Trade, Barter, or Sell: The Best Ways To Cash In on Your Junk Car

Has your older car reached the point where you’re doubtful if it can get you safely from point A to point B? Does it require a costly repair that’s most likely equal to its resale value?

Or maybe it’s become an embarrassing wreck stranded in your driveway, and the neighbors have been giving you the stink eye. No matter how it happened, it sounds like you have what’s known as a junk car. Fortunately, despite its problems, it is still worth something.

There’s no need to sneak your wreck into Tijuana and shamefully dump it there when you can sell your junk car for cash in San Diego. Despite all the things that make it undesirable and difficult to sell, there are buyers for these types of vehicles.

What Makes a Junk Car a Junk Car?

It’s important to understand that not all junk cars are completely obvious. Sure, a 20-year-old banged-up beater with 250k miles on the odometer definitely fits the category, but so does a 7-year-old great-looking car with an incredibly expensive necessary repair hidden under its hood. In its broadest definition, a junk car costs more to maintain than its actual value. If you’ve asked yourself the following questions, you probably have a junk car:

• Will my car break down again today?
• Will my car start this morning?
• Is my family safe in this car?
• Am I spending too much money on frequent repairs to keep my car running?

If you’ve had any of these thoughts, you have a junk car. Even just one major repair can quickly put your vehicle into this less-than-desirable category. If you’re still doubtful if, in fact, your vehicle is a junk car, a quick query using an online car resale value calculator can tell you its value. If your clunker has an expensive repair, knowing the vehicle’s value will help you make the decision if the repair is worth the expense.

Best Ways To Sell Your Junk Car

Fortunately, despite being called junk, junk cars do still have some value. The trick is to know how to sell them and to get the best price. There are several different strategies for selling a wreck, and depending on how good (or how bad) yours is will determine which method is best for you.

Sell It Online

Although an online sale could take some time, some junk cars can be sold this way. Using social media, some owners of hard-to-sell vehicles have had some luck using this method. It’s important to be incredibly transparent when posting and informing interested parties of the vehicle’s issues and condition. However, you could hit the jackpot and find a buyer.

Bring It to a Junkyard

For a quick sale, haul your wreck to a scrap or junkyard. These businesses will offer you the value of your junk car’s weight in its usable scrap metal. Prices will vary due to fluctuations in the market for metals, but this is an option to get cash for a difficult-to-sell car. Some yards will come and tow your wreck, but this may not be the case for all of them. You can shop around and see which yard offers you the best price. You won’t get top dollar, but this is a good option for a fast sale.

Sell It to a Specialized Dealership

For both a fast sale and top profit, owners of California hoopties can sell them to a specialized dealership that buys all types of vehicles regardless of age, condition, or mileage. Most will come directly to you and will tow your junk car while leaving you with cash in hand, a check, or a cash app payment. The best part is that you can do everything from the convenience of your own home. They’ll handle all of the paperwork, and the process is straightforward.

The Best Ways to Cash In on Your Junk Car: Final Words

Once you accept that you are, in fact, the owner of a junk car, there’s no need to fret. While others may scoff at your sad-looking ride, there are ways of still getting some money out of it. Some junk car owners have had luck selling them online, but that’s generally a hit-or-miss endeavor. Scrapyards will generally be happy to take over ownership of your wreck, but you may be leaving money on the table selling it to them.

Your best bet is to sell it to a specialized junk car dealership. Not only is this a hassle-free transaction that can be done from the convenience of your home, but they’ll come to you, tow that wreck away, and leave you with more money than you probably expected.

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