Where to sell junk cars: how each buyer sets its price
Where can you sell a junk car?
You can sell a junk car to a scrap yard, a parts or self-service yard, a private buyer, an online instant-offer site, or a local pickup buyer like Top Dollar Junk Cars serving Chicago's South Side. Scrap yards pay on weight, parts yards on resale, and private buyers on what the car would be worth fixed.
Knowing which kind of buyer you're talking to tells you what their number is built on, and so whether it's fair for your car. If you haven't yet, read how junk car value is worked out; this guide applies it to each buyer in turn.
How each kind of buyer prices a junk car
| Buyer | What they pay for | What lowers their number | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scrap yard | Weight, at that week's scrap price | Missing metal, and the cost of getting the car there if they don't collect | A stripped shell you can deliver |
| Parts or self-service yard | Parts that sell, plus the metal | Popular parts missing or damaged | A complete car of a common model |
| Private buyer | What it's worth once fixed | Not running, unknown faults, no title | A running car with one known fault |
| Online instant-offer site | A figure from a form, checked at pickup | Anything that differs from what the form said | Sellers who want a number before talking to anyone |
| Local pickup buyer | Weight, parts and condition, priced on a call | Missing parts, flood or fire damage | A dead car you want gone with no tow to arrange |
Each buyer, in a little more detail
Scrap yards
A scrap yard is mostly interested in metal. It weighs the car, or estimates the weight from the model, and pays the going rate. For a car that's already been picked clean, that's often the fairest offer you'll get, because there's nothing else to count. For a complete car, it can leave money on the table, since good parts are paid for as if they were scrap.
Parts and self-service yards
These yards resell parts, either pulled by their own staff or by customers who come in with their own tools. A complete car of a model lots of people still drive is worth more to them than its weight, because they'll sell its doors, lights, engine and wheels one by one. A rare model, or one missing the parts people want, gets closer to a scrap price.
Private buyers
A private buyer is pricing the car as a car: what it will be worth to drive once it's fixed, minus the cost and risk of fixing it. That works in your favor when the fault is known and cheap. It works against you when nobody knows what's wrong, and a car that doesn't run at all draws few serious offers. An old model with a collector following is the exception, and our classic or junk checks help you spot one. Our guide to junking it or selling it privately goes into that choice.
Online instant-offer sites
These give a figure from a form, then send someone to inspect and collect. They're quick for getting a number. Read how the figure can change at pickup, and whether a tow is deducted, before you accept.
Local pickup buyers
A local buyer who collects, which is what we are, prices the whole car on the phone: its weight, the parts still on it and its condition. The tow is part of the deal rather than your problem. With two figures in hand, our guide to how offers move once you have two shows how to line them up.
How to dispose of a car that won't run
A car that doesn't move narrows the list fast. A scrap yard that won't collect is out unless you pay for a tow, and private buyers thin out. What's left is any buyer who brings a truck. A few things make the call go well:
- Say where it is. Street, alley, driveway, garage, a repair shop or an apartment lot are all workable; the driver just needs to know.
- Say what's missing. Keys, wheels, battery, converter. None of these stops a sale with us, but each one shapes the figure.
- Say what papers you have. A title makes it simple; without one, the state you're in decides the route.
Once you've picked a buyer, run through the jobs to do before the tow truck comes.
For South Side sellers
Our Google listing is on Cicero Avenue in Alsip, which borders Chicago's Mount Greenwood, and we collect across the South Side and the suburbs around it, from Evergreen Park and Blue Island down to Harvey. If you're comparing places that buy junk cars for top dollar, add us to the list: we tow for free, pay as the car is loaded, in cash, Zelle or Cash App, and answer the phone from 6am to 9pm every day. The way a pickup runs, start to finish, is on how our free pickup works.