Advice for selling a junk car

What should you know before selling a junk car?

Know which papers you hold, because they decide whether a sale can happen. Know the options, from scrap yards to a buyer who tows. And know your town's rules, since many suburbs limit how long a dead car can sit. The guides below from Junk My Car Inc cover each of those in plain terms, along with the family and property situations where the car isn't simply yours to sell.

They're written by the team at Junk My Car Inc, the junk car buyer for Chicago and its suburbs. For who we are and how we work, see our about page.

Paperwork

Titles and the papers that can stand in for one

Who buys junk cars without a title?Who can legally buy a junk car with no title

Selling and getting rid of a car

From the first call to what happens after the tow

How to sell a junk car: five steps from quote to pickupSelling a junk car in five steps: papers, describing the car, the offer and what to ask, prep, pickup and payment How to get rid of a junk car: the ways that work in the suburbsWays to get rid of a junk car compared (pickup buyer, scrap yard, salvage yard, private sale, donation)12 car parts that get recycled or reusedTwelve parts of a junk car and what happens to each (battery, catalytic converter, tires, glass, fluids, refrigerant, alternator and starter, wheels, seats, steel, aluminum, copper, plastics), with sources Storm damaged car: claim it, repair it or sell it?Storm-damaged cars: first steps, falling trees and limbs, hail, flooded underpasses, the insurance claim, and when to repair, accept a total loss or sell Clear your personal data before the tow truck comesClearing personal data from a car before it's junked or sold

Family and property situations

A late owner, a car someone left behind, or a move out of state

The owner has died: how to sell or junk their car in IllinoisSelling or junking a car whose owner has died in Illinois Someone left a car on your property: how to get it removed in IllinoisA car someone else left on your Illinois property Moving away with an old car: ship it, drive it or sell it before you go?Moving out of the Chicago area with an old or non-running car