Turning Trash Into Treasure: How? By Selling Your Junk Car in California

Last updated on January 19th, 2024 at 11:52 pm

Do you have one or several junk cars littering your property like trash? Perhaps you’ve lost interest in your project car, or your current clunker has become far too expensive to repair. Or maybe you’ve acquired a wreck that’s simply taking up space in your garage. No matter how or why you’ve ended up with a junk car, there are ways to turn that trash into treasure.

If you’re looking for ways to sell your junk car in California, you’ve come to the right place. We’ll provide you with some tips on how to eliminate that clunker from your life and replace it with cash.

How To Sell a Junk Car in California

There are several different strategies for selling junk cars in California. Which one you choose will mostly depend on your priorities. Do you want to sell it fast or do you want to get the most for it? These are the questions you’ll need to ask yourself before moving forward and turning trash into treasure. Either way, your junk car does have value and there’s a buyer for everything.

Before we dive into the best ways to sell your junk car, it should be noted that in California you’re required to remove the vehicle’s license plate and hand it over to the Department of Motor Vehicles. Also, before handing a vehicle over to a new owner, remove any personal items and anything that you don’t want to include in the sale. You can salvage tools, spare tires, jacks, and even floor mats to reuse or sell for added profit.

Sell to a Private Individual

Junk car sellers who want to get the maximum amount for their clunker could do well by selling it to a private individual. However, unless you’re extremely lucky, it could be a time-consuming process. Selling a junk car requires finding someone who’s looking for your exact make and model since most who purchase junk cars are buying them so they can use the parts on a similar vehicle.

Social media posts are perhaps the most common way of advertising your vehicle. It could be beneficial to seek out online groups whose focus is project cars or backyard mechanics. Pinpointing your target market could help to generate sales leads.

Take it to a Junkyard

Junk or scrap yards are an acceptable way to get cash for your junk car. They’ll buy any vehicle, running or not. After the yard’s commission, they’ll pay you for the market’s value of all the scrap metal they can harvest from your vehicle. If you’re looking for top dollar, you won’t find it here, but the transaction is usually fairly straightforward and you won’t be turned away.

Some junk yards will come to you and tow any non-running cars, but not all offer this service. When scrapping a junk car to a junkyard in California, there are certain forms that must be filed, making this method slightly inconvenient.

Sell it to a Specialized Dealer

Folks looking for the best price for their junk car and also the most convenient way to sell it should contact a specialized dealer that only purchases junk vehicles. They pay the highest price and don’t care about condition, mileage, or age. Most will come directly to you and tow it away while leaving you with either a check or money on your cash app. If you’re in the Northeast, you might want to check out Philadelphia’s best junk car buyer for competitive offers and efficient service. Running or not, specialized junk car dealers will make a fair offer no matter the vehicle’s issues.

Turn Trash Into Treasure: Selling Your Junk Car in California Explained

Selling a junk car on your own could prove to be a daunting and difficult task. Placing online ads and dealing with the hassles of tire kickers is certainly one way to get top dollar for your clunker, but it’s no guarantee. Junkyards are typically happy to take a junk car, but you may have to get the vehicle for them, and they most likely won’t offer you the best price.

If you’re looking for a quick and painless sale without placing ads, dealing with sometimes shady junkyards, or leaving your home, sell your wreck to a specialized dealer. They’ll come to you, haul away your eyesore, and leave you with a check or payment via a cash app.