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How to Quickly Sell Your Junk Car: A Handy Guide

Let us guess: You have owned a car for years, and it has reliably been of service to you through thick and thin, but somewhere along the way, it started to lose its luster. You may have been through a lot together, but the car has slowly started to deteriorate, and now you realize that you have a junk car sitting in your driveway that you need to get rid of.

The good news is that by looking for a junk yard near me, you can make some money off the car and dispose of it at the same time to make room in your garage or driveway. However, before that happens, there are a few important things that you need to be aware of in order to successfully sell your junk car. 

So, we decided to put together a quick guide that should help you make a profit off your old junker with minimal effort required. 

Let’s get started!

What to Do Before Selling a Junk Car?

Once you have made the decision to dispose of your old car, there are a few key steps that you need to follow to reduce the amount of hassle involved in the sale process and also to get top dollar for it.

The first step to any successful junk car sale is finding the right junk car removal service that can help you get the biggest return possible. For instance, you can find junkyards in Arizona via USCarJunker and get an instant cash quote within minutes of submitting a few basic details about the car’s specs and current condition. 

And even if the car is completely totaled, you will be able to get an offer for it, which you can then use to compare with other similar services to secure yourself the best possible deal.

Before you can officially sell your junker, you need to get the necessary paperwork ready, which mostly revolves around getting the car title. Most states require you to sign over the car title before legally handing over ownership of the car. 

This is also important because it helps prevent any potential liability from falling back on you after the car has been sold. So, if you are unable to find the title, you need to head to your local DMV to get a replacement, which will normally require you to pay a small fee.

Another important step that you need to take is to remove any personal items that may still be in the car before the salvage company comes to tow it away. This means going through the glove compartment, back seat, underfloor mats, etc. 

You should also strip away any registration stickers or parking tickets to ensure that you don’t leave behind any personally identifying information in the car. 

Over the course of the car’s life, you may have installed extra accessories and components like GPS, stereo system, new rims, expensive tires, etc. 

If you are selling the car to a junk car removal service like USCarJunker, you should consider hiring a professional mechanic to uninstall it for you. This will allow you to sell them online on marketplaces like eBay Motors for a tidy sum, as many of these components may still be valuable to used car owners if sold separately. 

Just make sure that the components you intend on removing are not included in the survey form that you are submitting for a quoted estimate. Aside from that, don’t forget to take off the car’s license plates, as these can often be re-used on another car.

This is not a requirement, but if your junk car is still roadworthy and has a fair amount of gas left in its tank, then it is a good idea to use it up before handing it off to the salvage company. 

This ensures that it doesn’t end up going to waste, as most scrapyards and car-buying services are usually only interested in the vehicle’s spare parts and scrap metal. Naturally, this means driving the car until it runs out of gas before selling it or simply siphoning the gas into a fuel-safe gas can or container.

Where Can I Get the Most Cash for Junk Cars?

There are a few viable options to consider when looking to sell your junk car for the most money. As mentioned before, you can sell it to a junk car removal service like USCarJunker. They will be able to provide you with an instant cash offer, and they will even handle all the required paperwork for you, which spares you a lot of time and effort. 

Alternatively, you can try conducting a private auto sale, which will often allow you to bring in the most cash. However, this is contingent on your ability to actually find an interested buyer, which can often be difficult, especially if your junker is damaged or totaled.

As such, an online “cash for cars” service is your best bet, as they are almost guaranteed to purchase your car, no matter what its condition may be. Plus, you will be able to check out different services and compare multiple offers, which allows you to maximize your potential return, all from the comfort of your own home.

Mistakes That You Should Avoid When Selling Your Junker

Selling a junk car is easy, but there are some common pitfalls that you should always watch out for, so here’s a short list of some of the main don’ts.

• Don’t misrepresent your car’s condition: If you are using a junk car removal service, you should never misrepresent what its actual condition is. This is because they will usually conduct a final inspection when they come to collect the car, so there’s a chance that they may potentially revoke their offer.

• Don’t pay for towing: Unless you are conducting a private sale, you should never agree to pay for towing because most reputable junkyards will come to collect the vehicle for free as part of the deal.

Conclusion

All in all, there are a few viable ways to sell a junk car, but based on our research, if the car you want to sell is still in relatively good condition, it doesn’t hurt to try selling it to a private buyer first. 

However, if the vehicle is beat-up and old, then it is often more practical to use a cash-for-car service like USCarJunker to offload it. The process is easier and more convenient, as well as guaranteed to conclude in a sale, no matter what the car’s current condition may be. 

Just keep in mind that these services will not usually be able to get you a large sum, with most junk car services offering between a few hundred and a few thousand dollars. It is for this reason that it often helps to get several different quotes from different companies for comparison.

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Alex Smith

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