We Sold a Car After an Engine Bay Fire: Who Bought It, What They Inspected, and What They Paid
The fire had been out for six months by the time we got involved. A fuel line had failed near the exhaust manifold on a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee, ignited, and burned in the engine bay for approximately four minutes before the owner deployed a fire extinguisher and killed it. The fire department arrived, confirmed […]
What Is a Junk Slip?
A junk slip is an official document issued by your state’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) that formally declares a vehicle as junked. It confirms the car will no longer be driven, registered, or used on public roads. Once a junk slip exists for a vehicle, the DMV removes it from the active title system […]
Who Buys Old Dually Trucks: Every Buyer Type, What They Pay, and How to Reach Them
A dually truck is a one-ton pickup with dual rear wheels on each side of the rear axle. The F-350 DRW, the Ram 3500, the Silverado 3500HD, and the Sierra 3500HD are the most common examples. When one of these trucks reaches the end of its service life, it occupies a different and more valuable […]
We Sold a Car Where the Registered Owner Was Deceased: 4-State Title Process Compared
This is the situation nobody wants to deal with when they are already dealing with enough. A family member passes away, there is a car in the driveway registered in their name, and eventually someone has to figure out how to sell it. We worked through four different scenarios in four different states and documented […]
Selling a Car with a Loan Still on It: Your Complete Step-by-Step Guide
Yes, you can sell a car with a loan still on it. It happens every day. The process just has a few extra steps compared to selling a car you fully own, because your lender has a legal claim on the vehicle until the loan is paid in full. Once you understand how that works, the […]
We Got 9 Offers on the Same Frame-Damaged Truck: How Each Buyer Calculated the Number
Frame damage is the phrase that ends negotiations faster than almost anything else in the used vehicle market. Say it to a private buyer and they walk. Say it to a junk buyer and they immediately start running a different calculation. What we learned over the course of three weeks and nine offers on a […]
We Donated vs Junked the Same Model Car: Tax Deduction Value vs Cash Offer Math
The conversation about donating a car to charity always sounds the same: “You get a tax deduction, you do good, and you do not have to deal with junkyards.” All of that is technically true. What is also true is that the tax deduction from a donated junk car is worth a fraction of what […]
How to Sell a Totaled Car: Everything You Need to Know to Get the Best Price
Yes, you can sell a totaled car, and in many cases you can get more money from it than your insurance company is offering. But there is one decision that most people skip entirely, and it quietly costs them hundreds of dollars before they even start shopping for a buyer. This guide covers everything from […]
We Tested 5 Instant Online Junk Car Quote Tools: How Far Off Each Was From the Real Check
Every website in the junk car industry has a quote tool that promises an “instant offer” in under 60 seconds. Type in the year, make, model, mileage, and condition, hit submit, and a number appears. We tested five of these tools on three different vehicles and tracked how that instant number compared to the check […]
We Sold a Car With a Mechanic’s Lien on It: The Exact Legal Steps and What the Buyer Required
Nobody plans to end up in a mechanic’s lien situation. It happens when a shop does work on a car, the owner cannot or does not pay the bill, and the shop files a lien against the vehicle to secure their debt. The car cannot be legally sold with a clear title until the lien […]