Is my junk car worth more in parts or as scrap?

Is your junk car worth more in parts than as scrap? Usually, yes, as long as the valuable parts are still on it. Weight sets the floor price. A catalytic converter, a working engine and transmission, wheels and straight panels each add to it. That is why two cars of the same model and year can be offered, say, $200 and $650, and neither yard is cheating anybody.

Once you know where your car sits between those two numbers, you can tell a fair offer from a lowball one. You can estimate your car's value here before you call anyone.

How much is a junk car worth as scrap?

Every end-of-life car has a minimum value, set by the scrap metal market. Steel scrap trades as a commodity, so a car has a floor price based on its weight. Our estimator assumes about 3,300 pounds for a typical sedan and about 4,800 for a full-size pickup.

A yard pays well below the scrap price, and that is normal. It has to collect the car, drain and dispose of the fluids, pull the battery and tires, strip what it can resell, store the carcass and eventually haul the shell to a shredder. That work plus the yard's margin is the gap between the scrap price and your check. A yard collecting the car might pay somewhere between 55 and 75 percent of what a complete car fetches delivered to a yard. That is the range our calculator uses, and real offers can fall outside it.

If someone tells you to expect the full scrap price per ton, they have skipped that step.

Which parts make a junk car worth more?

The floor assumes the car is only worth melting down. The offer goes up with every part a yard can sell instead.

The catalytic converter is often the biggest single item on a scrap car. Its value follows precious metal prices, and if yours has been stolen or removed, expect the offer to drop sharply. Expect the yard to look underneath, too. Converter theft is also why we do not publish converter values by model.

An intact engine and transmission from a car that was running are worth more as a unit than as metal. That is why "does it run?" is the first question most buyers ask.

The last row explains most of the spread between quotes. A yard with a steady stream of people asking for Civic parts will pay more for a Civic than a yard that mostly handles trucks. It is also the best reason to call more than one.

What lowers the price of a junk car?

No title is the big one. Without proof of ownership, far fewer buyers can legally take the car, and the ones who can face extra paperwork. Expect a much lower offer, and in some states expect to be turned away. Rules differ by state, so check your own DMV instead of taking a buyer's word for it.

A car that is hard to reach costs more to tow. Backyards, locked gates, a car blocked in or sitting without wheels all come out of your price.

A car that has already been picked over is close to pure scrap weight. Missing converter, battery, wheels and stereo means it gets priced that way.

How do I get a fair price for my junk car?

Call three yards, not one. Most people call once and take the number. The spread on the same car is often a hundred dollars or more. Our salvage yard directory lists phone numbers by city, for example yards in Houston or Los Angeles, and the junk car buyers pages list yards whose listings suggest they buy cars.

Describe the car honestly on the phone. Say whether it runs, whether the converter is on it, whether you have the title and whether it can be towed from where it sits. If the truck arrives and the car is worse than you said, expect the price to drop on the spot, and you will have little room to argue with the truck already in your driveway.

Agree on towing before anyone is sent out. Many buyers advertise free towing. Confirm it anyway.

Ask whether the price is final. Some buyers quote high on the phone and renegotiate at the curb. Asking the question directly tends to get you a more honest first number.

Sell the converter separately only if the rest of the car is worthless, and only to a buyer who gives you paperwork. Some states now restrict these sales because of theft. In Florida, for example, a metal recycler buying a detached converter must get reasonable proof that you own it.

What should I do before and after the car is towed?

Ask your DMV what happens to the plates. Depending on the state, you keep them, they stay with the car, or you return them. Photograph the odometer, the VIN plate and the paperwork. Check the glove box and under the seats, where registration papers and spare keys tend to hide.

Expect the yard to record your name and the VIN. Federal rules require junk and salvage yards to report, directly or through their state, the vehicles they take in each month, including who they got each one from, to the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System.

Then tell your state the car is gone. If you skip this, parking tickets and tolls run up by whoever has the car next can come back to you.

This is an easy and expensive mistake to make when scrapping a car, and fixing it takes ten minutes on your DMV's website.

The short version

Weight sets the floor. The converter is often the biggest single item above it. Running, titled cars are worth noticeably more. The spread between yards is wide enough to be worth three phone calls. Work out roughly where your car sits before you call, with the junk car value estimator, and the conversation goes very differently. If you are selling for parts instead, what to ask a salvage yard covers the other side of the counter.