Calgary gives you lots of viable options to get a decent amount of money for your car that is now in a condition that can be formally described as derelict – a junk car.
Before we learn how to extract the last penny out of your junk car, let’s see if your car qualifies to be sold as junk. Sometimes, though it looks old and rusty, it can still be sold as a used car.
There is a difference between a used car and a junk car.
Generally, a used car is a car that is in a fairly good condition, has proper documentation and has a market value for resale. A junk car typically is in a very bad condition like:
Not all of these conditions may apply to your car. But any used car salesman can tell whether your car is ready to be junked. Fortunately, Calgary has plenty of options for selling your junk car or a car that is deemed non-roadworthy.
As with any sale, you need to prepare well so that you can get the maximum amount of money out of selling your junk car. Let’s look at some options available in Calgary for this sale.
You can approach Calgary car removal services who will pay a substantial amount for your car and also collect it from your location.
You can sell the junk car parts, piece by piece. In Calgary, many spare parts dealers will willingly test, inspect and add a price to each of the spare parts you want to sell. For example, you can sell the doors, lamps, seats, or the engine itself separately. This is time-consuming but will fetch you more money.
You can auction your car online or offline. Calgary has regular car auction sales, and you can wait for the best bid on your junk car. Also, E-auction portals are trending in today’s digital world, and you can use some of the robust features for sellers in the e-auction portal.
You can simply sell your car online at some of the popular online Calgary sites. Kijiji, E-bay, Craiglist are some of the common portals.
Contact a junkyard in Calgary, if the car is really in bad shape, and you know you can expect only the price of metal scrap. Calgary junkyards offer a base price of metal scrap and basically treat your car as a piece of metal and give you a price for it.
Sell your junk car privately by talking to customers directly, run ads online or in local papers, demo your junk car, fix a price and complete a sale directly. This is a good option if you have some experience in selling and have time on your hands. You must also be willing to wait a long time for a good deal.
In the recent past, Calgary has witnessed a slight jump in purchases of junk cars, and you can capitalize on this trend. Calgary also has good and dependable towing services which can tow away your car and deliver to the buyer for a reasonable fee, once the deal is done.
Some options are:
As can be seen above, Calgary has a rich set of options that will get you the most money for your junk car. Once you have decided the route to sell your clunker of a car, you should get it ready for a nice sale and earn some good cold, hard cash out of the deal.
The first preparation you would want to do is clean up the old piece fondly. Especially if someone wants to buy it for some repair and eventual reuse. Such customers may pay a bit more, if you go the extra mile and repair the broken side-view mirror, stitch a tear or two, or plug the tiny holes in the tires.
Yes, there are customers in Calgary who like to take up derelict, non-roadworthy cars and try to leverage some more years of service out of it. For such clients, a good car wash and clean-up are likely to impress.
Pull out all the documentation for the car and renew any document as required. Calgary has bylaws for renewals and car documentation, be sure you comply with all the guidelines. At this point, though your car is treated and sold as a junk car, you can softly market it as a used car.
When you are treading on this line of selling, you can actually make a little extra money. Note that for any worthy sale, you must have the insurance, registration and other necessary paperwork proving ownership handy.
Ensure you have read up and consulted experts on local Calgary laws on junk cars. Abiding by these rules will improve your chances of getting a better quote from buyers, whether individual buyers or scrapyard dealers.
Calgary junk car dealers post free junk car value calculators that you can use to get a rough estimate of the money you will get for your car.
Margins are thin, so ensure you get a free pickup of your car if the dealer is more than 3 kilometres away from your location in Calgary.
Now that you have done the research, prepared the car and the necessary documents, and found a buyer, go ahead with the deal. Ensure you handover the necessary documents to the buyer.
Let go of your junk car with a happy mind and a good amount of cash in your pocket.
Mudassar Hassan brings 6 years of experience in helping grass roots, mid-sized organizations and large institutions strengthen their management and resource generating capacities and effectively plan for the future. He is also a mentor and professional advisor to artists working in all disciplines. He is also the gold medalist from Abbottabad University of Science and Technology in the Bachelors of Sciences of Computer Science