Why junk offers aren't used-car offers
Most of what you'll read about "instant cash offers" is about used cars sold to dealers. Those offers start from resale value: what a dealer thinks it can sell the car for, minus reconditioning and profit.
A junk car doesn't have a resale value in that sense. Nobody is putting a 2006 minivan with a failed transmission back on a lot. So a junk offer starts somewhere else entirely, and once you see where, the questions on the form make sense.
Metal first: what the car is made of
Every car is mostly steel, with aluminum, copper wiring, glass, plastic and rubber on top. A buyer who recycles cars knows roughly what a given model weighs and what the metal in it is worth that week.
This is the floor of the offer. It's also why a bigger vehicle often gets a bigger number: an SUV simply carries more metal than a compact, which is part of why a heavier vehicle can mean more.
Metal prices move with the markets. We don't publish per-pound or per-ton figures, and you should be wary of anyone who quotes you a junk car price from a metal price alone. The car's other details matter too much.
Then the parts that still sell
On top of the metal, some parts have buyers of their own. Engines and transmissions that work. Catalytic converters. Alternators, starters, doors, lights, wheels. Whether those parts are worth anything depends on how many cars like yours are still on the road and needing repairs.
That's the job the year, make and model do on the form. "Toyota" tells a buyer very little. "2011 Toyota Camry" tells it exactly which parts fit, and how many other Camrys of that generation are out there needing them.
Adjusting for condition
Now the offer moves up or down with a few plain questions, the ones we ask on the call:
- Does it run? A working engine and transmission are worth more than dead ones.
- Is it complete? Engine, transmission, catalytic converter and all four wheels on the car. A missing part is value that isn't there anymore.
- Is there major damage? Fire, flood and heavy collision damage change what can be salvaged.
None of these rule a car out. They change the number.
Paperwork and the tow
The title question on the form (yes, no, or registration only) tells the buyer how the handover will go. With a title it's simple. Without one, tell us what papers you have (bill of sale, registration, insurance card); Illinois rules decide which papers work for a scrap sale, and we confirm on the call.
Then there's the tow. Some buyers take the tow cost out of the offer, which is why two numbers that look alike on the phone can pay out differently. Ours doesn't: towing is free.
Why four details are enough for a first number
Put it together and the form makes sense. Year, make and model fix the car's weight and which parts it has. Title tells us how the paperwork will go. That's a first number. The call adds condition, and the pickup confirms it.
If you'd like the same thing from the seller's side, the details that move the number walks through each one and how to check it before you send the form.
Where "instant" ends
An honest instant offer is instant about the estimate, not the payment. The number depends on the car being what you said it was. When the driver arrives, they check the title, the VIN and that the car is complete. If all of that matches, the offer is what you're paid, at pickup.
That's the whole calculation. When you're ready, get an instant cash offer for your car, or go straight to the offer form.