Demand a written salvage value quote from the insurance company (in writing), but if the adjuster verbally gives you a quote, write it down for comparison later.
Take the time to consider who owns the car you want to sell and what obligations you have on it. Who has the title? Whose name is on the title? Are they willing to legally release the title to you? What will you need to do to put the title in your name?
Besides all of this, when you sell off your old junkie to a cash for car company, you won’t be held responsible if it breakdown after it is purchased. If you sell your old junkie to individuals and dealers, you will need to provide a contract stating that the buyer will buy the vehicle in the condition it is in. You will be protected from legal problems if the vehicle doesn’t perform well after you have sold it off and transferred its ownership. But, there is no need for such a contract if you sell your vehicle to ‘cash for cars’ company. They take your vehicle as it is, in whatever the condition it is in.
Before you let any of the prospective buyers test-drive the car, confirm that they have a valid driving license. Some buyers may ask to have their own mechanic check the car. You can prove to the buyer that the car was recently checked by producing the receipt or work order. As a word of caution, you should hold on to the prospective buyers car keys while they are test-driving.
Search for local auto salvage yards. The Internet is a great place to find junk yards in your area. Enter “auto salvage yards” followed by the name of your city or town and check the results. If you’re using Google, you’ll also see a map returned that will pinpoint the exact locations of nearby yards. Pick up the phone and call each yard and explain what you own and what is wrong with your car. You may be asked about recent repairs and stand out features such as a customized grille, newer wheels and what type of audio system is present.
Over the years, I learned another little handy trick that seems to help when it comes to saving money on parts for my car. You know all of those old “buy here, pay here” car lots? Well, if you run into one that is locally owned, you may get a little deal on any spare parts that they have laying around. Many times, these spare parts are just lying around and cannot be used for anything in the lot. The owners of these little side car dealerships love to make a fast buck and are often more than willing to part with a few vehicle parts to make some fast cash.
acura tl s This way when the local agent receives your quote request from the online quote system he knows that seven or eight other local agents also got the request. Knowing this he is going to cut rates and do what ever he has to do to get your business.
There is always the option of selling used cars privately. The problem with this sell car option though is that most of us don’t have the time or energy for it. The fact that there are so many companies willing to give cash for cars means there is less need to do things privately. It is probably best to get somebody else to worry about how to sell my car.
Some salvage yards send customers to look for their own parts and some of them can tell you exactly what they have in stock. If you go to a yard that requires you to find your own replacement parts take along a friend, a tape measure, and a cell phone. There are a lot of junk cars in the big lots and you are going to need to make sure you do not get lost or injured while you are looking through them all. Since you will not know the system the business uses to store these vehicles it will be easy for you to get confused and miss the ones that might contain what you need.
If the price negotiation does not work out to your favor then step down shake the man or woman’s hand and decline the offer. Give them your phone number in case he she could find a willing buyer. Never ever take it personal if things do not work out in your favor. You can leave knowing that you could always start back up and do it again.