I had.

[TAKerry]

As for parts, my neighbor died unexpectedly a few years ago. He had a large home shop and did restoration work. He had at least 15 engine blocks, pallet fulls of heads, and everything in between. Most was Pontiac stuff and in the end his widow could not give the stuff away. I would have loved to take the motors and such but I did not have the room and did not want to be the next care taker of the junk until the next guy came along. She ended up with an auction company doing exactly what was described by Larry. They made 2 piles. One of the stuff they were going to sell went with them, the other was piled in the drive as scrap.

 

Yes, the current caretake sees value in all of the misc stuff laying around, but the to the vast majority its just junk to get rid of.

[JimKB1MCV]

11 hours ago, Larry Schramm said:

selling a working wench for $25.00

Quote

 

   $25.00 USD for a working wench is a pretty good deal.

In my experience there are usually a few more zeros involved.  😉  🙄

[JACK M]

I agree about an auction.

I had a car guy neighbor pass several years ago and an auction company came in and sold everything.

It was a typical messy shop with stuff piled about that only the owner could inventory in his head.

After all the stuff was auctioned off, they auctioned off the shelving.

This left an empty shop as well as a couple of empty out buildings that only needed a good sweeping out.

They even auctioned off a few bales of wet straw and a pile of firewood.

Much of it went to the local scrap guy with one-dollar bids, but what the hey. The place was empty.

[pkhammer]

Rusty, pitted items, bent wheels, cracked castings and some well used parts are just junk or scrap metal. However there have been some collections that had NOS parts still in boxes, good fenders, grille shells, gauges, trim, accessories, etc. This is just a short list but all of these types of parts should sell well on line or at swap meets depending on how popular the make/model of car(s) they fit. I quit doing small swap meets years ago because by the time fuel, food, time and space rent was taken into consideration, I was losing money. Swap meets like Hershey on the other hand is well worth it in my experience.