The bottom line: To sell a junk car in New Jersey, you need the title, with no exceptions. Sign the back of it over to the buyer. No notary is needed.
The MVC also asks for a bill of sale, and any standard one will do. For a 2011 or newer car, record the mileage too.
If the title is lost, get a duplicate first on Form OS/SS-UTA for $60, at a Vehicle Center by appointment. If there was a loan, you also need a signed release letter from the lender.
Take your plates off and hand them in at any MVC agency, or its drop box. Until you do, charges can still be tied to them, so keep the receipt.
In New Jersey, the typical offer in our data for a junk car 10 years or older is $670.
What would buyers pay for your junk car in New Jersey?Fill in one form, including whether you have the title, and see which buyers make an offer.
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Offer amount 30% 5/5
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Quote speed 20% 5/5
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Pickup speed 20% 4/5
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Vehicle acceptance 15% 5/5
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Process ease 15% 5/5
- Buys any car in any condition, running or not
- Free towing, with no fees taken off the offer
- You can cancel before pickup at no cost
- Pays by check on the spot at pickup
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Offer amount 30% 5/5
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Quote speed 20% 5/5
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Pickup speed 20% 5/5
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Vehicle acceptance 15% 4/5
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Process ease 15% 4/5
- Buys damaged cars, even ones that can't be driven
- The engine and transmission must still be in
- Free towing, included with every offer
- Picks up within 48 hours, sometimes the same day
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Offer amount 30% 4.5/5
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Quote speed 20% 5/5
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Pickup speed 20% 4/5
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Vehicle acceptance 15% 4/5
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Process ease 15% 2/5
- Owned by Copart, the salvage auction company
- Buys almost any vehicle with a motor, running or not
- Free towing, and it handles the title transfer
- Hands you a check at pickup, or mails it
Automated assistant: general info, not legal advice
Answers come from our state paperwork data and published guides. Confirm anything binding with your state DMV.
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How Do You Sell a Junk Car in New Jersey?
Step 1: Get quotes from several buyers
A quote form asks for the year, make, model and mileage, and the ZIP code where the car sits. It also asks whether the car starts.
If a buyer wants the VIN, look through the windshield at the driver’s side of the dashboard, or read it off your registration card.
In our offer data, nothing moves the offer more than a missing catalytic converter. So be exact about damage and missing parts, the converter above all.
When two or more buyers quote the same car on the same day through our own quote form, the highest and lowest offers are typically $314 apart. In 39% of those cases the highest offer is at least double the lowest. So get at least three quotes.
Step 2: Check your paperwork
Get the title and a photo ID out before you accept anything. The name on the title has to be yours, and if a lender is still listed on it, you’ll need its lien release too.
Title required to sell: yes.
If the title is lost, still shows a lender or is in someone else’s name, fix that before the pickup.
Every form you might need
Two of these forms are only for a lost title or a car whose owner has died.
Replacement title
Application: Form OS/SS-UTA
When the title is lost, damaged or stolen. Fee and wait.
Odometer disclosure
Use: Form OS/SS-2
A mileage disclosure is required for model year 2011 and newer vehicles, with model year 2010 and older, trailers, and vehicles rated over 16,000 lbs exempt.
Step 3: Accept an offer and book the pickup
Accept the offer you want. Peddle’s tow company then contacts you within one business day to schedule the pickup, and CashForCars has one of its towing partners call you to set a time.
Be there to meet the driver and sign the title. If someone else will do that for you, tell the buyer when you book.
Step 4: Get the car ready for the tow truck
The tow truck needs a clear path to the car. Move anything parked around it, and mention a garage, a gate or a steep drive when you book.
Take everything out of the car, including the glove box, the trunk and under the seats. Toll tags and parking permits come off the windshield too.
Take the plates off before the car goes on the truck.
What to do with them: transfer to another vehicle owned by the same person (same class) at an MVC Agency, or surrender by drop box at any agency
If the keys are lost, say so on the quote form.
Step 5: Sign the title and take payment
The driver looks the car over and you sign the back of the title. Sign the seller’s section exactly as your name is printed on it.
Fill in the buyer’s name and address from your offer confirmation, not the tow company’s. If you’re unsure what to write in the buyer’s fields, ask the buyer before pickup day.
Peddle, Wheelzy and CashForCars all pay at pickup, so count the cash or read the check before the driver leaves.
Keep any paper the driver leaves with you, and your offer confirmation.
Title transfer: a motor vehicle agency.
The buyer records the transfer. That part isn’t yours to do.
Step 6: Plates, insurance and records
Deal with the plates first.
- Plates: transfer to another vehicle owned by the same person (same class) at an MVC Agency, or surrender by drop box at any agency.
- Cost to move them to another car: $4.50.
Cancel the insurance only after the car has left. If the pickup is late, the car is still yours, and it still needs insurance.
Photograph the signed title before you hand it over, and keep the photo with the payment record and the confirmation email.
New Jersey Junk Car Checklist
Before the Sale
At Pickup
After the Sale
What Is Your Junk Car Worth in New Jersey?
In New Jersey, buyers typically offer $670 for a junk car (cars 10 years and older, 395 offers, ranked 4 of 44 states). Across the country, half of all offers on old cars fall between $375 and $1,075.
Of the junk cars quoted in New Jersey, 41% are sedans, coupes and hatchbacks, typically offered $635. Cars 15 years and older are typically offered $595, and 10% of offers here are under $400, from our own quote data.
New Jersey offers are higher than the national figure at every age band, and both fall as the car gets older. The gap is smallest for cars 13 to 14 years old and largest for cars 18 to 19 years old. The chart is built from our own New Jersey offers.
Typical offer on old cars in New Jersey 395 New Jersey offers · 12,312 nationally · Age of car when the offer was made (years)Show the numbers
Age (years) New Jersey Offers All cars nationally Offers 10-12 $1,345 93 $1,235 2,808 13-14 $780 57 $720 1,746 15-17 $653 92 $555 2,735 18-19 $630 57 $465 1,527 20-24 $550 63 $410 2,331 25+ $505 33 $350 1,165 
Nothing moves the offer more than the catalytic converter. With the converter gone, buyers offer about 57% less than for a comparable car with it, once age and mileage are matched. If it’s missing, say so on the form.
Whether the engine starts is the next thing. Buyers offer about 46% less for a car that won’t start than for a comparable car that drives, once age and mileage are matched. Our guide to selling a non-running car says what to tell the buyer.
Companies That Buy Junk Cars in New Jersey
Peddle
Peddle buys junk, salvage, and non-running cars
- Buys junk cars anywhere in New Jersey
- Offer in minutes, no sign-up needed
- Buys used cars in any condition
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Offer amount 30% 5/5
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Quote speed 20% 5/5
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Pickup speed 20% 4/5
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Vehicle acceptance 15% 5/5
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Process ease 15% 5/5
Peddle makes offers on cars in all conditions, including damaged cars and cars with missing parts.
Wheelzy
Wheelzy buys cars in any condition, running or not
- Free pickup in 72 New Jersey cities, Absecon to Woodbury
- No title-transfer or removal fees in New Jersey
- Cashier's check on pickup day in most of New Jersey, cash in some areas
- Has its own guide to signing a New Jersey title
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Offer amount 30% 5/5
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Quote speed 20% 5/5
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Pickup speed 20% 5/5
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Vehicle acceptance 15% 4/5
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Process ease 15% 4/5
Wheelzy buys cars with any amount of damage, including totaled cars that can’t be driven.
CashForCars
CashForCars is owned by Copart and buys cars in any condition
- Yards in Glassboro, Newark, Somerville and Trenton
- Sixty seconds on the form or the phone gets you a number
- The tow costs nothing, wherever the car sits
- Motorcycles, RVs and boats as well as cars, trucks and SUVs
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Offer amount 30% 4.5/5
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Quote speed 20% 5/5
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Pickup speed 20% 4/5
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Vehicle acceptance 15% 4/5
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Process ease 15% 2/5
CashForCars is owned by Copart, and it buys everything from used cars to damaged and total-loss ones.
If the car still starts and drives and has a clean title, a private sale usually pays more than a junk buyer. Our guide to selling a car privately in New Jersey covers the paperwork.
Can You Sell a Junk Car Without a Title in New Jersey?
New Jersey’s rule on selling without a title:
- Conditions to sell without a title: owner must obtain a duplicate title first; no age-based or condition-based exception.
- The law: no exception for owners; a junk title on Form OS/SS-61A still calls for the original certificate of title.
Option 1: Get a duplicate title.
Option 2: Sell the parts. Selling a car for parts moves no vehicle, so no title is needed.
Getting a Replacement Title in New Jersey
What a replacement title takes in New Jersey:
- Application: Form OS/SS-UTA
- Where to submit: Vehicle Center in person by appointment; mail to NJMVC Special Titles Section, 225 East State Street, PO Box 017, Trenton, NJ 08666-0017 only for edge cases (no proof of ownership, financial institutions, out-of-state residents)
- Fee: $60
- Processing time: in person by appointment, or 8 to 12 weeks by mail
Apply for the title and collect your quotes in the same week. Neither one waits on the other, and a quote in hand tells you whether to pay the fee.
If a lender still holds the title
Peddle and CashForCars don’t buy a car with a loan still on it, so the lien comes off first. New Jersey’s rule for the release: a signed and dated lien satisfaction letter on the lienholder's letterhead is required, naming every owner and matching the VIN, year and make on the title.
Ask the lender for the payoff amount before you accept an offer, because you pay any part of the loan the offer doesn’t cover. Our guide to selling a financed car explains how the payoff works.
If your title is electronic
Ask the buyer before pickup whether it accepts an electronic record or wants paper. If you paid off a loan and never received a paper title, contact the lender before you apply for a duplicate.
If the title is from another state
Tell the buyer which state issued the title when you get the quote. Sign that title the way its own state instructs.
A lost out-of-state title is replaced by the state that issued it, not by the MVC.
Selling a Junk Car That Isn’t in Your Name
The title has to be in your name before the pickup. If it isn’t, fix the title first, then get quotes.
The owner died. The MVC form for an inherited car is Form BA-62. Once the title is in your name, the junk sale is the same as any other. Our guide on selling a car of a deceased person covers the order of steps.
Someone gave you the car. Have the giver sign the title over to you first. The gift rule in New Jersey: Write GIFT on the purchase price line. Any money at all makes it a taxable sale, even between family.
A stranger left it on your property. A car someone else left there isn’t yours to sell. It goes through New Jersey’s abandoned vehicle process instead.
Local Dismantlers vs Online Buyers in New Jersey
Selling to a local yard
Ask a local yard to put its price in writing.
Ask who tows the car to the yard and whether that comes off the price.
Selling to an online buyer
The comparison tool shows each buyer’s offer in writing before any truck is booked, so you can compare them side by side.
Our guide to how online buyers work out an offer goes through what moves the number.
Storing a Junk Car in New Jersey
Before you store the car, check your city’s and county’s rules on a junked car kept in public view.
Park it on a hard surface and keep it closed up.
Our guide on how to store a junk car covers fluids, tires and keeping the car’s value while you wait.
New Jersey Motor Vehicle Resources
The MVC pages this guide draws on:
- Motor vehicle agency: New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC)
- Transferring ownership: New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, Transferring Vehicle Ownership
Compare instant offers before you accept one
Compare instant offers before you accept one
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to sell a junk car in New Jersey?
The comparison tool returns offers within minutes, and Peddle’s pickups typically happen within 24 to 48 hours of scheduling.
A lost title adds the MVC’s replacement time, and a lien adds the lender’s release.
Is a bill of sale required to junk a car in New Jersey?
In New Jersey, a bill of sale is required.
State form: Generic (no state form).
Our bill of sale generator creates one for you.
Does anything have to be notarized to junk a car in New Jersey?
Title notarization is not required in New Jersey, and bill of sale notarization is not required.
Do I have to tell New Jersey I sold the car?
Handing plates back releases you from liability: yes.
If the plates are never handed back: no penalty for you, but charges can still be linked to the plates until you surrender them.
Does my junk car need an inspection to sell in New Jersey?
Junk buyers don’t ask for test results.
- Emissions test to sell: not required.
Can I sell a junk car with expired registration in New Jersey?
Yes. You don’t need to renew the registration first.
What if the junk car offer changes when the driver arrives in New Jersey?
You don’t have to accept it. A price cut at or after pickup was the most common complaint sellers made about Peddle to the BBB in the year we read.
Until you sign the title the car is still yours, so you can send the truck away and use one of your other quotes.
What if I lost the keys to my junk car in New Jersey?
Wheelzy buys cars without keys regularly, so lost keys don’t have to stop the sale.
Should I repair the car or junk it in New Jersey?
Get a repair estimate, then compare it with how much more buyers would offer once the car runs. A repair that costs more than that difference loses money.
What happens to my junk car after I sell it in New Jersey?
That depends on the buyer. Wheelzy repairs the cars it can, and recycles or parts out the ones that are beyond repair.
Article Update History
New Jersey offers by age now come from Sell Car Advisor quote data.
Originally posted and shared with our readers.
Sources
"yes" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"required for model year 2011 and newer vehicles, with model year 2010 and older, trailers, and vehicles rated over 16,000 lbs exempt" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Duplicate Title Application Form
"Form OS/SS-UTA" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Separate Odometer Disclosure Form
"Form OS/SS-2" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Inherited Vehicle Title Transfer Form
"Form BA-62" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
What to Do With License Plates
"transfer to another vehicle owned by the same person (same class) at an MVC Agency, or surrender by drop box at any agency" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"$4.50" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"$60" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC)" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Emissions Testing Required to Sell?
"not required" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"a signed and dated lien satisfaction letter on the lienholder's letterhead is required, naming every owner and matching the VIN, year and make on the title" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"Generic (no state form)" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Sell Without Title: Legal Authority
"no exception for owners; a junk title on Form OS/SS-61A still calls for the original certificate of title" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Does Plate Surrender Release Liability?
"yes" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Electronic Title Handling Note
"New Jersey's Electronic Lien and Title system is for lenders: it lets a lender hold and release a title electronically while there is a loan." Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Typical offer on old cars in New Jersey, Junk Car Value Statistics
"395 New Jersey offers · 12,312 nationally" Accessed Oct. 16, 2026
Junk Car Value Statistics, Sell Car Advisor
"On this page: 9 figures from 17,628 instant cash offers, and 4 figures from same-day quotes by several buyers" Accessed Oct. 19, 2026
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