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The bottom line: Selling a junk car in Missouri starts with getting a few offers and ends with a tow truck in your driveway. Missouri also lets licensed scrap yards buy some cars with no title at all. Most sales finish in two to three days.
Peddle, Wheelzy and CashForCars all buy junk cars in Missouri and tow them for free. Most junk cars bring $150 to $600. Cars with good parts still on them go higher.
Have the signed title and your photo ID ready on pickup day. Notarization on the title is not required. You don’t need an inspection, and the car doesn’t have to run.
If the title is gone, apply for a duplicate before you accept an offer. Going in person instead of mailing it makes the wait much shorter. A scrap yard can also take an old car that doesn’t run without one.
Offers on the same car can differ by hundreds, so compare offers from multiple buyers before you accept one.
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 to Sell a Junk Car in Missouri, Step by Step
Six steps, and only two of them involve paperwork.
Step 1: Get quotes from several buyers
Every quote form asks for the same handful of things. Year, make, model, your ZIP code, and whether the car starts and rolls. Some ask for the VIN, which sits at the base of the windshield on the driver’s side and on your insurance card.
Then it asks what’s wrong with it. Answer honestly about missing wheels, a missing catalytic converter, flood damage, or fire damage. Those are the things that change an offer when the driver arrives.
A number comes back in about two minutes. It’s a real offer rather than an estimate, and nothing obligates you to take it.
Junk offers on the same car swing by a few hundred dollars, because each buyer works from a different local yard network. Fill in one form and compare offers from multiple buyers instead of filling in three.
Top junk car buyers in Missouri. All three arrange free pickup through local tow carriers, which reach the St. Louis and Kansas City metros, the I-70 and I-44 corridors, and most towns in between.
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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
- Quote stays valid for 7 days
- Handles all the paperwork too
- Buys cars that are missing keys
- Pays cash or check 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
- Assists with replacement titles
- Buys cars stripped for parts
- Driver pays you before loading
- Quote often needs a phone call
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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
- Over 200 locations nationwide
- Drop off your car at any yard
- Backed by Copart auction yards
- Pays a check right at pickup
Step 2: Check your paperwork
In Missouri a title is yes. Pull it out now and check that the name on it matches your photo ID, and that no lender is listed in the lien section.
Two other things depend on the car’s age and weight:
- Odometer disclosure: required for model year 2011 and newer vehicles, with model year 2010 and older, trailers, and vehicles over 16,000 lbs GVWR exempt
- Bill of sale: required for vehicles less than 10 model years old or weighing less than 16,000 lbs
Most junk cars are old enough to sit outside both rules. If yours is newer, you can build one with our bill of sale generator.
Expired registration doesn’t block anything. Missouri cares about the title, not the plate sticker, and the buyer isn’t putting the car back on the road.
Every form you might need
Most junk sales need no forms at all. These come up when something is missing or the car isn’t straightforwardly yours.
Reporting the sale
Form: Form 5049 (Notice of Sale)
The last thing you do, with one exception. What to file after pickup.
Odometer reading
Form: none; odometer disclosure is built into the title assignment on the back of the Missouri title
You fill it in while signing. Signing the title.
Loan still on the car
Form: Form DOR-4809 (Lien Release)
Your lender fills this out, not you. Clearing a lien.
Owner has died
Which document depends on the estate. Selling a car not in your name.
Step 3: Accept an offer and book the pickup
Once you accept, the buyer hands your car to a local tow carrier. That carrier calls you, usually within a few hours, to set a window.
Same-day pickup happens around St. Louis, Kansas City and Springfield. Rural addresses run a day or two longer.
The person named on the title has to be there. Their signature has to match the name printed on it, so a neighbour or a relative can’t sign in their place.
Step 4: Get the car ready for the tow truck
A flatbed needs room to back in and winch the car up. Move anything parked in front of it, and tell the carrier if the car sits behind a gate or in a hard to reach spot.
Empty the car. Check the glovebox, the center console, under the seats, the trunk and the visors. Pull your toll transponder and your garage remote.
Keys matter more than people expect. The driver may need to start the car to read the odometer, and an offer can come back lower when nobody can.
Say so on the quote form if you don’t have them, rather than at pickup. Our guide on selling a car with lost keys covers what buyers do about it.
Take the plates off before the driver loads the car. Plates stay with the seller.
Step 5: Sign the title and take payment
Fill in the odometer reading and the sale date while you’re there. Don’t use white-out and don’t scratch anything out, because a corrected title assignment gets rejected and you’ll be applying for a duplicate.
Our Missouri car selling guide walks through the title box by box if you want to see it before the driver arrives.
Payment is usually cash or check. It depends on the tow company. You get it when the car goes on the truck, not afterwards.
You don’t go anywhere for a pickup sale. The buyer takes the signed title from there.
Where they file it: any Missouri license office statewide; the Missouri Department of Revenue processes the title application after submission
Step 6: Close it out
Report the sale to the state. You have 30 days from the sale date, and missing that window is an infraction; class C misdemeanor if used to help the purchaser avoid title transfer, registration fees, or other fraudulent purposes.
Complete Form 5049 and mail it to the Motor Vehicle Bureau, or drop it off at any Missouri license office. Newer Missouri titles have a tear-off notice at the bottom you can use instead of downloading the form.
One exception matters here. A car that already carries a salvage title or a junking certificate is on the state’s do-not-report list, so you skip this step entirely.
Now the plates. You can transfer your plates to another vehicle you own, or destroy and recycle them.
Moving them to another car: $2 plate transfer fee (additional fees may apply for upgraded plates or different vehicle class)
Cancel the insurance last, after the car is gone. Call your agent rather than letting it lapse, since a lapse can raise what you pay on your next policy.
Your Missouri Junk Car Checklist
Before the Sale
At Pickup
After the Sale
What Your Junk Car Is Worth in Missouri
Most junk cars bring $150 to $600. Trucks and SUVs land at the top of that, and small sedans stripped of parts land at the bottom.
Two things set the number. The first is scrap weight, since a heavier car holds more steel. The second is whether anything on it still sells as a used part.
The exceptions run higher. A car that still starts, a late model with light collision damage, or a truck with a good drivetrain can clear $1,000 and sometimes well past it.
A complete car is worth more than a picked-over one. Yards discount hard for a missing engine, transmission, or catalytic converter. Pulling parts to sell separately usually costs you more on the offer than you make back.
Popular models bring more. A Silverado or a Camry has parts buyers waiting. A model nobody around here stocked has fewer, so the offer leans on scrap weight alone.
Running beats not running. A car that drives onto the truck can be resold at auction instead of crushed. That’s the single biggest jump you’ll see between two otherwise identical cars.
Flood and fire damage lower offers. Water gets into wiring and fire ruins parts that would otherwise resell. Say so on the quote form rather than at pickup.
Where you are matters. Offers run higher where more yards compete for the same car and the tow is shorter.
Scrap metal prices move. The same car can be worth noticeably more or less than it was two months ago. That’s also why a quote expires.
For a wider look at how buyers price these cars, see who gives the most cash for junk cars.
Companies That Buy Junk Cars in Missouri
All three of these buy cars that don’t run, and none of them asks you to get it to them. The tow is free either way.
Peddle
Peddle buys junk, salvage, and non-running cars
- Quote stays valid for 7 days
- Handles all the paperwork too
- Buys cars that are missing keys
- Pays cash or check 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% 4/5
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Vehicle acceptance 15% 5/5
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Process ease 15% 5/5
Peddle picks up around St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield, Columbia, Independence and St. Joseph, and reaches most towns off the main highways.
The whole quote happens online, with no call unless you want one. Peddle takes cars with blown engines, accident damage and missing parts.
Wheelzy
Wheelzy is best for older, junk or damaged cars
- Assists with replacement titles
- Buys cars stripped for parts
- Driver pays you before loading
- Quote often needs a phone call
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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 covers St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield, Lee’s Summit, Joplin and Cape Girardeau, with same-day pickup in a lot of those.
Expect a short phone call to confirm details before the price locks in. Wheelzy leans toward the rough end, including wrecks and cars that won’t start.
CashForCars
CashForCars runs on Copart's nationwide auction yards
- Over 200 locations nationwide
- Drop off your car at any yard
- Backed by Copart auction yards
- Pays a check right at pickup
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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 runs pickup through St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield, Columbia and Jefferson City.
They handle the title paperwork on their end, and you can drop the car at one of their yards instead of waiting for a truck. They also take boats, motorcycles and RVs.
Pick by what’s wrong with the car. Wheelzy is the one to try first on a wreck or a car that won’t turn over, Peddle tends to do well on old cars with lots of miles that still run, and CashForCars is worth a look when you want the paperwork handled for you.
Get all three anyway. The one that wins on your neighbor’s car often isn’t the one that wins on yours, because it comes down to which local yard wants that model this week.
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Selling a Junk Car Without a Title in Missouri
Missouri normally wants a title, but there’s a carve-out written specifically for junk. You have three routes.
1. Sell to a scrap metal operator. A licensed scrap metal operator can buy a car with no title if it’s old enough and inoperable, under Section 301.227 of the Missouri statutes. Inoperable has a legal meaning here: rusted, wrecked, discarded, worn out, or dismantled.
The yard does the filing, not you. They check with the Department of Revenue that no lender has a claim on the car, complete a bill of sale designed for this purpose, and the state then cancels the title and registration.
Your part is small. You sign their bill of sale and show a photo ID.
One catch worth knowing before you start calling around. The law requires the buyer to hold an account with the state record system, which only licensed Missouri scrap operators do. National online buyers will ask you for a title.
2. Get a duplicate title first. This is the route that keeps every buyer available to you, and it’s cheap. Details are in the next section.
3. Sell the parts instead of the car. The same statute covers parts taken off a qualifying car. That’s slower and messier, and it only makes sense if you were dismantling it anyway.
For how this works outside Missouri, see our guide on scrapping a car without a title.
Getting a Replacement Title in Missouri
A duplicate is cheap enough that it’s usually worth getting, even on a car headed for scrap. It opens up every buyer instead of just the yards.
- Form: Form 108
- Cost: $8.50 title fee plus a $9 processing fee
- How long: 3 to 5 business days when submitted in person at a license office; up to 6 weeks for mail-in applications
- Online? no
The channel you pick changes the wait more than anything else does. Go in person if you have any choice about it.
License offices and most banks have a notary on hand, so that part costs you a few minutes rather than a separate trip.
You can get quotes while you wait for it. Just don’t accept an offer until the title is actually in your hand.
If a lender still holds the title
Nothing moves until the lien comes off. Buyers won’t take a car with an open lien, and Missouri won’t issue a clean title with one on record.
If the loan isn’t cleared yet and the car is junk, you may owe more than the car brings. Our guide on selling a financed car covers how to handle that gap.
Electronic titles in Missouri
Electronic titles: Missouri does not currently offer an electronic title (ELT) program for owners; titles are issued on paper
So if you can’t find yours, it isn’t sitting in a state database somewhere waiting to be printed. Treat it as lost and apply for the duplicate.
Learn more: Which States Offer Electronic Titles for Vehicles
If the car is titled in another state
You can sell it in Missouri on the out-of-state title. Buyers deal with this constantly and it doesn’t slow the pickup down.
Sign it the way the issuing state requires, which may include a notary. If you’ve lost it, you apply to that state, not to Missouri.
Selling a Junk Car That Isn’t in Your Name
You can’t sign a title with someone else’s name on it. What you do instead depends on why it’s their name.
The owner died. The executor or administrator signs, and what they attach depends on the size of the estate.
- Form: Form 108 (Application for Missouri Title and License) plus probate documentation (Letters Testamentary, Small Estate Certificate, or Form 2305 for surviving spouse or minor children)
- Small estate limit: $40,000 limit for the small estate affidavit process; estates over $40,000 require formal probate
If the title itself is also missing, the executor applies for the duplicate in the name of the estate first. That adds a step, so start it early.
Someone gave it to you. They still have to sign the title over. Form: Form 768, General Affidavit, or a written gift statement, with GIFT entered in the sale price area of the title
Two names on the title. If they’re joined by “and,” both people sign. If it’s “or,” either one can. Our guide on titles with multiple owners covers the edge cases.
It’s abandoned on your property. You don’t own it and you can’t sell it. Missouri routes this through local law enforcement with a tow authorization, and our guide on abandoned vehicles explains the sequence.
What Counts as a Junk Car in Missouri
Missouri doesn’t hand out a “junk car” label. What it does hand out is title brands, and the brand on your title changes who can buy the car and what you owe the state afterwards.
| Title brand | What it means | What changes when you sell |
|---|---|---|
| Clean | No damage history recorded | Normal sale, and you report it afterwards |
| Salvage | Damaged badly enough that it was written off | Sells fine to junk buyers, and skips the reporting step |
| Junking certificate | Dismantling or scrap only | Cannot go back on the road, and skips the reporting step |
| Prior salvage or rebuilt | Was salvage, then repaired and inspected | Sells like a clean title, and you report it afterwards |
| No title | Old enough and inoperable, with no lender claim | A scrap metal operator can buy it and files the paperwork |
The one that catches people out is salvage. Sellers assume a branded title is a problem, and for a junk sale it actually removes a step.
Learn more: How to Sell a Car with a Salvage Title
Local Missouri Yards vs Online Buyers
A local yard is the only option if you have no title and want to use the scrap operator route. Online buyers can’t touch it.
Yards also work from weight, which favors heavy trucks and works against small cars. Some want you to deliver it, and that tow comes out of your pocket.
Online buyers give you a number before anyone touches the car, tow it for free, and hold the offer for about a week. The trade is that you’re one step removed from the yard that ends up with it.
The practical answer is to do both. Get your online quotes, then call one nearby yard with those numbers in hand. If you’d rather start local, our junk car buyers near me guide covers what to ask.
Storing a Junk Car in Missouri
Missouri leaves this to cities and counties. Most have a nuisance rule covering inoperable vehicles left in view of the street, so check your own city code rather than the state’s.
The usual trigger is a car that’s visibly not driveable sitting in a yard or driveway. You get a notice with a deadline, and after that the city can tow it and bill you.
Behind a fence or in a garage is generally fine. If the car will sit a while, our guide on storing a junk car covers keeping it from getting worse.
Missouri Motor Vehicle Resources
- State agency: Missouri Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicle Bureau
- Official selling guide: Selling a Vehicle in Missouri
- Replacing a lost title: not available
- Where to send the duplicate application: Motor Vehicle Bureau, P.O. Box 100, Jefferson City, MO 65105-0100, or any Missouri license office
Junk Car Questions Missouri Sellers Ask
How long does it take to sell a junk car in Missouri?
Two to three days is normal. Quotes take minutes, and pickup lands within 24 to 48 hours in the metros.
Rural addresses add a day. If the title is missing, add the replacement time on top.
Do I need a title to sell my junk car in Missouri?
In Missouri a title is yes, with one real exception. A licensed scrap metal operator can take an old car that doesn’t run without one, and they handle the filing.
Online buyers can’t use that exception. If you want offers from all of them, get the duplicate.
Learn more: How to Sell a Car Without a Title
How much does a replacement title cost in Missouri?
Cost: $8.50 title fee plus a $9 processing fee
There’s no expedited service to pay extra for, so walking into a license office is as fast as it gets.
Does the title have to be notarized in Missouri?
Notarization on a Missouri title assignment is not required.
Two other documents still need one. The duplicate title application, and the lien release your lender provides.
Does my junk car need an emissions test or safety inspection in Missouri?
No. Both requirements exist so a buyer can put a car back on the road, and a car headed to a scrap yard never gets titled again.
They apply when you’re selling a running car to another driver:
- Safety inspection: required (needed to title the vehicle)
- Emissions testing: yes, in St. Louis City and Franklin, Jefferson, St. Charles, and St. Louis counties
- Where it applies: Required only in the city of St. Louis and Franklin, Jefferson, St. Charles, and St. Louis counties for vehicles with a gross weight rating of 8,500 lbs or less; inspection must be no more than 60 days old
What paperwork do I file with the state after selling in Missouri?
Form: Form 5049 (Notice of Sale)
Skip it if the car had a salvage title or a junking certificate, because those sit on the state’s do-not-report list.
Learn more: Bill of Sale vs Release of Liability
Do I remove my license plates before pickup in Missouri?
Yes, take them off before the car is loaded.
Does handing them in release you? no; returning plates does not formally release liability, you must also file Form 5049
Can I sell a junk car with a loan on it in Missouri?
Not until the lien is released. Clear whatever is left, then your lender sends a notarized lien release that goes in with the title.
On a junk car the payoff often exceeds what the car brings, so you’d cover the difference yourself.
Can I sell a junk car with expired registration in Missouri?
Yes. Registration and ownership are separate things, and the title is what proves the car is yours.
You don’t have to renew anything to sell it.
What happens to my junk car after I sell it in Missouri?
It goes to a yard, where anything resellable comes off first. Engine, transmission, doors, wheels, catalytic converter.
The shell gets crushed and shredded for steel. Cars in better shape sometimes go through auction instead, which is why a running car brings more.
What if the offer changes when the driver arrives?
Offers hold when the car matches what you described. A revision usually traces back to something the form didn’t capture, like a missing catalytic converter or wheels that aren’t there.
You’re not obligated to accept a changed number. Turn the tow away and go back to your other quotes, which is the reason to compare offers from multiple buyers before you book anything.
Article Update History
Originally posted and shared with our readers.
Sources
"not required" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"yes" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"required for model year 2011 and newer vehicles, with model year 2010 and older, trailers, and vehicles over 16,000 lbs GVWR exempt" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Bill of Sale Form Availability
"required for vehicles less than 10 model years old or weighing less than 16,000 lbs" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Duplicate Title Application Form
"Form 108" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Release of Liability Form Name
"Form 5049 (Notice of Sale)" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Inherited Vehicle Title Transfer Form
"Form 108 (Application for Missouri Title and License) plus probate documentation (Letters Testamentary, Small Estate Certificate, or Form 2305 for surviving spouse or minor children)" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"with the seller" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"any Missouri license office statewide; the Missouri Department of Revenue processes the title application after submission" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Release of Liability Filing Deadline
"30 days" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"the lender provides a notarized Lien Release (Form DOR-4809) once the loan is satisfied; submit it with the title to issue a new title without the lien" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Inherited Vehicle Estate Value Threshold
"$40,000 limit for the small estate affidavit process; estates over $40,000 require formal probate" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"Missouri Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicle Bureau" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"Form 768, General Affidavit, or a written gift statement, with GIFT entered in the sale price area of the title" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Safety Inspection Required to Sell?
"required (needed to title the vehicle)" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Emissions Testing Required to Sell?
"yes, in St. Louis City and Franklin, Jefferson, St. Charles, and St. Louis counties" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
