Junk Car Buyer vs. Selling It Yourself

List it privately if it runs and drives

A car with a current sticker that starts, drives and passes inspection has a private-market value well above scrap. If yours is in that category, list it — you'll do better, and a junk buyer will tell you the same thing.

Call a junk buyer if it doesn't move

Once a car won't start or won't pass, the private market shrinks to hobbyists and flippers, most of whom want it for free and expect you to hold it for three weeks while they think about it. Meanwhile it's taking up a space and possibly collecting tickets.

Count the hidden costs of listing

Photos, the listing, answering messages, no-shows, haggling, and then the problem of how a non-running car physically leaves your property. A tow you pay for eats a meaningful chunk of a small sale price.

Parting it out yourself rarely pays

It works if you have space, tools, time and somewhere to store parts. Most people pull two or three valuable pieces, discover the rest is hard to sell, and are left with a shell worth less than the whole car was.

The middle case

A car that runs but needs an expensive repair is the genuine judgment call. Get a repair estimate, get a junk quote, and compare. If the repair costs more than the car will be worth fixed, the decision makes itself.

Want a number on your car?

We're at 4601 S Halsted St and the phone is answered 24 hours: (224) 591-4953. Free tow anywhere on the South and Southwest Side, cash at pickup.