How does selling a junk car to us work?
- Send the year, make, model and title status, then your name, phone and pickup address, in the offer form.
- We call within 15 minutes and ask about the car's condition.
- We give you our offer for the car as you've described it.
- If you accept, we tow it for free, often the same day, and pay you when the car is collected.
What we ask about your car
The form takes four car details. The call fills in the rest: whether it runs and how it fails, where it's damaged, what's missing (wheels, battery, catalytic converter), and where it's parked. If it's in a garage or down a side drive, we'll ask whether it rolls.
None of this is a trick. The offer is only as good as the description it's based on, and a precise description is what keeps the number from moving on pickup day. It's the same reason we tell sellers to give every buyer identical details in how to compare junk car quotes.
Our answers to the five questions
| Question | Our answer |
|---|---|
| How much for this car? | A number for your car, given on the call. |
| Does towing come out of it? | No. Towing is free and nothing comes off the offer for it. |
| When am I paid? | At pickup, when the car is collected: cash, Zelle, Cash App or another digital payment. |
| What could change it at pickup? | The car being different from how it was described, such as parts removed since the call. |
| How long does the offer stand? | With no end date. It doesn't expire. |
| Do I need the title? | It's the simplest route. No title? We can still help. Say which papers you do have: a bill of sale, the registration, an insurance card. Illinois law, not us, decides which of those can stand in for a title on a scrap sale, and we'll tell you where you stand when we call. |
Pickup day
The driver comes to the spot you gave us. Plan to be there: you're paid at pickup, and the driver needs the paperwork from you. The driver checks the car against your description, you hand over the title or your ownership papers, you're paid, and the car is towed away.
The car can be at your home, at a repair shop, or in an apartment or HOA lot; just arrange access with whoever runs the place. Selling more than one? One visit can take them all.
Before the truck arrives, take out anything personal: papers in the glove box, a garage opener clipped to the visor, a child seat. If you want to keep your plates, take those off too.
The ground we cover
All of Chicago, including the Northwest Side neighbourhoods, plus the Cook, DuPage and Will County suburbs (Joliet and Aurora included) and Northwest Indiana as far as Gary: Hammond, Whiting, East Chicago, Munster, Highland, Griffith, Gary, Merrillville, Hobart, Lake Station and New Chicago. We work from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., every day, on Central Time.
What we buy
Junk, wrecked and scrap cars: cars that don't run, cars that aren't worth fixing, salvage cars, and stripped cars that are only worth their metal. The full list is on sell a junk car in Chicago. If your car still runs well, you'll likely do better selling it privately, and who pays the most for junk cars explains why.