Selling cars for parts is getting more common these days. Many are considering buying cars for parts too. You can see advertisements of shops and companies that offer cars for parts everywhere, especially online.
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For people that have cars that just sit useless in their garage or yard, cars that are so deteriorated that repairing it is out of the question, making money out of it might be the best thing they can do.
Should I Sell My Car for Parts?
There are lots of ways one can make money out of their junk cars and selling cars for parts is one of them. It is done by harvesting and selling the car’s individual parts.
Remember that cars for parts will require more time and effort than just selling your junk car for cash. If you don’t have time to do the whole process, you better choose another option to dispose of your car.
Before you decide that selling cars for parts is the best option for you, you need to consider some factors first. Should you sell your car for parts or fix it? To help you come up with the right decision, we have listed some of the factors that you need to consider.
- Assess your vehicle.
You will need to assess your car first before considering selling cars for parts. Find out what kind of repairs your car needs to be fixed and how much each repair will cost you. You can ask for quotes from service shops so you can compare. If the repair cost is more than half of your car’s overall value, then fixing it will be impractical.
Keep in mind that severely damaged cars are not easy to sell. Assessing your vehicle also means assessing what parts it has that are valuable. Your car as a whole might be difficult to sell but selling its parts individually might just do the trick.
- Know the price of each car part.
To find out whether your car has viable and sellable parts on it, you can have a mechanic inspect it – if you lack the mechanical skills. They can help you assess the parts or components that are in good working condition. They can even price these parts for you. The mechanic can also determine which components should be sold for scrap metals.
Research how much money you can get from each part. You can check and compare prices by searching different cars for parts sellers online. Search for used parts from vehicles with the same model, make, or year as yours and take note of their prices. It is important that you make a list for the parts, their values, and the source of each value.
- Finding potential buyers.
If you have decided to dispose of your car through cars for parts, you need to find potential buyers. There are two options, sell the parts to your local salvage yard and find private or individual buyers.
Looking for your local salvage yard to work with can sometimes help you get the most out of your junk car. They have potential buyers that trust them to provide used car parts for them. Search for local salvage yards in your area and inquire on each one if they buy used individual car parts specifically the used car parts of your car’s make, year, and model.
If you want to sell your car parts to private buyers, you will have to harvest, clean, and take a clear picture of these parts. You also need to come up with a good and detailed description of each part you are selling if you are planning to sell it online.
When selling to individual buyers, keep in mind that you will be handling all the inquiries and negotiations from potential buyers. Expect that it will take a lot more work and patience. You also need to consider how to get the part to them once it’s sold. If it’s sold online, you should also take into account the shipping cost and the payment method.
As for the other parts or components of your car that don’t hold much value, you can opt to sell them to scrap metal yards.
Cars for Parts: What Parts Sell the Most?
When you opt for cars for parts to sell off your car, you need to know what parts that sell the most to give you an idea what to expect. Here some of the parts that are known to sell the most.
- Radiators
A radiator is one of the most common car parts that gets replaced and it’s no wonder why it is also one of the parts that sell the most. Replacing radiators with a brand new one can cost around $300 to $900, it can go higher depending what type of radiator and how complex it is. For this reason, many opt to buy second-hand ones.
- Catalytic Converters
Catalytic converters are known to be valuable to used auto part buyers. People not only buy it because they need it to replace their broken catalytic converters, they buy it because of the precious metals inside it.
Catalytic converters have many precious metals inside them including about one-tenth of an ounce of platinum on each one.
When you have a converter on hand, remember not to remove the mesh-like structure you see inside. This honeycomb-like structure is where you can find the catalytic converter’s precious metals.
- Fenders
Fenders from a junk car that are still in excellent condition are also sellable and are considered a valuable commodity. It is also known to be one of the sturdiest metal on your car.
- Air Bags
The cars for parts way of disposing of your junk car can really help you make the most money even if the said car has been totaled or wrecked. Even if you totaled your car due to an accident, you can still “harvest” its parts that are still working.
One of which is an intact airbags or airbags that were not deployed yet. Many people choose to buy unused airbags to save money since buying a new one can be expensive. Plus, fixing deployed airbags can be so tricky and fixing it might not be the safest solution.
- Wheels and tires
There are car enthusiasts and auto mechanics that are in the lookout for used wheels, tires, and rims. You just have to make sure that what you have is in good condition with no defects so you can sell it for a decent price.
- Engine and transmission
Many people that need cheap replacement engines choose to buy used ones since the price is way cheaper than new ones. Just make sure that you test and inspect your engine before selling it.
You can also sell and recycle your engine and transmission for remanufacturing. Remanufactured engines are now extremely popular because of their affordability and reliability. These engines are designed to be good as new but at a cheaper price.
Cars for Parts: Car Parts You Can Recycle for Cash
Aside from the parts you can sell individually, many car components can also be recycled for cash. Selling cars for parts and recycling not only helps you make money but it also helps in reducing the environmental impact of vehicle disposal.
Here are some of the auto parts that you can recycle for cash.
- Engine oil
There are some businesses that buy used engine oil. Motor oils don’t really run out, they just get dirty and contaminated. By using special treatments, the used motor oil can be filtered and reused.
- Scrap metals
Cars are made from different kinds of metals. Almost all metals from it can be sold as scraps. These scraps can then be melted by down so it can be reused.
- Batteries
Majority of the materials used to construct car batteries are recyclable and modern lead-acid batteries have sulfuric acid that can be extremely toxic when handled improperly. That is why it is important to recycle batteries. You can sell them at your local junk yards or other businesses that know how to handle and recycle them properly.
- Plastics
Vehicles also have plastic parts like bumpers and dashboards. These plastics can also be used and recycled.
- Auto glass
A windshield glass can be recycled into raw materials that can be used to create fiberglass, bottles, and carpet backings.
- Mats and carpeting.
Rubber mats and carpets from your vehicle are all recyclable. Selling them for recycling will be better for the environment since they are not biodegradable.
Selling cars for parts can be a wise decision if you want to get more money out of your junk car especially if you’re selling the individual parts yourself. Remember that it may take longer to sell all its parts than selling your junk car as a whole. If you have no time to wait and want quick cash, you can choose to sell your car to any cash car buyers near you.