Before Your Junk Your Car

You’ve decided to sell your old clunker to a junk yard. Great decision! Salvaging a car that’s old and in bad shape is a win-win; the car gets recycled, and you walk away with cash in your pocket. There’s really no downside at all. In fact, roughly 80% of the materials in your old car can be fully recycled and reused, which is good for everyone involved. Plus, junking a car is generally really fast and easy. In addition to calling around to several local yards to get estimates, arranging a pickup date, and collecting your cash, here are three things you can do to improve the process:

Remove the Valuable Parts

Generally speaking, salvage yards are going to value your car for the scrap metal it contains. While some yards might sell car parts, they don’t necessarily factor those sales into the price they are willing to pay for your car. To maximize the cash you get, it’s a good idea to strip the good stuff from your car before junking it. What’s the good stuff? Examples include the following:

●Tires that are in reasonable shape

●Stereos

●GPS

●Newer batteries

These items are fairly easy to remove and sell yourself. Sell what’s left to the salvage yard for the value of the scrap metal.

Clean it Out

If you’re like most folks, you’ve got a lot of personal stuff in your car, especially if you’ve had it for a while. Before scrapping your vehicle, clean it out thoroughly. Don’t leave anything in the car that isn’t “car.” Look under the seats, in the pockets, in the trunk, beneath the mats, between the seats, in the glove compartment—leave no space unturned. You won’t be able to save anything once your car has gone to the salvage yard.

Check the Title

Scrapping your car requires some paperwork. You’ll need to sign the title over to the new owner just like you would in a private sale. In this case, the new owner is the junk yard. If you’ve misplaced the title, you can request a replacement from the DMV for a small fee. Some junk yards say they will buy your car without a title, but beware. If you don’t sign over the title, the car is still legally yours, so if something happens to it, you’re responsible. Your safest bet is always going to be signing over the title once you’ve received your payment and the salvage yard has taken possession of the car.

The next time you see a sign that says, “we buy cars in Fort Myers, FL,” take a moment to consider if now is the time to sell your old junker and make an upgrade. You could be driving a nicer car in no time at all.