How to Junk Cars for Money

 The automobile is definitely a great invention in the catalogue of human ingenuity, though the average car is far from perfect. No matter how often you take it to the mechanic or change the tires or treat it well, the car is eventually just going to break down and become junk. While some last a lot longer than others, the fact is that it's an inevitability that the engine is one day going to die on you, and things like your steering, your exhaust, and even your interior will all fail. This is why you find junkyards that are full of automobiles. They were all once great cars for their owners, but eventually, their time just came. However, most people who put their cars in the junkyard are missing out on some cash they could be making by selling the parts of their automobile that are still good.

 Getting cash for junk cars is something that's pretty easy to do, but not a lot of people know about it. They think that once their car stops running, it's time to have it towed to the junkyard. What they don't realize is that there might be hundreds of dollars of useful parts in that car that are still good and that they can sell to a local service for cash. Here are some steps you can take to get money for what you think of as junk.

Steps for Getting Cash for Your Junk Cars

Step 1: Take an Inventory

 The first step in this process is to take a careful inventory of what you have that still operates well. You might need a little experience here to know your way around, so it wouldn't hurt you to call up a buddy or someone who knows all about it if you do not. But you should be taking an inventory to see what's still good. You may find that things like your battery, alternator, points and plugs, muffler, drive train, brakes, rims and tires, etc., are all still operational. There are hundreds of different parts, so you should be thoroughly going over your automobile to see which are still in working order.

Step 2: Locate a Good Buyer

 The next step is to locate a good buyer for these parts. If you don't have a buyer, then you're just sitting around with parts you can't sell, and they might as well be junk. Services like Pick-n-Pull are available for you. They will tell you what those parts are worth, and they will pay you cold, hard cash for them. Of course, you're not going to make thousands of dollars here and recoup the cost of your car. That's just wishful thinking. But you can definitely make a few bucks, or even a few hundred, depending on your parts.

Step 3: Work Out the Details

 Work with the service to find out how things are going to go. It is unlikely the case that you will drop off a full car, and they will go through it with a fine-toothed comb to pick out everything that's working. For starters, they're far too busy to do this, though, beyond that, you also wouldn't want it to work this way. So, make sure you work out the details, as in what parts you're going to separate. You can also get an idea about the money you can potentially make, though do not expect retail for anything. You can receive cash for junk cars, but not stacks of it.

Step 4: Identify the Best Parts

 You should be working to identify the best parts of your car, not just parts that still work. So, your spark plugs are good? Oh well, they're cheap and can be found at the store brand new for cheap. Some people get carried away and try to sell everything from their windows and seat belts to their heat/AC covers. Understand supply and demand here. Things like batteries and alternators and radiators are in demand to be used in other cars. Your intact cigarette lighter? Not so much.

 It's a very cool thing to know that if you have a car ready for the junkyard, you can get some cash out of it. Just keep in mind that we're talking about the type of cash to maybe pay a bill or take your family out to a nice dinner, not to buy a new car. So, temper your expectations.