How Do I Know if I Can Sell my Junk Car for Cash?

At some point, most vehicle owners are faced with the situation where a car or truck they have driven for years can no longer be driven safely on the road, and must be either sold to someone who is willing to make the necessary repairs, or it must be scrapped altogether.

How Do I Know if I Can Sell my Junk Car for Cash?

In order to sell your old junk car for cash, there are some specific things you should know about, so you'll be able to get the most money for your junker. This article will discuss how to evaluate the condition your car is in, so you'll know which approach is best for selling off your vehicle.

What is the Best Way to Sell a Junk Car?

There are several ways to sell your old junker, and the one that is best for your circumstances will often depend on the condition of your vehicle. If the vehicle is still operational, you could sell it 'as is', while making it clear to potential buyers that the car may have some issues, including the ones you already know about. You might also want to sell your junk car for parts, and in this scenario, your car might have a single major problem which took it off the road in the first place, but the rest of it is still in fair condition.

Even with one major operating problem, most of the parts on your vehicle should still be usable, which means you can sell the vehicle for those parts, which will have value on the market. Another approach you could take would be to sell your vehicle to a local junkyard, and they will come to haul your car away and reimburse you on the spot for your vehicle. If you intend to remove any parts from the vehicle before they pick it up, you'll have to inform them about that, because one of the primary ways which junkyards make money from buying junk cars is by selling those parts. If you intend to sell the car to a junkyard just as it is, there won't be any problem with them coming to retrieve it and carting it away.

You can also sell your car for scrap, because there's usually a fair amount of metal built into any modern vehicle. The weight of that metal will determine its actual value, and that will impact whatever you're paid for it. Most older cars and trucks have a lot more metal built into them than present-day vehicles do, so if you're selling an older vehicle, chances are you'll get much more money from a buyer.

The last possibility you have for selling your old junker is by advertising it online and selling it to someone who contacts you. There are a number of companies found online offering to buy old junk cars, and if they happen to be nearby, they will probably even provide the towing necessary for your vehicle. While you may not get the best price for your vehicle using the online method, you will at least get rid of it if you're tired of having it sit out in your driveway or your yard. You'll also at least get some money for the sale, even if it's not top dollar.

Can I Sell a Car Without the Title?

Some junk car companies will simply not accept vehicles unless you have the accompanying title and registration. However, in many cases you can still sell a vehicle if you lack the title for it, as long as you have a driver's license and a copy of the vehicle registration. If you don't have the registration for the vehicle, you can generally obtain a copy of it by contacting your local Department of Motor Vehicles agency. In some states, you will be able to obtain a copy of the title as well by going to the DMV with the car's registration, and by presenting your driver's license.

You can also apply to get a duplicate of the original title by mail, and this is something you may want to do if the lines at your local DMV are always long. There are also some states like California, where it is not possible to sell your junk car without the title, unless you intend to completely scrap the vehicle for its metal value. Regardless of where you happen to live in California, you won't be able to sell your junk car unless you have the title.

How to Know if the Junk Car You Have can be Sold

The simple fact is that almost any junk car can be sold, because even in a worst-case scenario where it is totally non-operational, it will have value for the scrap metal components in it. These days, the price of scrap metal is rather depressed, so you shouldn't expect a huge windfall from the sale of a junk car which has no value for parts and cannot be driven. You're most likely to receive no more than between $50 and $300 for the metal built into your vehicle, but that still makes it a salable commodity, and you'll still receive at least some money for selling it.

If your vehicle was taken off the road because it had a blown engine or some other major problem, it will still probably have significant value for all the parts which were still working. In this scenario, you can make a lot more money, because even used parts have very good value on the open market, and will bring in some good cash. If your vehicle is still functional and only requires some repair work to make it roadworthy, you can definitely sell this vehicle as is, while alerting any potential buyers to the fact that it does require some repairs in order to make it drivable.

Selling Your Car

Virtually any old junker car can be sold so as to bring in some cash, even if it was involved in a major accident and is totally non-operational. Some cars can be sold as operational, even if some repairs are necessary, and some old junkers can be sold for their parts, which might also bring a significant cash return. Even a mangled wreck can be sold for the value of the metai it's made of, although this might only net you $100 or so.