A little over 40 million used vehicles move between owners in the US each year. It’s an efficient system that puts working vehicles into the hands of those on tighter budgets.
Of course, even well-maintained vehicles only remain functional for so long. At that point, you either spend enough money to buy a new car on repairs or get rid of the old vehicle. Even if your car isn’t worth the cost of repairs, though, it doesn’t make it worthless. You can offload the vehicle with one of your local cash car buyers.
Never dealt with cash car buyers before? Keep reading everything you should consider when choosing one.
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Will They Take My Car?
You might think, “I can junk my car for $500 cash near me with any junk car place.” It’s just not the case.
There are some junk car places that will literally take any car you offer them. In a lot of cases, though, you don’t get anything for the car or maybe a token $100. These junk car places view what they do as more of a service to you.
You get a car that you don’t want off your property and off your to-do list. They get a junker from which they may make some money.
Other places that get into buying cars for cash expect a bit more. For example, one of the first questions a lot of these places will ask is, “Does the car run and drive?” A running vehicle is almost always worth more than a vehicle that won’t start.
Why? You can generally get more salvageable parts off of a running vehicle. There’s a half-decent chance they can sell off the engine intact.
If it drives, it means that the transmission may also have some life left in it.
Will They Come and Get the Car?
You probably know someone like this. They own a car that they love, but it gets too problematic for daily commuting. So, they take it off the road.
“I’ll get something for now and fix that old beater up the right way,” they say.
Then, that car sits in their garage or, even worse, it sits outside their garage collecting dust, leaves, and airborne road grime. Maybe it sits there one year or for five before they finally admit that the car is beyond hope. Of course, in the meantime, they took the car off the road.
The car lacks a registration, license plates, and insurance. Even if they want to take the car somewhere, they must pony up for a tow or put the car back on the road.
If the car you plan to junk is in that situation, make sure you call around first. Some places will come and pick up vehicles within a reasonable distance. Other places insist that you get the vehicle to their lot.
If it’s practical, go with the place that will come get the car.
Do They Offer a Fair Car Price
This is where things get a little trickier. Even very junky cars still offer some value, if only as scrap metal.
After all, there is copper in some of those car parts. Copper fetches pretty decent prices on the scrap market.
Make and Model
The exact make and model can also influence the car’s value. Let’s say the make and model of your car proved unexpectedly resilient, with most of them still on the road. That means that used parts for that make and model can fetch higher prices because they’re harder to come by.
Condition
The overall condition of the car plays a role as well. Let’s say your car ran for eight years with good maintenance. Then, the engine failed.
While the engine is a total loss for any junk car buyer, all of those other parts in excellent condition will also command better prices.
Scarcity
There is also a scarcity principle at work. Car popularity can vary a lot by region. Maybe a particular make and model sold a lot in the southwest but didn’t connect well with buyers in the midwest.
If junk dealers don’t have many of a make and model on their lot, that can pad the final offer they make to you. You must put in a little legwork ahead of time to find out if your car’s parts are worth more.
Negotiate
You can also try negotiating with the cash car buyers. Many will go for it, while others will stand firm with take-it-or-leave-it offers. You can try negotiating individually based on your research.
All good negotiation is based at least in part on leverage. The best leverage of all is a competing offer. You can negotiate with several buyers until the offers peak.
Use the current offers you have in hand to try to push up the total offer from the other potential buyers. At the end of the day, though, understand that most junk car buyers will top out at around $500. Once the offers get much higher than that, they risk losing money on the deal.
Also bear in mind that your product is an old car that you don’t actually want anymore. While you should negotiate for a better price if you can get one, the real goal is that your old car won’t take up space at your home anymore. Getting a little cash out of the deal is a bonus.
Cash Car Buyers and You
Cash car buyers do offer a useful service for people who own cars that don’t run or will cost too much to repair. Remember, once the repair bill exceeds the value of the vehicle, it’s almost always time for that car to go. It’s just a financial anchor after that point, as you can never get back what you pour into keeping it on the road.
Do negotiate, but don’t get so caught up that you forget that getting rid of the car is the point.
Looking for more auto tips? Check out the posts in our Auto Car section.
