The bottom line: The best online junk car buyers are Wheelzy, CashForCars and Peddle.
For most junk cars, Wheelzy is the quote to beat, with the highest offer on nine of the ten cars in our test. For a second quote, CashForCars beat Peddle on all ten and offered the most on the oldest, a 1995 pickup. For a car without a title, Peddle still makes an offer and buys in all 50 states.
The same car can draw very different offers. Buyers typically offer $560 for a junk car 10 years or older in our offer data. When two or more buyers quote the same car on the same day, the best offer typically beats the worst by $314.
Some buyers also lower the offer when the tow truck arrives, the most common complaint in the seller reviews we read.
Get a quote from each, and describe the car exactly.
What would buyers pay for your junk car?Fill in one form about your car and see offers from several buyers side by side.
Key Takeaways
- All buyersDescribe it exactly: Say whether the car starts and still has its catalytic converter, the exhaust part buyers check, so a buyer has less reason to lower its offer at pickup.
- All buyersGet paid first: Don’t sign the title until you’re paid the figure you accepted.
Highest offers: Wheelzy offered the most for nine of the ten junk cars in our test, so its quote is the one to beat.
Worth a quote: CashForCars offered more than Peddle for all ten cars in our test, so get its quote as well.
Lowest offers: Peddle offered the least of the three for nine of the ten cars in our test, so get the other two quotes before you accept its 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, running or not
- Offer online, no inspection first
- Title transfer handled for you
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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 junk cars with any amount of damage
- Same-day pickup available
- Never charges fees
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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
- Buys non-running and total-loss cars
- Also buys RVs, vans and boats
- Nearly 200 locations nationwide
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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Wheelzy – Best for the Highest Offer
Wheelzy buys cars in any condition, running or not
- Check or cash at pickup
- Free removal, paperwork done for you
- Missing parts OK if the engine and transmission are in
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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
In this guide’s test, Wheelzy offered the most of the three on nine of the ten cars. In a separate quote test of ours, it matched a higher quote when we showed it one.
Some sellers on Trustpilot and the Better Business Bureau (BBB) site say Wheelzy matched a higher quote for them too. Get the other quotes first, then show Wheelzy the highest.
A price cut at pickup was the most common complaint about Wheelzy on the BBB, most often over a missing or replaced catalytic converter. Tell Wheelzy on the quote form whether the car still has its original converter. Our Wheelzy review goes through the complaints and what sellers praise.
CashForCars – Best for Wrecked and Total-Loss Cars
CashForCars is owned by Copart and buys cars in any condition
- Paid by check at pickup
- Pickup in as little as 24 hours
- Free towing by a towing partner
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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
In this guide’s test, CashForCars offered the second most on nine of the ten cars. On the oldest, a 1995 Chevrolet pickup, it offered the most, almost twice what Wheelzy offered.
The complaint sellers made most about CashForCars on Trustpilot and the BBB was an accepted offer cut or taken back afterwards. Send photos of the car before you accept, and ask whether the figure is final.
Sellers also report being passed between agents on the phone and asked for the car’s details again, so keep one written description of the car to send each time. Our CashForCars review has the detail.
Peddle – Best for a Car Without a Title
Peddle buys junk, salvage, and non-running cars
- Company check at pickup, or a bank transfer
- Tow company contacts you within 1 business day
- Free towing
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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
In this guide’s test, Peddle offered $345 to $495 across the ten cars. Only on the oldest, the 1995 Chevrolet pickup, did it beat Wheelzy.
Peddle’s offer stays open for up to seven days, so you can compare it with the others on this list first. On Trustpilot, sellers report pickups anywhere from a few hours to a few days after accepting, and some say the truck came late.
Price cuts at pickup were the most common complaint about Peddle on the BBB, most often over a car that wouldn’t start or a mileage display that wouldn’t light up. Charge the battery and, if the car starts, film it starting before the truck comes. Photograph the lit mileage display either way. Our Peddle review goes through those complaints.
CarBrain – Best for a Broken Engine
CarBrain specializes in wrecked and broken-down vehicles
- Pickup 24 to 48 hours after you accept
- Check at pickup, no fees
- Not in Alaska or Hawaii
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Offer amount 30% 3/5
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Quote speed 20% 4/5
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Pickup speed 20% 4/5
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Vehicle acceptance 15% 3/5
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Process ease 15% 5/5
When we got a quote from CarBrain, its form let us counter the first offer. Several sellers on Trustpilot and the BBB report asking for more and getting it, so ask before you accept.
It has bought damaged cars since 2007, first as DamagedCars.com. That includes cars with a salvage title, which a car gets when an insurance company decides it isn’t worth fixing. It buys a car with a broken engine, however bad, as long as the engine and transmission are still in it.
The complaint sellers made most about CarBrain on the BBB and Google was an accepted offer being cut afterwards, most often over the catalytic converter. Screenshot each answer on the form before you submit it. Our CarBrain review has the detail.
How Do You Choose an Online Junk Car Buyer?
Choose on the offer first. Then look at what sellers report about cuts at pickup, and at how each buyer pays.
Get every quote on the same day. On the same old car, the best offer typically beats the worst by $314. On only 10% of those cars were the best and worst offers within 10% of each other.
How far apart the best and worst offer are on the same car 998 cars 10 years and older, each quoted by two or more buyers on the same dayShow the numbers
Best offer against worst Share of cars Offers Within 10% 9.5% 95 10% to 25% apart 11.7% 117 25% to 50% apart 17.5% 175 50% to 100% apart 21.8% 218 Double to triple 18.8% 188 More than triple 20.5% 205 
On 21% of old cars quoted by two or more buyers the same day, the best offer was more than triple the worst. An offer is only final once you’re paid, so don’t sign the title until you have the figure you accepted.
How Should You Be Paid?
Get paid at pickup, before the car is loaded. Wheelzy, CashForCars, Peddle and CarBrain all tow for free and pay at pickup, and Peddle also offers a bank transfer. Avoid any buyer that charges for towing.
Don’t accept an app payment like Zelle, Cash App or Venmo unless you asked for one. Some sellers who complained to the BBB about Peddle say the driver asked to pay that way, and an app payment is hard to get back if something goes wrong.
Is an Online Buyer Better Than a Local Junkyard?
It can be. Some sellers say Wheelzy, Peddle or CashForCars offered more than another buyer they tried, and one CashForCars seller got “twice as much as the local wrecking yard”. A local junkyard gives you one yard’s price, so get it too and compare.
Once you’ve chosen, the steps are the same at every buyer: get the quote, accept it and book the pickup. How to sell a junk car goes through each step, and the paperwork checklist lists what to have ready.
If the car has a loan or missing parts, or its owner has died, read selling a financed car, a car with missing parts or a car whose owner has died first.
Compare instant offers before you accept one
How Much Do Online Junk Car Buyers Offer?
A typical junk car, 10 years or older, is offered $560. Half of all offers on old cars fall between $375 and $1,075.
The range is wide: 29% of offers on old cars are under $400 and 27% are $1,000 or more, in our offer data.
Where junk car offers actually land 12,312 offers, cars 10 years and olderShow the numbers
Offer bracket Share of offers Offers Under $250 9.0% 1,102 $250 to $399 19.9% 2,453 $400 to $499 14.2% 1,751 $500 to $749 20.7% 2,550 $750 to $999 9.0% 1,111 $1,000 to $1,499 10.3% 1,272 $1,500 to $2,499 9.4% 1,156 $2,500 and up 7.4% 917
How much you get for junking a car goes through the offers by age and body type.
Quotes We Received in March 2026
For this guide, we asked Peddle, Wheelzy and CashForCars for offers on the same ten junk cars, using a Florida ZIP code.
Which Buyer Offered the Most on Each Car?
| Vehicle | | | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 Oldsmobile Alero | $345 | $409 | $402 |
| 2006 Ford Escape | $380 | $462 | $402 |
| 2004 Mazda 3 | $355 | $409 | $375 |
| 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan | $365 | $409 | $398 |
| 2010 Nissan Cube | $385 | $432 | $402 |
| 2005 Honda Pilot | $380 | $462 | $402 |
| 2003 BMW X5 | $410 | $501 | $447 |
| 2008 Audi A6 | $380 | $478 | $447 |
| 2004 Toyota Camry | $375 | $436 | $424 |
| 1995 Chevrolet GMT-400 | $495 | $436 | $827 |
01 Oldsmobile Alero
06 Ford Escape
04 Mazda 3
08 Dodge Caravan
10 Nissan Cube
05 Honda Pilot
03 BMW X5
08 Audi A6
04 Toyota Camry
95 Chevy GMT-400
2001 Oldsmobile Alero
117,800 miles · old and rusted, interior/exterior damage
| $409 |
| $402 |
| $345 |
2006 Ford Escape
260,813 miles · old and rusted, interior/exterior damage
| $462 |
| $402 |
| $380 |
2004 Mazda 3
190,555 miles · doesn’t start or run
| $409 |
| $375 |
| $355 |
2008 Dodge Grand Caravan
145,000 miles · doesn’t start or run
| $409 |
| $398 |
| $365 |
2010 Nissan Cube
159,556 miles · salvage title
| $432 |
| $402 |
| $385 |
2005 Honda Pilot
182,000 miles · salvage title
| $462 |
| $402 |
| $380 |
2003 BMW X5
240,647 miles · mechanical issues
| $501 |
| $447 |
| $410 |
2008 Audi A6
196,000 miles · mechanical issues
| $478 |
| $447 |
| $380 |
2004 Toyota Camry
118,000 miles · damaged
| $436 |
| $424 |
| $375 |
1995 Chevrolet GMT-400
61,951 miles · old car
| $827 |
| $495 |
| $436 |
Expand to see quotes from 2025
Quotes Received in July 2025
Peddle
2007 Honda Civic with 276k miles and a clean title: $445
2012 Subaru Outback with 216k miles: $375
Quotes Received in April 2025
Wheelzy
2004 Buick LeSabre with 214k miles and clean title: $351
2006 Suzuki Grand Vitara with 160k miles and clean title: $466
2008 Dodge Avenger with 310k miles and salvage title: $351
Peddle
2015 Kia Optima with 100k miles and salvage title: $835
2014 VW Touareg with 120k miles and salvage title: $2,795
2014 Ford C-MAX with 210k miles and salvage title: $570
CashForCars
2003 Buick Regal LS with 214k miles and clean title: $375
2008 Dodge Dakota with 167k miles and salvage title: $300
2014 Nissan Sentra with 96k miles and salvage title: $556
CarBrain
2014 Nissan Sentra with 96k miles and salvage title: $270
2003 Buick Regal LS with 214k miles and clean title: $190
2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee with 40k miles and a clean title: up to $8,875
Compare instant offers before you accept one
Frequently Asked Questions
Do online junk car buyers buy a car without a title?
Peddle does, and works out a new offer once you say the title is missing. Wheelzy sometimes does, depending on where the car is. CarBrain doesn’t: it needs a title in your name.
Will a junk car buyer pay my impound or storage fees?
Not at Peddle or CarBrain. Impound, storage and tow-yard fees are yours at Peddle, and so are storage fees before the sale at CarBrain. Pay them before the pickup.
What if a junk car buyer’s driver offers less than the quote at pickup?
You don’t have to take it. Peddle treats a lower number at pickup as an updated offer, and until the car is on the truck you can say no and keep the car.
Peddle doesn’t text you before a lower offer: the driver tells you at pickup.
Do I need to be there when a junk car buyer picks the car up?
Yes, unless you arrange it with the buyer first. Wheelzy needs to know in advance if you can’t be there. Peddle told one seller who complained to the BBB that once the car has left your hands, Peddle can’t inspect it and relies on the tow company’s report.
Raise anything you want to dispute while the driver is still there.
Can I back out after accepting an offer from a junk car buyer?
Before the pickup, yes, and at Peddle with no fee.
Once the truck has left, canceling can cost you. One seller who changed their mind three minutes after Peddle’s driver drove off was asked for about $66 for the first tow, plus a $50 cancellation fee and the cost of towing the car back. That’s from their BBB complaint.
Article Update History
Each buyer's own pages checked, with what sellers reported to the BBB, Trustpilot and Google over the past year.
New quotes from Wheelzy, Peddle and CashForCars on cars in different conditions, with timelines and payment details updated.
Originally posted and shared with our readers.
Sources
How far apart the best and worst offer are on the same car, Junk Car Value Statistics
"998 cars 10 years and older, each quoted by two or more buyers on the same day" Accessed Oct. 16, 2026
Where junk car offers actually land, Junk Car Value Statistics
"12,312 offers, cars 10 years and older" Accessed Oct. 16, 2026
Junk Car Value Statistics, Sell Car Advisor
"On this page: 4 figures from 17,628 instant cash offers, and 3 figures from same-day quotes by several buyers" Accessed Oct. 19, 2026
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