7 Ways to Sell Your Junk Cars for Cash Near You

If you have a junk car that’s lying around your garage or garden, it could actually be a goldmine from which you can make a lot of money. That’s because there’re different ways to to sell your junk cars for cash.

It doesn’t matter whether you have a car that’s no longer roadworthy or something that’s outright junk and gathering rust. You could use any of these ingenious ideas to make some money selling junk cars.

If this sounds interesting, continue reading. I will be writing now about how to make money selling junk cars.

Ways to to Sell Your Junk Cars for Cash

The first and foremost thing to do before you set out to sell a junk car is to check its overall condition. This means, seeing the condition of the chassis, wheels, tires and engine. That way you can decide how you wish to sell junk cars.

1. Trade In

A lot of automobile dealers across America accept your junk car as trade in for a newer one. However, this means that your junk car will have to meet their specifications.

If that’s possible and you’re in need of another vehicle, you can trade in the junk car. It can save you a lot of money that you would otherwise pay for the new car or even car finance.

Trade in prices depend upon a lot of things such as the overall condition of the car and its engine, model, and year of manufacture, among others.

However, some car dealers also accept cars that’re not working.

Also read: How to Make Money with Car Flipping

2. Sell to a Vintage Car Dealer

If you have an old car- working or non-working- that qualifies as a vintage car, you can make a lot of money. There’re several vintage car dealers in the country that would definitely be interested in your vehicle.

Generally, vintage car dealers buy cars that’re rare or no longer under production but have a high value among collectors of such automobiles.

And sometimes, the auto maker also buys such cars for them at a high price. However, to qualify as a vintage model, there’re several steps.

A good vintage car dealer will guide you about these steps to sell a vintage car that you consider is junk.

3. Refurbish, Repair and Sell

And if your car is in a working condition and roadworthy, all you need to do is refurbish and repair it well before selling. You have two choices here: you could sell the junk cars for cash directly by advertising on a free classified ads website such as Craigslist.

Or you can sell it to an auto dealer in your area and get some money. The best way to get a high price for the car is to go for full repairs with new spares where necessary and do car detailing.

You can do the car detailing yourself at home or give it to some car detailer. This is a time-tested and proven way to sell your junk car fast.

4. Sell as Scrap

If your car is really junk- meaning the chassis has rusted and the engine can’t be used any longer, the best thing to do is sell it as scrap. Usually, wholesale scrap metal dealers will buy the car from you on weight basis.

That means, they’ll estimate the weight of the car, minus of course stuff such as tires and other parts made of different material.

That’s because the metal can be recycled. The price you’ll get won’t be really much. However, it’s still worth selling off the junk rather than keeping it on your premises to occupy a lot of space.

5. Sell by Parts

If you have a junk car that has some good spares inside, you can easily sell these and make money. As a matter of fact, a lot of people sell used car spares on eBay.

All you need to do is open a seller’s account on eBay and list the make, model and other details of your car and the spares that you’re selling.

Usually, people that own similar cars but have difficulties in buying their spares because they’re no longer made and available, will buy these parts from you.

You can decide on the price. eBay charges a small fee from sellers after you sell the item.

6. Donate Your Junk Car

There’re lots of charities that aim at providing inexpensive cars to seniors, veterans, single-moms, and persons living below the poverty line.

You can donate your junk car to them on an as-is basis. The charity will then repair it and sell it for a very nominal price to the beneficiary or even give it away free of cost.

This won’t help you make money with your junk car. However, you can save some money that you would otherwise have given away as charity by donating your junk car. 

7. What Qualifies as Junk Car?

These are the eight best ways to make money selling junk cars. However, there’s a definition about what exactly a junk car means. Therefore, I will explain this briefly.

A junk car in simple words means an old car. It doesn’t mean that your car isn’t working or not roadworthy.

However, the term ‘junk car’ also refers to cars that're lying unused since long and have no use of any kind for the owner. Some such junk cars are ones damaged in an accident or due to elements of nature.

Often, people don’t sell their junk cars due to some sentimental values it has. It could be your first car or you could have some good memories associated with the vehicle.

However, a vehicle left unattended for long can breed unwanted insects and even dangerous reptiles such as snakes.

In Conclusion

The above eight ways to sell your junk car are perfectly legit. You can use any of these methods and make some money right away.

Understandably, deciding what to do with your junk car can prove a bit difficult. However, you can decide depending upon its overall condition and see how much money you can make by using any of these eight different ways.