Three Tips For Selling A Junk Car

Posted on: 23 September 2017

When you have a car that needs thousands of dollars worth of repairs in order to even run, your best bet is to sell it as a junk car. Someone can purchase it and use it for parts, rather than you continuing to let it waste away in your garage or yard. Selling a junk car is pretty straightforward, but here are some tips that may come in handy if this is your first time taking this approach:

Require the Buyer to Move the Car

Listing the car on online classified ad site is one of the easiest ways to find a buyer. However, when you do this, you need to be very careful to specify that the buyer will be responsible for moving the vehicle. Otherwise, you will get inquiries from people who want you to tow the car to their home. Sorting through these inquiries can take time; you'll be more efficient if you just let people know, up-front, that the buyer is responsible for removing the car from your property.

Only Accept Cash

If you sell to a reputable business like a junkyard, that's one thing. But if a private individual shows up at your place to buy the car, you should only accept cash from them. If you accept a check and it bounces, you may have a hard time tracking them down. It's not like they will register the vehicle so you can track them down that way! Payment apps, like Paypal and Venmo, also work in situations like this. Just make sure the payment clears before you let the person tow the car off your lot.

Don't Under-Price the Car

The car might be worthless to you because it does not drive, but a knowledgeable person might be able to disassemble it and make several thousand dollars from the various parts. So, be careful not to under-price your junk car. If you're only asking $50 or $100, that's probably not enough. The actual value of junk cars varies, and you can use resources like Kelly Blue Book to look up the value of yours. Don't be surprised if you can get $500 or more for your car. And rest assured... the buyer will earn more than that when they part it out.

If you have trouble finding a private buyer for your car, reach out to a local junkyard in your area. Most will buy almost any car as long as it has decent parts they can use. Contact a company that will buy junk cars for more information and assistance. 

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