The day has finally arrived: you need to sell your junk car, and fast. But, you don’t want to sell it for a handful of pennies. You need to get a decent amount of money for it, after all. If you’re like the vast majority of junk car sellers, you’re planning to use the cash you get from selling your junk car to buy a newer, better, more reliable vehicle.
You’ve decided to sell to a local junk yard, since private buyers and dealerships aren’t interested in your old junk car. The problem, though, is that the junk yards you’ve contacted aren’t interested in paying you much for your junk car.
Here’s the thing: junk yards want to give you a decent price for your junk car, but it’s not an easy thing to do. Scrap metal prices tanked a few years back, and they spent most of 2017 slowly inching their way back up towards previous levels. That’s why it can be tough to get $500 or more for your junk car.
Some background on the scrap metal market
Millions of tons of steel and aluminum are recycled each year, and that recycled material is used to manufacture new products. Particularly when it comes to steel, recycling is big business. That’s because steel can be reused many, many times before it begins to weaken.
A few years ago, scrap steel was commanding a hefty price. It wasn’t unusual to see people paying $400 per ton for it. This meant that getting more than $500 for a junk car wasn’t unusual at all. Beginning in 2014, though, prices began to plummet. By 2015, the price had bottomed out. In 2016 and 2017, things began to recover. However, prices are still much lower than they were a few years ago.
Can I get $500 for my junk car?
If you’re wondering how much cash you can get for your junk car, you’re not alone. The reality is that it’s getting harder and harder to get a good price for a junk car, thanks to the recent price trends. Here are a few reasons why it can be difficult to get a good price for your junk car:
- The dollar is strong, which reduces exports.
- With exports going down, the price of steel is going up.
- China has stopped importing the massive amount of steel that it was in the past, which has reduced demand even further in the market.
- Meanwhile, China has started producing a lot of cheap steel, and the U.S. is importing quite a bit of it.
How do I get the most cash for my junk car?
It’s still possible to sell your junk car, and you can get a decent amount of cash for it if you take the right approach.
First off, make sure you have your title available. It’s important that you have proof of your ownership in order to sell your vehicle.
Most importantly, though, you need to choose a junk car buyer that operates nationwide. National junk car buyers maintain national networks of auto parts buyers and scrap yards, and they’re able to pay more for your vehicle. When it comes to selling your junk car, Rusty’s Auto Salvage can beat any other price in your area and in Memphis, Tennessee. Visit our website to find out how much your junk car is worth.
