Category: Selling Your Junk Car

You may have run across one as a kid, when you were playing in the woods, or you might have seen one recently, when you took a nature hike: An old automobile that was left in the woods to rust away and be swallowed by the accumulation of fallen foliage and shifting soil.

Abandoning end-of-life vehicles in the woods has been a practice among consumers ever since cars became mass produced, and the problem seems to only grow more pronounced as an increasing number of vehicles are manufactured to serve an increasing number of drivers, as people continue to live longer and the population grows.

More Than Just Eyesores

At first glance, old vehicles that are abandoned in woodland seem like nothing more than eyesores, but they often represent a threat to the environment, as most of them are placed in their final resting spot without the owner taking auto recycling measures, particularly removing liquids from the engine that are hazardous to the environment if they escape their reservoirs.

According to the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, “A single motor vehicle typically contains 5-10 gallons of fluid (gasoline, antifreeze, oil, etc.) when it’s scrapped.” So, what happens when a clearing in the woods is used as a scrapyard instead of sending a junk car to an auto recycling outfit? Eventually, the fluid in the old jalopy enters the environment in the form of gaseous emissions or liquid — and the effects can be toxic.

The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services also notes that “One gallon of gasoline can contaminate 750,000 gallons of water — enough water to supply the average American for 20 years.” The contamination impacts aquatic life and animal life that drinks the tainted water.

The saddest part, though, is that gasoline and most other engine fluids that can hurt the environment are eminently recyclable. All consumers need to do is sell their end-of-life vehicles to an auto recycling company or an eco friendly junkyard that works with auto recyclers to help ensure that end-of-life cars are as fully repurposed as possible.

Need to Junk of a Junker?

If you have a junk car that you need to get rid of, there are two good reasons to offer it to Wrench-A-Part instead of parking it in the middle of nature: The latter scenario hurts the environment, and we will pay you a competitive price for the car based on our ability to resell its used parts that still offer reliable performance.

Reselling used parts alone benefits auto recycling by keeping the parts out of landfills or requiring recyclers to spend energy on recycling them, but we go a step further than recirculating parts. We also work with recyclers who recycle the leftover parts and materials from our vehicles that have been picked clean of useful components.

If you would like to get paid for your junker and do something good for the environment at the same time, contact one of our Texas locations today in Austin, Belton, Holland, or Lubbock. We look forward to making you a competitive offer for your junk car!     

Should I sell my wrecked car to a junkyard or an auto recycler? Eco friendly consumers often ponder this question when they have an end-of life vehicle they wish to sell. However, once they learn about the differences between the two options, many drivers conclude that liquidating their wrecked car to a junkyard instead of an auto recycler is the best option for four reasons.

1. No Need to Remove Non-Recyclables

Some auto recyclers require you to remove from your car all of the materials they don’t specialize in recycling (glass, rubber, upholstery, etc.). Often, this means that you must strip the car down to the frame. Junkyards don’t require you to do this because they need to sell used parts from the vehicle. Selling to a junkyard doesn’t require the removal of auto parts.

2. Free Towing Services for Customers

Professionally operated junkyards almost always offer free towing for vehicles they purchase. Some auto recyclers offer free towing, too, but the practice isn’t as common in the auto recycling industry as it is in the junkyard industry. Having your junker towed for free can save hundreds of dollars in towing fees, money that would cut into the profit you get from the sale.

3. Opportunity to Receive a Better Offer

Auto recyclers valuate wrecked cars based on the percentage of material from vehicles that they can recycle. Professionally operated junkyards, on the other hand, valuate wrecks based on the number of operational parts the automobiles contain, as well as the fair market value of the cars’ scrap metal to auto recyclers. Consequently, it isn’t uncommon to receive the best price offer from a junkyard.

4. Junkyards Support Auto Recycling

Junkyards inherently support auto recycling by selling operational components from end-of-life vehicles to consumers. In addition to keeping used parts attached to vehicles and out of landfills, selling the parts instead of recycling them reduces the burden on recyclers and manufacturers to provide raw materials for new parts and spend energy on creating new parts, respectively.

Need to Sell Your Wrecked Vehicle?

If so, you may be pondering the question: Should I sell my wrecked car to a junkyard or an auto recycler? For many in your position, the best answer is selling the automobile to a junkyard, especially in terms of the benefits above. To receive a competitive price quote for your end-of-life vehicle, contact one of our Texas locations in Austin, Belton, Holland, or Lubbock today. We look forward to making you an offer!

Junk cars are worthless to the average consumer, but junkyards often pay hundreds of dollars to acquire a single, end-of-life automobile — a price that’s based on the number of salable parts the vehicle contains and the fair market value of its scrap metal to auto recyclers.

Selling your junker to a junkyard is a great way to maximize the car’s financial value, but not every junkyard steps up to the plate with a competitive offer, and some junkyards don’t seem to value customer service at all. With this in mind, we look at four signs that indicate you aren’t getting the best deal and should search for a different junkyard that pays cash for junk cars.

1. Buyer Engages in Price Haggling

Because it can change the price of a car by thousands of dollars, price haggling is a common practice among buyers and sellers of new cars. However, the practice is in bad taste, to say the least, when the buyer tries to haggle down the price of a junk vehicle that is worth only a few hundred dollars to begin with. If the buyer tries to haggle down the price of your car, cancel negotiations and search for a different junkyard that offers cash for junk cars.

2. Required to Pay for Towing Services

Because most junk vehicles aren’t operational or are highly unreliable if they do operate, the buyer typically tows them to the junkyard. Because the price of towing services could exceed the price you receive for your car, most junkyards that pay cash for junk cars offer free towing. If a prospective buyer would require you to pay for towing, don’t take the financial hit. You have plenty of options to receive free towing from other junkyards.

3. Buyer Requests Delayed Payment

If you sold your house, would you let the buyer legally own it for awhile before he actually bought the residence? Almost certainly not. The same principle applies to receiving payment for your junk car. When you relinquish ownership of the vehicle to the buyer, you should be paid on the spot and not later. Otherwise, trying to receive payment could become an uphill battle.

4. Initial Quote is far Higher Than Final Offer

Because the final offer for a junk car is based on a first hand inspection of its parts, it isn’t uncommon for the offer to be a bit higher or lower than the initial price quote you receive. What you should look out for is a final offer that is well below the initial quote. While the discrepancy could always be an error on the part of the buyer, it could also be bait-and-switch tactic that’s designed to push you into accepting a lowball offer.

We Offer Cash for Junk Cars

If you’re looking for a reputable, professionally operated junkyard that offers cash for junk cars, you’ve come to the right place. Wrench-A-Part offers some of the best prices for junk cars in the industry. Plus, we never price haggle, require you to pay for towing, or propose delayed payment. To receive a free price quote, please contact one of our Texas locations in Austin, Belton, Holland, or Lubbock. We look forward to making you a great offer!

Junkyards can be separated into two basic categories: Junkyards that are operated professionally, with the goals of selling a high volume of used auto parts and providing a high level of customer service; and junkyards that are operated on an amateur basis, with the goal of earning a supplementary stream of income from the sale of used parts.

If you plan to sell your end-of-life automobile to a provider of auto salvage in Killeen, Texas, there are four important reasons to choose a professionally operated junkyard instead of one that primarily functions as a repository for junk vehicles and sells a low volume of parts: salvage lot safety, online vehicle inventory, and environmental safety.

1. Salvage Lot Safety

Professional junkyards typically offer a higher level of safety to customers because, unlike amateur junkyards, professional ones tend to have a large amount of space for the vehicle inventory. Instead of being stacked on top of each other, vehicles are presented in orderly rows, as they would be if they were new automobiles that sat in the lot of an auto dealership. This eliminates the possibility of stacked vehicles collapsing and causing serious injury or death.

2. Online Vehicle Inventory

To find out which vehicles an amateur junkyard has in its inventory, you typically have to travel to the location of the business and take a look around. A professional provider of auto salvage in Killeen, on the other hand, often lists its vehicle inventory online. Checking online to see whether the vehicle you need to sell is currently in the inventory of a junkyard is an easy way to see which junkyards don’t have your car in stock and may wish to acquire it.

3. Environmental Safety

Professional junkyards tend to be more mindful of the environment than amateur ones, a fact that can be seen in how many professionally operated junkyards — and in how few amateur junkyards — send stripped car frames to auto recyclers. If you want the maximum amount of your end-of-life vehicle to be recycled, selling the automobile to a professional junkyard that participates in auto recycling is almost always the best option.

Need a Provider of Auto Salvage in Killeen?

If you need to liquidate an end-of-life vehicle to a provider of auto salvage in Killeen, we recommend that you offer the automobile to Wrench-A-Part. We are a professionally operated junkyard that offers an exceptionally high level of customer service and are committed to working with recyclers to repurpose as many materials from junk cars as possible.

To receive a free price quote for your junker, call our Austin, Belton, Holland, or Lubbock location that is near Killeen, or complete the contact form on our website. We look forward to hearing from you and making you a competitive offer that can’t be beat!

Lemon vehicles are automobiles that have a major mechanical problem or a safety defect that the auto dealer cannot correct. A lemon vehicle is designated as such under state law and federal law. Under state law, the vehicle must undergo a certain number of unsuccessful repair attempts (usually about three) within a certain range of miles (usually under 20,000). Under federal law, the car must also experience unsuccessful repair attempts. However, the vehicle can receive legal lemon status as long as it is under the auto manufacturer’s original warranty.

Selling a Lemon Car

Once you car is legally considered a lemon, you can pursue the following two remedies. Under state law, you are entitled to a replacement vehicle from the auto dealer that is similar in value and kind to the lemon. However, you must relinquish the lemon vehicle. Under federal law, you are entitled to a cash award, but you are also allowed to retain possession of the lemon vehicle.

If you have a lemon vehicle under federal law, you have the opportunity to sell it. However, selling a lemon without disclosing its status is unethical at best and illegal at worst. As long as the buyer is aware of the car’s status, the sale is legitimate. However, you are likely to find few takers, as the vehicle’s problem is often due to a malfunctioning system instead of a single part that can be replaced — a problem that the auto dealer’s diagnostic equipment cannot pinpoint.

Because they don’t want to use the vehicle as a mode of transportation — and no one else does, either — many lemon owners decide to sell the automobile to recycler. However, selling to a traditional auto recycling outfit isn’t the only option. Lemon owners can also liquidate their vehicles to junkyards that participate in the auto recycling process in two ways: by selling used auto parts to keep them in circulation, and by forwarding leftover car frames to auto recyclers.

Selling to a Junkyard

Selling a lemon car to a junkyard can have some important advantages over selling it to an auto recycler. For one, the car is typically the kind of vehicle that a junkyard likes to buy: A vehicle that has plenty of working parts despite the problem that makes it a “junk vehicle”. For another, junkyards don’t require you to remove non-recyclables from the car, whereas some auto recyclers do. A third reason to sell to a junkyard is that you may receive a better price because the value of the vehicle to the buyer is largely based on the usable auto parts it contains. As mentioned above, lemon vehicles often contain plenty of reliable, working components.

Receive an Offer Today

If you have a lemon vehicle that you won’t drive again, selling it to Wrench-A-Part is a great option for at least three reasons: We’re interested in buying lemon despite their lemon status, offer some of the most competitive prices for end-of-life vehicles, and participate in the auto recycling process in the capacities mentioned above. In addition, we offer free towing for all vehicles we buy. To receive an offer for your lemon vehicle, please contact one of our Texas locations in Austin, Belton, Holland, or Lubbock today. We look forward to hearing from you!      

   

 

Most drivers who sell junk vehicles to junkyards receive a fair deal from the buyer, but there are also cases when a junkyard doesn’t exhibit the highest level of customer service, and attempts to conduct a transaction that is strongly in its favor to the point of being unfavorable to the seller.

This situation could happen in several ways, with the ways below being some of the most common ones. If you encounter any of these scenarios during the sale, you should strongly consider canceling the transaction and finding a new buyer that would offer you a better deal.

1. No Request for Proof of Ownership

When you sell your junk car, ownership of the vehicle should be transferred to the buyer — a task that requires you to provide proof that you own the vehicle. If ownership is not transferred, the vehicle remains in your name, which means you’re the one who is contacted about legal issues that pertain to the automobile. Transferring ownership protects you from this scenario.

2. Promise of Payment at a Later Date

When you transfer ownership of the car to the buyer, you should receive payment immediately and not later. Most junk cars are worth a few hundred dollars each, which means that a professionally operated junkyard shouldn’t have a problem promptly paying you in full. In fact, a successful junkyard is often eager to pay, as it helps the business keep less cash laying around.

3. Haggling to Drive Down the Price

When a junk vehicle is worth a few hundred dollars, the buyer trying to lower the price through price haggling is in bad taste, to say the least. Junkyards know that they can earn thousands of dollars from a single junk vehicle by selling the automobile’s reliable, used parts, and then selling leftover recyclables to auto recyclers. Consequently, there is really no precedent for trying to drive down the price of a junk car when the price is already quite low to begin with.

4. Expected to Pay for Towing Service

When you sell your junk car to a junkyard, you should receive free towing for transporting the vehicle from your location to the junkyard. If you don’t, you could end up using most of the money from the sale — and maybe even more — to cover towing cost. Free towing for purchased junk cars is ubiquitous in the junkyard industry. So, there is no need to pay for towing service.

Need a Reputable Junk Car Buyer?

If so, we recommend that you contact Wrench-A-Part to receive a free price quote for your vehicle. Unlike some junkyards to which you could sell your junk car, we request proof of ownership, promptly pay you in cash, don’t engage in price haggling, and provide free towing for the automobiles we purchase. To learn how much your end-of-life vehicle is worth, contact one of our Texas locations in Austin, Belton, Holland, or Lubbock. Call us today to get started!

In many of our blog entries, we’ve discussed how buyers of junk vehicles benefit car sellers by offering cash for wrecked cars. However, junkyards also benefit from this situation. If you’ve ever wondered how junkyards profit from offering cash for wrecked cars, below are the answers. For more information about how a professionally operated junkyard benefits from offering cash for wrecked cars, please contact Wrench-A-Part, and we will answer any questions you have.

1. Less Cash Kept Onsite

Offering cash for wrecked cars helps junkyards keep less cash at the business location, which helps to protect against internal and external theft. Because many of the parts they sell cost well under $100, it isn’t uncommon for junkyards to routinely receive cash payments from customers.

2. Lower Administrative Costs

When a junkyard is paid in cash, the administrative staff in the business office has to count it, store it in a temporarily secure location, and then move it to a safe to secure it after business hours. Then the money has to be transported to the bank and deposited in the right account. Paying customers in cash helps simplify administrative processes for managing cash payments.

3. Acquire More Junk Vehicles

Junkyards may not like having lots of cash in their pocket, but sellers of junk vehicles do. Being paid with a check always entails the risk that the check will bounce. A driver who is selling a vehicle to a junkyard for the first time is naturally concerned about this, as he or she isn’t too familiar with the business that’s doing the buying. A cash payment eliminates the concern.

4. Sell Quality, Used Parts

The more vehicles that junkyards acquire, the more parts they can sell. Because offering cash for wrecked cars creates an incentive for vehicle owners to sell their end-of-life automobiles, it helps junkyards acquire more vehicles, which thus helps them sell more quality, used parts.

Plan to Sell Your Junk Car?

If so, you’ve come to the right junkyard. Wrench-A-Part is a professionally operated junkyard that constantly needs to acquire new vehicles. So, chances are that we would like to buy your end-of life vehicle, even it it is wrecked, has legal memon status, and simply fails to operate due to recalcitrant auto parts that cost more to replace than the vehicle is worth on the fair market.

To receive a free quote for your end-of-life vehicle, contact one of our Texas locations in Austin, Beton, Holland, and Lubbock — whichever one is closest to the location of your junker. We look forward to making you a competitive cash offer for your end-of-life vehicle. Contact us today!

If you’ve read many of our blog entries that deal with selling vehicles to junkyards, you know that we typically assume that owners of junk vehicles can sell their cars to professionally operated junkyards. In the majority of cases, the assumption is correct. Junkyards that sell a high volume of used parts constantly need more vehicles, but there are times when providers of Auto salvage in Belton and other cities don’t to buy a junk vehicle for one reason or another.

If you find yourself in this situation, what should you do? While you could always try to donate your vehicle instead of sell it, you also have some additional options for pursuing a sale. If a provider of Auto salvage in Belton says that it doesn’t need your end-of-life automobile, check out the three alternatives listed below. Chances are that one of them will give you the opportunity to sell your car for a fair price and receive payment in cash at the time of the sale.

Sell to a Vehicle Recycler

Unlike junkyards, most recyclers don’t care about the condition or popularity of the vehicles they acquire. Some recyclers sell used auto parts to mechanics after they remove the components from the vehicle frame to prepare it for recycling, but they primarily focus on recycling the frame. The price they offer for a car is often in the same ballpark as the price a junkyard would offer.

Sell to a Private Individual

A private individual may be interested in buying your vehicle for one of the following reasons: to use its parts for a vehicle restoration project, to scrap the vehicle and sell it to a recycler, or to fix the vehicle and make it drivable again. Because you would likely receive a few hundred dollars if a junkyard bought your car, target selling it to a private individual for roughly the same amount.

Sell to the Junkyard Later

Just because a junkyard doesn’t need your car now doesn’t mean it won’t be interested in buying the automobile in the near future. This is especially true if a junkyard rejected your car because it already had vehicles just like it already in stock. If you don’t mind waiting a few weeks to reassess the junkyard’s interest in buying your junker, your persistence may pay off.

Ready to Sell Your Junker? 

If so, we recommend that you first try selling it Wrench-A-Part. We have four locations and sell a high volume of used parts at each one. So, we’re continually interested in receiving more cars. What’s more, the vehicles we buy are truly diverse. We’re interested in acquiring old models, new models, wrecks, and lemon vehicles, to name just a few. If you need auto salvage in Belton, call our Belton location today at 254-831-4905, ext. 1, or simply fill out our contact form.

If you have a junk car that you would like to sell to a junkyard, you have plenty of options for choosing a buyer. However, there are at least four good reasons to sell your junk car to Wrench-A-Part instead of offering it to one of our competitors. When you sell your junk car to us, you receive the following four benefits that not all junkyards offer to sellers of end-of-life cars.

1. Competitive Prices

When we buy a junk vehicle that has plenty of salable parts, we can often earn much more from selling the parts than we paid to acquire the automobile. Consequently, we’re motivated to offer you an excellent price. We don’t view junk vehicles as automobiles that have no value. Rather, we see them as business opportunities that help us succeed. Our price quotes reflect this fact.

2. Free Towing

The average junk car is worth a few hundred dollars, which is roughly the price you could pay for having the vehicle towed to the location of the buyer. This is why we offer free towing. Just as we expect to profit from buying your automobile, we know that you expect to profit from selling it. We’ll dispatch a tow truck to your location to pick up your junk vehicle free of charge.

3. Multiple Locations

We currently have locations in the following Texas cities: Austin, Belton, Holland, and Lubbock. This is beneficial for sellers because we have four separate vehicle inventories that fall under the same umbrella. Just because one location doesn’t need your vehicle right now doesn’t mean another location won’t need it. Multiple locations equates to multiple sale opportunities.

4. Vehicle Recycling

If you’re an eco friendly consumer who wants to ensure that your end-of-life vehicle is recycled, this is another reason to choose us over many of our competitors. We participate in auto recycling by selling used auto parts to keep them in circulation and by forwarding leftover materials (e.g., scrap metal and rubber) to recyclers that turn the materials into new products.

Contact Us Today

If you plan to sell your junk car, Wrench-A-Part would like to hear from you. We have four Texas locations that constantly need more vehicles. If we need your automobile, we’ll offer you an excellent price, pay you in cash, and tow the car away for free. To inquire about selling us your end-of-life vehicle, contact our location that is closest to the location of your junk car today.

Before a driver can sell a vehicle to a junkyard that offers cash for junk cars, he must prove that he is the legal owner of the vehicle. Otherwise, in many states and municipalities, the sale of the automobile to another party would be illegal. Many drivers are accustomed to proving vehicle ownership by presenting the title of ownership (a.k.a. owner’s title) for a vehicle. However, there are also at least four additional documents that you can use to prove that you own a vehicle.

1. Auction Sales Receipt

You may like to shop for an automobile at auctions, with the hope of participating in a low-end bidding process that ends in the vehicle being sold for an inordinately low price.

Once the car is yours, you should receive a sales receipt that establishes you as owner.

2. Mechanic’s Lien

Mechanic’s can place liens on vehicles that they service to protect against non-payment from the vehicle owner. Depending on state laws, after a certain period of time, a mechanic has the option to sell the car to satisfy the debt. The lien document used in the sale proves ownership.

3. Storage Lot Lien

Car storage lots often charge a costly, daily fee for vehicle storage. If a car isn’t retrieved, and it has a storage bill attached, the storage lot can put a lien on the car. After a certain period of time, the lot can sell the vehicle to satisfy debt, using the lien document to show ownership.

4. Repossession Affidavit

A repossession affidavit is a “sworn statement that the lender files with the state DMV when a vehicle is repossessed.” Based on information in the document, the repossessor has the right to sell the vehicle to help satisfy debt. The affidavit establishes the seller as the car’s legal owner.

Need to Sell a Junk Car?

If so, there are several documents that you can use to prove you own the vehicle you wish to sell. At Wrench-A-Part, we accept the owner’s title, as well as any of the documents listed above, as proof of legal ownership, and offer cash for junk cars based on the legal standing of the documents. For more information about you must do to sell a car to a junkyard that offers cash for junk cars, contact one of our Texas locations in Austin, Belton, Holland, or Lubbock.

We look forward to presenting you with a competitive cash offer for your end-of-life vehicle!