The "cash for junk cars" truck in your neighborhood feed isn't guessing. Your dead sedan is a pile of steel with a price per ton, plus a few parts worth pulling, minus the cost of a tow. Learn that arithmetic and you'll know a fair offer within about fifty bucks, before anyone's called you back.
Start with the floor: curb weight in tons x local scrap steel price. National shredded-steel quotes have bounced around roughly $100-$220 a ton in recent years, and $150 a ton is a workable default for estimating. From that floor, buyers add or subtract:
| Curb weight | Tons | Scrap at $100/ton | Scrap at $150/ton | Scrap at $200/ton |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2,500 lb | 1.25 | $125 | $188 | $250 |
| 3,000 lb | 1.50 | $150 | $225 | $300 |
| 3,500 lb | 1.75 | $175 | $263 | $350 |
| 4,000 lb | 2.00 | $200 | $300 | $400 |
| 4,500 lb | 2.25 | $225 | $338 | $450 |
Curb weight lives on the sticker in the driver's door jam or in the owner's manual. Rough guides: compacts 2,400-2,900 lb, sedans 3,000-3,600 lb, crossovers and SUVs 3,800-4,500 lb, half-ton pickups 4,400-5,500 lb. Skip the estimating and run your exact numbers, including the running and title adjustments, in the junk car value calculator.
| Vehicle | Condition | Typical cash offer |
|---|---|---|
| Compact (Civic, Corolla) | Not running, complete | $100 – $250 |
| Sedan (Camry, Accord) | Not running, complete | $200 – $310 |
| Sedan | Runs and drives | $400 – $620 |
| SUV (Explorer, CR-V) | Runs and drives | $480 – $750 |
| Pickup (F-150, Silverado) | Runs and drives | $510 – $790 |
These are national ranges at mid-$100s steel, not promises. A dead Camry at $150/ton is about $248 of steel; the same car driving onto the lot is a ~$500 car because the buyer's option space just expanded from "shred it" to "shred it, part it, or flip it."
Enter curb weight, steel price, and condition. Get a cash offer range with the scrap, parts premium, and deductions broken out.
Junk Car Value Calculator →The 50% rule does a lot of work here: if the repair costs less than half the car's repaired value, fixing and selling private-party usually beats junking. A car with a bad transmission sounds terminal until you price the repair with the transmission repair cost calculator and compare it against a $4,000 running vehicle versus a $250 scrap payout. The gap between "junk" and "sellable" is often one repair invoice.
If the car was damaged in a crash and then repaired, there's a second value question: insurers owe for diminished value on someone else's fault in many states. The diminished value calculator prices that gap with the 17c method before you sign a release.
Best case: the title, signed over on the line the buyer provides. Many buyers will also take a registration plus your photo ID, depending on your state, usually for 10-20% less money. Before the tow: pull your plates (most states want them returned or transferred), cancel the insurance, and check whether your state wants a notice of sale or junking filed with the DMV, which protects you from liability after the car leaves your driveway. Catalytic-converter theft has also made legit buyers ask for proof of ownership, so have your paperwork even for a car you're selling "as cast iron." State rules genuinely vary here, and this is general information, not legal advice; your DMV's website is the source for your state.
Most junk cars bring $100-$500, with running trucks and SUVs reaching $600-$800. The floor is scrap value: curb weight in tons times the local steel price, which has run about $100-$220 a ton nationally in recent years. A 3,300 lb sedan is roughly $250 of steel at $150/ton; add $150-$400 if it runs because the buyer can resell parts or flip the car.
Maybe. Common converters scrap for roughly $50-$300 and some truck and hybrid units for much more, so a straight-to-converter-buyer sale can beat leaving it on the car. But the junkyard's offer drops by about the same amount when the converter is gone, so compare the two totals, not the converter price alone. Never sell a converter without proof you own the vehicle; theft has made buyers careful.
Ideally the signed title. Many buyers also accept a registration plus your photo ID, depending on state rules, and some charge a fee or take a percentage off for missing paperwork. Remove the plates (requirements vary by state), cancel your insurance, and in many states file a sold/junked notice with the DMV so you're not on the hook for anything the car does next. This is general information, not legal advice.