What are you doing with your car?

I was wondering what folks who owned a car in the US did with it when they went to Japan. I was thinking about selling mine to a dealership just to keep things simple. Would love to know what others have decided to do

10 comments
  1. Im parting out my car , putting stock parts back on it and selling it to the dealership. Market is crazy right now

  2. I got into an accident and totaled mine a month ago… got double what I was going to sell it for though 🤧

  3. My car was in pretty yikes condition so I sold it on Facebook Marketplace. I used that money to help set up my life in Japan and buy a car here

  4. Mine was a 2002 Mazda with around 260,000 miles (~420,000 km) on it, handed down from my dad to my older brother and then to me. Gave it back to my dad when I left, we figured he’d see if anyone would buy it and just take it to the junkyard if not. Surprisingly, someone did buy it, and we got a bit of money from it. Thing was still chugging along and never had any significant issues, but it was old and used and dented enough that we didn’t expect much.

  5. Im going to sell it. Got it appraised and I could get 8k minimum for it. Too good to pass up lol

  6. If you do decide to leave it, make sure you have someone who can take it out for a drive at least a couple times a month and wash it every now and then. Cars like to be driven and they can develop issues if they just sit there for a year+.

    If you have to leave it somewhere and can’t get someone to drive it, look into how to prepare a car for long term storage.

  7. I sold mine to a car re-seller. I used the money to help fund JET.

    If you don’t need the money, and you know you’ll be here for only one year, it *might* be worth keeping it. Bear in mind you’ll have to store it long term, which will require money and maintenance, both now and when you return. Depending on where you live it might be wise to pay to store it indoors. Where I come from is really wet so any car would just grow plant life and deteriorate if left standing for a year. Tyres and other parts can also degrade or seize up if left.

    I wouldn’t do this, except maybe to my mother, but the other option is loan it to someone, which is cheaper, but riskier and potentially legally frustrating. Best way is agree a short term sale so it’s legally theirs, otherwise if they crash your car it’s a whole load of issues. Do you want that to ruin a friendship or whatever?

    If you’re going to be here any longer than a year I’d say just sell it. It’s too much of a hassle otherwise.

  8. I’ve decided to sell mine. I plan on being gone for only a year but honestly, it’s more hassle than it’s worth to figure out insurance, storage, maintenance, etc. My car is a 2018 Honda CRV and was offered $24k for it by a dealership – a nice chunk of change for JET or for buying another car when I get back.

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