Fix it, Sell it, keep it? Ft. 2011 Sonata

Well, my wife has purchased a 2018 VW Tiguan, and her old car a 2011 Hyundai Sonata base model, with 146k miles is sitting.

the car has had a rough history, 2 accidents on carfax, 4 owners, at some point had a junkyard engine put it.

from driving it recently, it needs brakes on all 4, a flexpipe/mid pipe, and an alignment, but it runs amazingly well, smooth plenty of power, i recently put an intake manifold on it and had ZERO carbon build up.

Now the question here is, is it worth keeping for a commuter? the car owes us nothing at this point. I imagine I could procure all the parts above for well under 500$ and a few hours of my time. 

Or, do I fix it as cheaply as possible and sell it for a little more?

Or, do I just put it up as is for challenge money?

If you have room to park it and registration and insurance is cheap, I have never met someone who regretted having a beater/loaner car.  Great for leaving at the airport, taking downtown, loaning to friends or relatives when they come to town, and takes all the stress of any DIY automotive repairs because you know you have a way to get around.

Otherwise, do absolutely nothing but a good wash job, good photos, and send it down the road.  Putting money into it at this point in the interest of a pump and dump will never come back to you.  The price difference between a 2011 Hyundai with good brakes or bad brakes on the used market is around $5.

Keep it, fix it, beater/spare cars are a wonderful thing. 

I have never regretted having a fleet of beaters more than 3 deep. 

My wife draws the line at double digits thiugh.

keep it, run it into the ground. If you do get rid of it.... DIBS. 

I think you are underestimating the value of the car.  A 2011 Sonata was the first year of the current body style which makes the car seem pretty new.  Even with 150k this is a car that will have an asking price of $5k and bring $4,500 as long as it is muffler quite and doesn't shake down the road.  

Real samples in my area:

https://cleveland.craigslist.org/cto/d/cleveland-2011-hyundai-sonata/6901233569.html

https://akroncanton.craigslist.org/cto/d/canton-kia-optima-lx/6901249075.html 

My intial action would be to keep it as a spare.  

In reply to John Welsh :

SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! Stop it! trying to get the wife a 4dr beater! 

John's right though, that car in running condition is $4k all day. 

Wow, I had no idea they were worth that much, might be worth fixing it up and driving it then! I don't hate driving it by any stretch, but I obviously prefer my GTI lol, I guess I will talk with the wife and see what she has to say. the limiting factor is parking, but that can be worked around

In reply to tjbell :

Or, Bob could relieve you of the burden of having a derelict car hanging around your house.   

He said twice the price of the brakes and flexpipe.... $1000 it is! 

In reply to bobzilla :

Bob if you want it, its all yours. $2k as it sits lol

In reply to bobzilla :

The shipper that I referenced in this thread charged me 70 cents per mile for a 440 mile trip from Ohio to Illinois.  . The Sonata seems to be 960 miles from you.  For a longer trip, he might do a little cheaper. 

960 x .7= $672

960 x .65 = $625

960 x .6 = $576

$600 might be a good middle point.

In reply to John Welsh :

Well, I am flexible on the price if you end up shipping it to help cover the costs. If you are interested @bobzilla send me a private message and we can talk

God no... the wife would smother me in my sleep if I try to bring home another car. Someone should though and bring it to the challenge!