If you’re thinking of junking your old car, then you might want to consider taking it down to a local scrap yard to see if they will pay cash for it. Lots of scrap yards will pay in cash, and they might surprise you by how much you could make when you junk cars for cash. There are other ways to make money from your junk cars though, so read on to find out everything there is to know about junking your old car!
Who Buys Junk Cars?
Before we look at who is buying them, let’s just think for a moment about _why _they are buying them. We couldn’t possibly list every single business or person who might be interested in junk cars here, so if we think about why someone might want a junk car, then maybe you could think of a business or person near you we haven’t even covered.
The main reason someone would want a junk car is an obvious one. They can strip it down, sell what’s good, and then dispose of what’s not and they’ll usually make a fair few dollars in the process. Whatever they offer for a junk car is usually a fraction of what they’ll be able to earn when they eventually do all the work on it that needs to be done. You might think that junking your car isn’t worth it then. If there’s so much money to be made in stripping it down and selling parts, then why shouldn’t you do it yourself? But trust us, these projects take a lot of time and a lot of know-how, so if you don’t know how, then it’s best left to the professionals.
Depending on the junk car you have, someone may be interested in it as a restoration project. Even if they aren’t planning on getting your junk car on the road, there’s plenty of things that someone can do with an old car to repurpose it or find a use for it in some other way. These types of people are usually mechanics or creatives who have a vision for junk that the rest of us simply don’t see.
Another good reason for buying a junk car is to simply keep the workable parts as spares. There are plenty of salvage yards, mechanics, and collectors who will pay cash for your junk car just so they have something to tinker with and try to salvage some parts as spares for other projects they work on. The point of this section is really just to say that there are plenty of reasons someone might want your junk car – it’s your job to decide which is the best place to sell it.
To give you some general ideas, here’s a list of the most common places where people are looking to buy junk cars for cash:
–Auto Salvage Yards
–Scrap Yards
–Online Private Buyers (eBay, Craigslist, Facebook, etc.)
–Online Based Companies (simply search online for businesses that will buy your junk car for cash)
–Mechanics
–Collectors (if your vehicle is a particular model etc.)
This list probably only scratches the surface though, so think outside the box. If you can think of a reason _why _someone might buy a junk car, then there’s probably somebody out there who is already looking for one for that exact reason.
Where Can I Junk My Car?
If you’re unsure, then the first thing you should do is head online. A quick search should tell you where all of your local mechanics, auto salvage yards, and scrap yards are. If there aren’t any that are close to you, then simply look for an online business. Most of the time they’ll come and tow your car away for you, so you don’t need to lift a finger. They’ll ask you basic questions about the model, year, and condition of the car, and some businesses may ask for photos to prove it, and they’ll have a quote to you in a very short space of time. Then all you have to do is wait for pickup day, take the cash, and wave goodbye to your old junk car.
A quick word of warning before you decide on junking your car anywhere though – shop around a bit first. Whilst the online businesses are certainly a lot easier to deal with, they don’t junk the cars themselves so have to have room at the end for profit, or else their business wouldn’t be workable. So, if you can, look at all the different suggestions we made in the section above, and get quotes from as many as you can. If you’re junking your car for cash, you want to make sure you’re getting the most money possible!
If your junk car is drive-able, then we’d always recommend taking it down to scrap yards and auto salvage yards yourself, because if the buyers can see it in the condition as it stands right now, it may tempt them to offer more for it. Better yet, take it to multiple scrap yards and salvage yards and start a bidding war. It’s your property until you sell it, so you might as well make the buyers work for it until you get the best price you can!
How Much Do I Get To Junk My Car?
Now, this question is a lot more difficult to answer than you might think. But whenever anybody, no matter who you sell it to, is buying a junk car, they’ll be thinking about these important things:
-What make/model is the car?
-What year is it?
-What condition is it in? (And how can they prove it?)
-Is it drive-able? (If so, how many miles does it have on it?)
-Does the seller have the title? (more on this in the section below.)
-Will it be delivered, or will towing need to be arranged?
As you can imagine, if the car is a 20-year-old Nissan Sunny that is rusty, missing parts, undriveable, and needs to be towed by the buyer, then the price is going to be negatively affected. The buyer will need to think about what they can realistically get from the vehicle. If it’s their business to buy and sell junk cars, then they need to think about the condition and how much they’ll make. Even if profit isn’t their motivation and it’s a passion project for them, they’ll still have to think about how much use they’ll get out of the car in terms of the parts etc. so condition is key again.
What we’re trying to say is that you need to be realistic about the price you’re expecting to get from your junk car. Anybody who is buying junk cars for cash wants to get _something _out of it, so if your car isn’t offering a lot to them, then they won’t be offering a lot to you in terms of the cash they’re willing to part with to take it off your hands.
Can I Junk My Car For Cash With No Title?
We mentioned above that we’d come back to selling a junk car with no title. So in this last section we’ll deal with that, because although it might look as though it would be difficult, most states will allow you to do so _if _you have other ways of proving ownership. Otherwise criminals could steal cars and take them to the scrap yard for cash, making themselves money and destroying evidence at the same time. But, if you’re a legitimate owner of a junk car and you simply don’t have the title, then there are ways you can still junk the car for cash.
But be warned, online companies are far less likely to deal with it, so you might need to focus your sale on scrap yards and salvage yards near you that will buy junk cars for cash without titles.
If you are trying to sell a junk car without a title, then you will definitely need these three things:
-Drivers License
-Registration
-Photo ID
*You can also speed the process along by having proof of purchase, such as a bill of sale, although this isn’t strictly necessary. If you have it though, take it down to the yard with you, because it’ll make things easier for you there.
There will be paperwork involved in the sale too, so you should be prepared for that. Each state has slightly different paperwork that is required, and some states have stricter laws around selling junk cars without a title. These are usually based on the sale not exceeding a certain amount, the age of the car having to be so many years old, and sometimes a fingerprint is even required in case there are any legal problems later down the line.
Obviously we’re not in a position to list every state’s approach here, but we’d recommend researching the exact process that you’ll be expected to go through in your state if your selling junk cars for cash without titles so you’re prepared.
Whatever the case, there are plenty of people buying junk cars for cash, so if you’re willing to sell, then take action today! Who knows, maybe you’ll make more money than you hoped for?