Junk it or sell it privately: which pays more?
Should I junk my car or sell it privately?
If the car runs and you have time, a private sale can bring more, provided you handle the listing, the viewings and the Illinois title and plate steps. If it doesn't run, private buyers offer little or don't show up, and Top Dollar Junk Cars collects it anywhere around Chicago with a free tow and payment at pickup.
The real question is what you'd keep from each route once the time and trouble are counted. Start by knowing what a junk car is worth, because that's your floor: a private buyer has to beat it to be worth the effort.
Junk it now or sell it privately: side by side
| Junk it now | Sell it privately | |
|---|---|---|
| Time until it's gone | Often the same day | However long it takes to find a buyer |
| Who comes to you | One truck, at a time you book | Strangers answering an ad, and some who never arrive |
| A car that won't run | Bought as it stands | Hard to show, impossible to test drive |
| Paperwork | Title or agreed papers handed to the driver | You complete the title transfer and report the sale |
| What you're paid for | Metal, parts and condition | What the buyer thinks it's worth once fixed |
| Getting it moved | Free tow | The buyer's problem, or yours |
What selling privately involves
The listing is the easy part. Photos, a description, a price. Then the messages start, and a share of them will be "is this still available?" with nothing after it. Viewings happen at your address, at times that suit the buyer. A car that doesn't run can't be test-driven, which puts most buyers off before they arrive.
When someone does commit, the paperwork is yours to get right. In Illinois the title is signed over to the buyer, the plates come off and stay with you, and the sale should be reported to the Secretary of State; the office's title and registration pages set out each step. Take payment in a form you can verify before the keys change hands.
One more snag in some suburbs: you can't simply park the car out front with a sign in the window. Some villages, Alsip and Midlothian among them, restrict parking a car on the street to show it for sale, so check your own town's rules before you try.
What private buyers pay for a car that won't run
Less than people hope, usually. A private buyer looking at a dead car is doing the same sums as a junk buyer, plus a guess at the repair bill and the cost of getting it home. Many of the people who answer an ad for a non-running car are buying to fix and resell, so they're pricing in their own profit too. Sometimes that still beats a junk offer, especially for a popular model with one known fault. Often it doesn't. The other exception is an old car that collectors still look for; check whether yours is a classic before pricing it as a dead car.
If you're weighing two real offers, a private one and a junk one, our guide on how junk car offers move shows how to compare like with like, towing included.
Junking it now
The junk route trades a possible extra amount for a certain one, today or close to it. We give a figure on the phone, tow for free, and pay as the car is loaded, in cash or by Zelle or Cash App. Same-day pickup is often possible, and the car can be in any state: no keys, no engine, no tires. Going that way? Work through selling to a junkyard instead, the step-by-step list of jobs before the truck comes, then ask for our figure.
If you keep driving it
Not ready to let it go? Basic upkeep buys time: oil and coolant changed on schedule, brake and transmission fluid checked, tires at the right pressure, and a garage over winter if you have one. It won't rescue a failing engine or a rusted-through frame, but it can keep a tired car on the road until you've decided.