Task: Get The Details About Your Car Together

Let’s assume you have a car. Maybe even two cars. You might also have other vehicles, such as a boat, RV, or motorcycle. Regardless of quantity or your relationship with these machines, will your family and loved ones know what to do with them? We already covered car payments and important paperwork like the title or lease agreement in separate tasks so let’s keep this one simple and start with the most basic of basics:

What type of vehicles do you have?

Car | Truck | Motorcycle | Boat | Aircraft | Jet Ski/Personal Watercraft | Snowmobile | ATV | RV/Camper | Farm Equipment | Construction Equipment

Next, what can you easily recall offhand?

• Make (example: Honda)
• Model (example: Accord)
• Year
• Color
• Where you keep it. This is painfully obvious for someone who parks it in their garage or driveway. It gets more complicated if you live in a city and use a parking lot.

Now it’s time to think about the details you may need to look up. Quick: What’s your license plate number? See! (Good job to the people who actually knew the answer to that.)

• License plate
• Registration number and state of registration (and when it’s due)
• VIN number/Serial number/Hull number

Care & Quirks

Treat your car or other vehicle like you did your house when creating your Home Operating System and think of all the things no one else would know. You’re already aware of sharing the keypad code with your passwords (if your car has one). What about your security situation and where you keep extra keys? Does the vehicle require extra care (example: never wax the Corvette)? Any info to share if you’re paying for a roadside assistance program, or amenities like satellite radio or in-car wireless data? Are there any quirks to make your car run better — “if it starts clanging add a quart of oil” — or other tips that could save a new owner time and money?

Finally, do you have a special connection to the vehicle? Was it your grandpa’s boat? Did you work on a similar car with your uncle when you were a kid? Sometimes a sentimental attachment can be more meaningful than the actual value. However, don’t let sentiment be the reason you want someone to keep something that belongs in a scrap yard. Please don’t be that house with a bunch of cars in the front yard because you’re too attached to part with any of them.

The Task

Write all the details about your car included above on paper or in a digital document, ideally coupled with your Home Operating System. You can also organize all this stuff in the Homes & Property section of an Everplan.

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