If you are interested in how to avoid common junk car-selling scams, follow these ten simple tips:
⚠️ If It's Broken, Don't Fix It - Get Paid Cash for Your Vehicle ⚠️
- Check their license
- Familiarize yourself with the weight
- Get the right offer
- Check on the towing service fees
- Walk away when you feel pressured
- Understand the payment method
- Be aware of weird incentives
- Be clear about offer changes
- Do not underestimate your car
- Trust your gut
If you have an old car, one of the first things you will be looking for is trying to sell it. Luckily, plenty of online and offline junk car-buying companies provide great offers and amazing services. However, are there any scams that you should be aware of? If that's the case, how to avoid common junk car-selling scams?
Understanding the main scams you might run across is extremely important so you don't deal with any hassle in car selling. Selling your junk vehicle should not be complicated if you choose the right company and be alert about any potential scams that you might encounter.
This article provides ten tips to help you answer the question of how to avoid common junk car-selling scams. In addition, we highlight all the details that help you identify when to walk away from the deal and when to raise a red flag.
If you want to sell your vehicle to a trusted junk car buyer, call Cash Cars Buyer at 773-791-4363.
How to avoid common junk car-selling scams?
A growing number of reported scams during any junk car selling process. Unfortunately, many inexperienced car sellers fall into these scams, although they're getting very popular and repeated daily.
The list below provides ten tips to help you identify junk car-selling scams and recommendations about what to do when you're about to get scammed and how to get away from this situation.
1. Check their license
One of the first things you must look into when selling junk vehicles, especially junkyards, is their license. Most of these junk and scrap yards should have a permit or license to operate. Otherwise, they're not going to be legal.
You must check with them about their license, and it's never wrong to ask this question. However, if you feel hesitant about providing this information, you might need to walk away and consider a different junkyard.
2. Familiarize yourself with the weight
Another important thing you need to consider is what type of scale they're using. In the world of junk vehicles, there are different ways to evaluate your vehicle, including one by your weight. Typically, there are two different types of units when people mention they turn off your vehicle. One of these units is the metric ton, and the other is the net ton. The net ton is typically 2000 pounds, and the metric ton is 2240 pounds.
The difference between the two can be major if you're trying to sell a small vehicle or if your vehicle is adding up like a large SUV. Therefore, you must get a sense from them that they evaluate your vehicle using the net or metric ton.
3. Get the right offer
When choosing a junk car buyer, you must get multiple offers. The more offers you get, the closer you get to the true value of your vehicle and the less likely getting scammed.
For example, most automotive experts recommend getting at least three quotes from different companies. When you have these three quotes, you can make a comprehensive comparison and see the true value of your vehicle and which one is giving you the right offer.
4. Check on the towing service fees
As you compare the offers, you must consider any potential hidden fees. For example, a big scam reported many times about the junk car selling process is when the junk car removal company surprised you with the towing service fees at the end of the day.
That's why when getting these offers, it's critical that, yes, the question about the towing service fees. You can check with them whether this offer includes the towing service fees or if you must take care of it. This will give you a clearer picture of your profit from outcomes offers.
5. Walk away when you feel pressured
A legitimate junk car-buying company should not give you any pressure trying to buy your vehicle. If you feel that your car-selling process is getting pressured, it's important to walk away and give yourself time to think about it before making a final decision.
For instance, if you feel that the car buying representative is pressuring you to accept the offer immediately without giving you a chance to think about it, this could be a way of scamming you, and that's where you have to follow your feelings and either walk away or let them know that you're going to be thinking about it for a couple of days before you make it a final decision.
6. Understand the payment method
One of the common ways that scammers get inexperienced car sellers into is the payment method. Typically, don't car removal companies should pay you in cash which is the comment and most convenient car payment method. However, that's not the case with every company.
For example, you might get an online offer telling you they will pay you a decent amount for your vehicle. However, they pay you through a third-party payment method you've never heard about. If this happens, you should insist on getting paid in cash or using a common payment method like a check for a money order. If that didn't happen, you might want to disregard this offer and consider a different company.
7. Be aware of weird incentives
Some scammers might provide you with weird and strange incentives. For example, they'll tell you that you get an Amazon gift card if you sell them your vehicle. Sure, they might even provide you with additional things like coupons that you could use for a car wash or something like this.
These strange and uncommon incentives should not be taken seriously because you want to sell your vehicle. It would be best if you cared about the exact amount of money you are getting paid after selling this vehicle immediately.
8. Be clear about offer changes
Another common way Junk car companies take advantage of inexperienced car sellers is when changing offers. For example, a company might say they will pay you $500 for your junk car. However, once they meet with you, they'll say that your vehicle doesn't match the information they had in the system and it's not worth more than $150.
This can be very frustrating, so you must check with them and confirm that the offers have not changed. It is also on the car seller to confirm that you're giving them the right information so they don't use this against you. In other words, if your vehicle has some problems, you must be upfront with them so you don't get the wrong offer and deal with these contentions at the pickup time.
9. Do not underestimate your car
Another important thing to remember is that many junk car-buying companies might scam you by telling you your vehicle is useless. For example, they could say that your car is not worth any money, and they're doing you a favor by buying it. However, that's not true.
When getting multiple offers, you will immediately feel which company is taking advantage of you versus a company giving you a valid offer. For example, if you feel that most companies are getting you an offer of around $300, this could be the true value of your vehicle. However, if a company gives you an offer of $500 and another says that your vehicle is not worth more than $50, that's a huge range; it would be best if you got additional offers to get a clearer picture of your car's actual offer and true value.
10. Trust your gut
Finally, you must trust your gut and follow your feelings when selling your car. If you feel that the junk car removal company does not sound right or there is something that raises red flags in your mind, it's important that you walk away or at least give yourself some time to reflect and confirm that you are convinced with this particular offer.
Final thoughts
Dealing with junk car-selling scams can be very frustrating, especially if you've never been in the process and never heard about what could go wrong.
This article highlighted ten tips that could help you answer how to avoid common junk car-selling scams. These tips should help you finalize the car-selling process without concern or hassle.
If you want your junk car to get picked up fast for the most money without any scams, you can call Cash Cars Buyer at 773-791-4363. Our team has trusted experts who will provide you with an immediate offer generated within less than 30 seconds! So get your vehicle removed today!