The bottom line: The junk car buyers near you are, in almost every zip code, the same four national companies working through local tow drivers: most likely Peddle, Wheelzy, CarBrain, or CashForCars. None of them is a junkyard down the road, and none of them needs to be.
When you accept an offer, a driver from your city or a nearby town loads the car, tows it free and pays you on the spot. Most pickups happen within 24 to 48 hours of scheduling, sometimes the same day.
In a major city, same-day pickup is often possible. Rural areas may wait a day or two longer, depending on driver availability.
Where you are matters more than which yard is closest. The typical offer on cars 10 years and older is highest in Montana and lowest in Oklahoma, about $295 apart. In Maine, a request came back with no offer at all 14.9% of the time.
Local salvage yards can sometimes offer a bit more for certain cars, but you’d need to call several, one by one, to compare.
What would buyers pay for your junk car?Fill in one form with your ZIP code and see which buyers make an offer for your car.
Key Takeaways
matched a higher quote in our test when we showed it one, so ask before you accept any offer.
- Quote windows differ from buyer to buyer, so collect all four numbers before you accept any of them.
- The yard down the road is the one buyer you can’t put on the same form. Call it if you like, but get the four national quotes first; they work the same tow networks and still don’t agree on price.
- Where the car sits matters too: the typical offer in the best state runs a few hundred dollars above the worst, and in some states a request comes back with no offer at all far more often than in others.
- Describing your car accurately upfront prevents the driver from dropping the price when they arrive to pick it up.
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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.
Compare Instant Offers
The Closest Junk Car Buyers to You
Each of these four companies has a network of local towing contractors across every state. When you accept an offer, they dispatch the nearest available driver to your address.
Peddle specializes in older vehicles and accepts cars in almost any condition, including cars without titles in many states. They have a 4.7/5 rating on Trustpilot and cover every major city and most rural areas.
Wheelzy picks up within 48 hours after you accept, sometimes the same day. Some sellers say Wheelzy matched a higher offer they showed it, though it has no published match policy.
CarBrain focuses on damaged and non-running vehicles, and picks up through the same kind of local partner network.
CashForCars is owned by Copart, the large vehicle auction company. That connection can mean competitive offers for totaled or flood-damaged cars. They use local towing contractors for all pickups.
Local junkyards are the other option. Some offer free pickup, but you need to find them, call each one individually, and describe your car from scratch every time. It takes several calls to see a range of prices.
The national buyers above give you the same local result with far less effort. You describe your car once and get back multiple offers to compare.
The offers are worth comparing. Across the cars quoted by more than one buyer on the same day, the best and worst offer on the same car were typically $314 apart, and in 39% of cars the best was at least double the worst; the chart shows the whole spread.
The 2026 test, buyer by buyer and car by car, is in our guide to who gives the most cash for junk cars.
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 
Where you live changes the offer as well, because each buyer’s tow network is thicker in some places than others. The typical offer on cars 10 years and older is highest in Montana and lowest in Oklahoma, a gap of about $295 across the states with enough offers to count.
A request can also come back with no offer at all. That happened to 14.9% of requests in Maine, the highest share of any state, against almost none in Connecticut. If one buyer declines your car, that is a reason to ask the others, not to give up.
Typical junk car offer by state 12,196 offers across 44 statesShow the numbers
State Typical offer Offers MT $695 55 TX $690 901 CO $680 312 NJ $670 395 NY $640 528 LA $610 126 FL $605 763 CA $605 1,816 PA $605 505 MD $600 267 DE $600 41 AZ $593 280 MA $573 312 VA $565 383 NV $563 108 KS $543 76 CT $530 177 GA $525 441 MS $525 54 RI $525 49 NE $515 61 ME $510 63 IL $500 440 UT $495 140 OH $490 454 SC $490 170 MI $488 338 ID $488 54 WI $485 190 MO $485 235 NC $480 431 TN $480 268 NH $475 55 NM $475 61 AR $473 60 KY $470 122 MN $460 237 IA $455 88 IN $455 211 OR $443 206 WA $435 405 AL $413 130 WV $405 69 OK $400 119
What Counts as a Junk Car?
Your car crosses into junk territory when repairs would cost more than a buyer would offer for it.
Non-running engines are the most obvious sign. If your car won’t start or can’t move under its own power, it’s a strong candidate. Major accident damage that an insurer would total also qualifies.
Old cars with high mileage and stacked problems fall here too. A 15 to 19 year old car with 200,000 miles or more was offered a best $498 when put to up to three buyers on the same day, which is less than most repairs cost, so one with a bad transmission is offered as a junk car, not as a repair project. Our guide to how much you get for junking a car covers what moves that number.
What mileage does to the offer, at the same age 1,007 cars 10 years and older, best of up to three offers · Miles on the odometerShow the numbers
Mileage 10 to 14 years old Offers 15 to 19 years old Offers 20 years and older Offers 50k to 99k $2,147 91 $945 33 $635 39 100k to 149k $1,229 160 $635 101 $489 88 150k to 199k $1,180 104 $499 107 $440 74 200k and up $594 48 $498 74 $418 88
Compare instant offers before you accept one
Compare instant offers before you accept one
Frequently Asked Questions
What if I don’t have the title?
Apply for a duplicate first if you can: 22 states let you apply online, and the buyer’s offer is better with the title in hand.
Some buyers, Peddle among them, take title-free sales in many states with proof of ownership like the registration; say so on the form.
Do I need to be present when they pick up my car?
Yes, you need to be there to sign the transfer paperwork and hand over the keys. The pickup itself takes a few minutes.
What payment methods do junk car buyers use?
Cash or check. Which one you get depends on the tow company handling your pickup.
What documents do I need to sell my junk car?
You need a valid ID and the car title (or equivalent paperwork if selling without one), plus any keys you have, though Peddle and Wheelzy buy cars without them. The buyer handles the bill of sale and transfer documents.
Ready to Sell Your Junk Car?
Stop letting that old car take up space. Getting cash for it takes less time than you think.
Fill out one form in the comparison tool and get quotes from multiple local buyers in minutes. No calling around. No repeating yourself.
Compare the offers, pick the best one, and schedule free pickup. You’re paid when the driver collects the car, and it’s a good idea to sort out your license plates before then.
Article Update History
Offer-gap and state figures now come from Sell Car Advisor quote data, and the title-replacement rule from the state paperwork checklist in MyGarage.
Quotes, buyer details and pickup processes checked against fresh data from each company.
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
Typical junk car offer by state, Junk Car Value Statistics
"12,196 offers across 44 states" Accessed Oct. 16, 2026
What mileage does to the offer, at the same age, Junk Car Value Statistics
"1,007 cars 10 years and older, best of up to three offers" Accessed Oct. 16, 2026
Junk Car Value Statistics, Sell Car Advisor
"On this page: 8 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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