The short version
If the car runs well enough for a stranger to test-drive it, try selling it. If it doesn’t, junk it. A trade-in sits in between: it’s the least work when you’re buying another car anyway.
Side by side
| Junk sale | Private sale | Trade-in | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Car has to run? | No | In practice, yes | Usually, or the allowance drops a lot |
| Who moves it? | The buyer tows it, free with us | The buyer drives it away | You drive it to the dealer |
| How long it takes | Often the same day, never promised | Days to weeks of calls and showings | Same day, but only as part of a purchase |
| Who you deal with | One call or form | Strangers answering an ad | A dealer’s appraiser |
| Price | What the car is worth as it sits, junk or scrap | Usually the most, for a car in fair shape | Usually less than a private sale |
| Risk of the deal falling through | Low, if the car matches the description | Higher: test drives, inspections, no-shows | Low |
| Paperwork | Sign the title or agreed papers at the truck | Sign the title, keep the plates, report the sale | The dealer handles most of it |
No row in that table is about price alone. A private sale that drags on for a month, with a dead car parked in view, can cost more than it brings in.
When a private sale makes sense
A private sale is worth the effort when the car is in fair shape and the problem is small: a worn part, a cosmetic dent, an old car that still starts every morning. Price it honestly, expect questions, and be ready to let a buyer’s mechanic look at it.
In Illinois, the seller signs the title over to the buyer at the time of delivery (625 ILCS 5/3-112), keeps the license plates and reports the sale. Our before the tow truck arrives checklist covers the plates and the Seller’s Report of Sale, which apply to every kind of sale.
When a trade-in makes sense
If you’re buying another car from a dealer, a trade-in saves a step. The trade-in figure only means something next to the price of the car you’re buying, so ask for both numbers separately. If the old car doesn’t run, the dealer may still accept it, but often at a value close to what a junk buyer would pay.
When junking makes sense
Junking is the clear choice when:
- the car doesn’t start, or starts but isn’t safe to drive,
- the repair costs more than the car would sell for afterward (see a blown engine or dead transmission),
- it’s been wrecked, stripped, flooded or burned,
- you’re up against a village notice or a parking rule.
That last one matters here. In Phoenix, street parking between 2 and 5 a.m. is limited to 30 minutes, so a car waiting for a private buyer can’t wait on the street overnight. In Chicago’s South Deering, the city’s own pound at 103rd Street and Doty Avenue is one of the two places abandoned cars end up, and an unclaimed car there is sold for scrap by the city rather than by you.
What “free” should mean on a junk sale
A junk sale only beats the other two if the tow really costs nothing. Ours doesn’t, and no towing fee comes off the price. Our guide to whether junk car removal is free lists the questions to ask any buyer.
Next step
If you’ve decided the car is junk, put its year, make and model in the form, or call us. You’ll get a price on the call, and the tow is free from every town on our list.