2010 Mercedes-Benz C-Class - Rust problem

The sub frame rusted I didn’t realize still unsafe to drive to arm completely fall out. It’s extremely dangerous over 50 mph. I didn’t able to fix it because the cost more than a car value, please give me suggestion. Thank you.

Sell it for scrap.

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I think you answered your own question… :wink:
You can probably buy a lot of car for what it will take to do rust repairs like this on your, maybe any MB, vehicle…

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If you have the means to part with a car in its 14th year this way, it is a good cause: Donate A Car to NPR | Car Talk Donation Program

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I vote to scrap it.

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I also vote to simply sell it for scrap.

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Let’s get something straight, first of all . . .

afaik, your car has TWO subframes

The front subframe is aluminum, so I doubt that’s rusted out

The rear subframe is steel, so that can definitely rust out

And the unibody is steel

if the unibody is rusted out, this car is a goner

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Like a mechanic told me once, you can keep a car going indefinitely with mechanical repairs, but when rust takes over, that’s the end of it.

I’m not an irs expert but my understanding on car donations is that they have tightened the requirements up quite a bit. They may give you a statement that the donation value was $5000, but if they later scrap it for $200, you should be given a corrected statement. So you can only deduct the $200 value, not the initial $5000 value. You can only deduct fair market value which in this case would be scrap value. Now if the car was in a flood or tornado or stolen, the assumed market value could be argued was $5000 deducted as a loss (forget the actual terminology), but you can deduct actual real or personal property losses through disasters.

Donation value is assessed at the time of sale if the donation is auctioned immediately. The donor will get a letter from the charity with the amount they relied at auction. That is the amount that can be deducted. If the charity uses the car itself or repairs it and gives it to someone to sue then the fair market value cannot be assessed and the donor can set it himself.

None of this matters of course because the donor would need more than about $26,000 in deductions to exceed the standard deduction. I’ve stopped even thinking about itemizing deductions because the difference between the $10,000 I’m allowed for RE taxes and qualifying interest and the standardized deduction is so large that I can’t even get within $10,000 of it. The days of itemizing deductions are over unless you are rich.

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Yup!
Much to my dismay, I found that out when I filed my 2020 federal taxes in 2021.
:pensive:

Yeah the standard deduction has made it a lot easier and safer. Not much to argue about anymore, so argue away guys, here are my income records. Still 89,000 new recruits with weapons makes one pause.

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The better comparison is the cost of this repair compared to the costs associated with buying another car. If you replace this car with a new car, you’ll be spending a lot more on car payments, insurance, depreciation.

If the problem is only a single control arm, probably makes sense to repair it. If the problem is the entire subframe is rusted and affecting the vehicles structural integrity, makes sense to sell it for scrap value, and buy another car. If you have more time than money, you could sell the remaining good parts on the 2010 individually and make out pretty good, but that will take a lot of personal time and effort.

Have you ever parted out a car? It would be easier to replace the rear sub frame.

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The new rules were partially designed to punish those of us in NY & NJ.

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Don’t forget the rest of the Northeast Corridor, West Coast, and really any large metropolitan area with high property value appreciation. It was a giant tax increase in disguise.

The rules were meant to punish those of us in heavily Democratic areas.

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That’s what I said without using your words although Republicans living in those areas were similarly affected.

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Two ways to look at it. Previously high property taxes were subsidized by everyone else. People didn’t howl or even whimper because the feds would return the money.

But, let us not forget that the more prosperous states–like NJ, Illinois, California, and Utah–continue to heavily subsidize the less-prosperous states, such as New Mexico, West Virginia, Mississippi and Kenucky:

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Bing: I suggest you pause your “ news” feed.

A Trump appointee, Rettig called the claim that the IRS is hiring 87,000 agents to harass taxpayers “absolutely false.”

While audit rates are expected to go up for some taxpayers as the new funding flows to the IRS, the rates have also been declining for some time.

Audit rates of individual income tax returns decreased for all income levels between tax years 2010 to 2019, according to the Government Accountability Office. They decreased the most for taxpayers with incomes of $200,000 and above, which are generally more complex.

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