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The bottom line: A typical junk car is offered about $565 by an online cash buyer, and half of all offers land between $380 and $1,080. Those are the junk car value statistics from 18,326 real offers made from 2021 to 2026. The figures on this page are for the cars 10 years and older among them.
Age moves the number more than where you live or when you ask. A car 10 to 12 years old was offered $1,240, a car 15 to 17 $560, and a car 20 to 24 $410. Past that, offers flatten out at scrap value.
Where you live moves it by about $330. Old cars in Colorado get the most and cars in Alabama get the least. The month you ask swings it by $135, with April highest and September lowest.
The one lever you hold is not about the car at all. Take the same old car, quoted by more than one buyer on the same day: the best offer beat the worst by a middle gap of $328, about what moving state would change. That is the case for getting more than one offer.
These are instant offers, not sale prices, and for most of them the car’s condition was not recorded. No page can tell you what your own car is worth.
The only way to find out is to compare offers from multiple buyers at once.
Key Takeaways
- A typical junk car 10 years or older is offered $565, and four in five offers fall between $265 and $2,120.
- 29% of offers come in under $400, and 27% reach $1,000 or more.
- Pickups are offered the most. An old pickup draws $850 against $495 for an old minivan or van, and the best old model is the Toyota Tundra.
- Not starting costs about half. A car that won’t start is offered -47% against a comparable one that drives, and a missing catalytic converter -68%.
- A missing title is -42% against a comparable car with a clean title in hand.
- Offers fell for three years. On a 15 to 19 year old car they went from $605 in 2021 to a low in 2024, and sit at $475 this year.
- A second offer is the biggest lever you hold. On 44% of old cars quoted by more than one buyer on the same day, the best offer was at least double the worst.
- Some cars only get one bidder. 7% of old cars put to four buyers heard back from only one; with the catalytic converter gone, 17% did.
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
How Much Is a Junk Car Offered in 2026?
A junk car is not an age. It is a car that is no longer worth fixing. The repair bill is more than the car would bring, or it is so old and tired that nobody wants it.
That is the car people take to an instant buyer. The buyer pays for what is left, and the seller skips the repair, the listing and the waiting.
Our offer data cannot see the repair bill, only the age of the car. Almost every car in that position is 10 years old or more, so 10 and older is the cut these numbers use. A 10 year old car in good shape is not junk, and the age bands below show how much more it is offered.
Cars 10 years and older in our offer data were offered a middle $565. Inside that, age still does most of the work. A car of 10 to 12 was offered $1,240; by 15 to 17 that was $560, and by 20 to 24 $410.
Half of all junk car offers land between $380 and $1,080. Four in five land between $265 and $2,120. 27% of offers reach $1,000, and 29% come in under $400.
Is your offer a good one? Compare it with the row for your car’s age: an offer within about a fifth of the middle figure is typical for that age. Well above it is a good offer; well below it is a reason to ask another buyer.
| Age of the car | Middle offer | A $300 offer is | A $500 offer is | A $1,000 offer is |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 to 12 years | $1,240 | low | low | typical |
| 15 to 17 years | $560 | low | typical | good |
| 20 to 24 years | $410 | low | good | very good |
Where junk car offers actually land
12,827 offers, cars 10 years and older
Show the numbers
| Offer bracket | Share of offers | Offers |
|---|---|---|
| Under $250 | 8.9% | 1,140 |
| $250 to $399 | 19.7% | 2,521 |
| $400 to $499 | 14.0% | 1,799 |
| $500 to $749 | 20.9% | 2,686 |
| $750 to $999 | 9.2% | 1,175 |
| $1,000 to $1,499 | 10.5% | 1,344 |
| $1,500 to $2,499 | 9.4% | 1,207 |
| $2,500 and up | 7.4% | 955 |
Middle offer means the median: half the cars got more, half got less. We use it instead of the average because of the handful of Porsches and Corvettes in the data. They would drag an average up and make junk cars look worth more than they are.
How Does Age Change What a Junk Car Is Offered?
Every year a car ages, the offer drops, until it hits scrap value somewhere past 20 years. A car 10 to 12 years old was offered $1,240 in our offer data.
By 15 to 17 years that was $560, less than half. By 20 to 24 years it was $410.
From 15 years on, the drops get smaller in dollars because there is less left to lose. From 20 years on, the offer is mostly the weight of the car plus whatever parts still sell.
Middle cash offer by car age 12,827 offers, cars 10 years and older · Age of car when the offer was made (years)Show the numbers
Age (years) Middle offer Offers 10-12 $1,240 2,936 13-14 $720 1,835 15-17 $560 2,843 18-19 $465 1,571 20-24 $410 2,445 25-29 $360 731 30+ $340 466
Buyers rarely refuse a car outright until it is very old. Across all cars 10 years and older, 2.8% of requests came back with no offer. The rate climbs sharply past 25 years, which the chart below shows.
How often a buyer makes no offer at all 13,201 offer requests · Age of car when the offer was requested (years)Show the numbers
Age (years) Share with no offer Offers 10-12 1.5% 2,981 13-14 1.9% 1,870 15-17 2.3% 2,910 18-19 2.7% 1,615 20-24 2.6% 2,511 25-29 5.3% 772 30+ 14.0% 542
How Does Condition Change a Junk Car Offer?
Most junk car guides compare a broken car to a working one without asking whether the two were alike to begin with. We only compare cars of similar age and mileage, so the number measures the condition and not the car.
A car that does not start is offered -47% against a comparable car that drives, in the quotes sellers get through our own form. One that starts but cannot be driven is -39%.
Body damage is -21%, an accident on the record -10%. A loan still on the car makes almost no difference at +0%.
The biggest single hit is a missing catalytic converter, at -68%. A car sitting at a repair shop is offered -48% against one at home, about the same hit as not starting, which mostly says something about why it is there.
A warning light on the dashboard is -22%, which makes a code read the cheapest hour on this page. Broken glass, a mirror or a light is -16%; damage inside the car is -8%.
A missing title is -42%, about as much as a car that will not start. The buyer has to get a title before it can sell the car on, and prices that in, so a replacement title is usually worth the fee.
Each figure is the change in the best offer for a car with that condition, against a comparable car without it, matched on age and mileage. The three that cost the most:
What the condition of a car does to its best offer
1,624 cars quoted by up to four buyers, compared inside matched mileage and age groups
Show the numbers
| Condition | Change in best offer | Offers |
|---|---|---|
| Catalytic converter missing | -68% | 412 |
| Sitting at a mechanic | -48% | 526 |
| Does not start | -47% | 944 |
| Title missing | -42% | 588 |
| Starts but does not drive | -39% | 704 |
| Dashboard warning light on | -22% | 1,482 |
| Body damage | -21% | 895 |
| Broken glass, mirror or light | -16% | 895 |
| Accident history | -10% | 1,482 |
| Interior damage | -8% | 770 |
| Loan outstanding | 0% | 678 |
Mileage is the other thing the quote form records that the offer data alone cannot see. Hold age still and it does a lot of the work.
Among cars 10 to 14 years old, one with 50,000 to 99,000 miles drew a best offer of $3,540 from the buyers on our form, one with 100,000 to 149,000 miles $1,503, and one past 200,000 miles $575.
By 20 years the bands sit almost on top of each other, $465 against $433. Once a car is on the scrap floor the odometer stops mattering, which is why a high-mileage car loses most of its value in its first fifteen years and almost none after.
These are the best of up to four same-day offers, so they run higher than the single offers elsewhere on this page. Read the ratios, not the dollars.
What mileage does to the offer, at the same age 1,039 cars 10 years and older, best offer from up to four buyers · 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 $3,540 97 $855 33 $633 44 100k to 149k $1,503 172 $655 104 $465 88 150k to 199k $1,091 111 $546 116 $435 80 200k and up $575 47 $510 66 $433 81
Set those against what the repair would cost. RepairPal puts a head gasket at $2,572 to $3,386 at an independent shop, and a transmission at $6,238 to $6,764. Either is more than most cars over 15 years old are offered in the first place.
That is why the fix-or-sell question so often answers itself.
What common repairs cost RepairPal national averages, 22 repairs, dated 2026-09-03Show the numbers
Repair Low estimate High estimate Transmission replacement $6,238 $6,764 Head gasket $2,572 $3,386 Timing chain $2,120 $2,764 Catalytic converter $2,280 $2,480 Clutch $1,630 $2,047 Radiator $1,368 $1,550 Fuel pump $1,344 $1,513 AC compressor $1,081 $1,463 Shock or strut $1,144 $1,348 Muffler $1,138 $1,190 Engine control module $1,122 $1,192 Timing belt $918 $1,338 Water pump $891 $1,135 Alternator $809 $1,088 Starter $565 $796 EGR valve $489 $632 Battery $456 $493 Oxygen sensor $440 $523 Wheel bearing $346 $504 Brake pads $335 $394 Spark plugs $288 $399 Ignition coil $238 $320 
Why Get More Than One Junk Car Offer?
Take the cars 10 years and older quoted by two or more buyers on the same day through our quote form. The best offer beat the worst by a middle $328, and a quarter of those cars saw a gap of $1,040 or more. On 44% of them, the best offer was at least double the worst.
That gap is about the size of the state effect, and bigger than the month. The difference is that you cannot move the car to Colorado, but you can ask a second buyer. Taking the first offer you get is, on the evidence here, the most expensive thing a junk car seller does.
Two buyers rarely agree. On 9% of these cars the two offers landed within 10% of each other; on 27% the best was more than triple the worst. The gap shrinks in dollars as the car ages, from $929 at 10 to 12 years to $161 at 20 to 24, because there is less car to disagree about.
The share of cars where the best offer doubles the worst falls much more slowly.
How far apart two buyers are on the same car 1,031 cars 10 years and older, each quoted by two or more buyers on the same day The gap between best and worst offer, by car age 1,031 cars 10 years and older, each quoted by two or more buyers on the same day · Age of car when quoted (years)Show the numbers
Best offer against worst Share of cars Offers Within 10% 9.0% 93 10% to 25% apart 11.3% 116 25% to 50% apart 15.7% 162 50% to 100% apart 20.1% 207 Double to triple 17.3% 178 More than triple 26.7% 275
Show the numbers
Age (years) Middle gap between best and worst offer Offers 10-12 $929 245 13-14 $560 195 15-17 $279 190 18-19 $230 123 20-24 $161 191 25+ $121 87
The advice to compare offers assumes there is a second one, and there is not always. Of the old cars put to four buyers through our form, 7% came back with a figure from only one.
A car that does not start got a middle 2 offers against 3 for one that drives, and 12% of non-starters heard from a single buyer. With the catalytic converter gone it was 17%. With a loan still on the car it was 22%, because some buyers will not quote a car with a lien on it at all.
The worse the car, the fewer the bidders, and the more the one bidder left knows it. That is the case for asking every buyer you can find, not just two.
Cars that got only one offer 1,104 cars 10 years and older, each put to up to four buyersShow the numbers
Condition Share with one offer Offers Starts and drives 4% 760 All cars 7% 1,104 Body damage 8% 137 Does not start 12% 214 Sitting at a mechanic 14% 81 Catalytic converter missing 17% 46 Loan outstanding 22% 41
Which States Have the Highest Junk Car Value?
Where the car sits changes the offer by about $330 from the best state to the worst, across the states with enough offers to count. Old cars in Colorado are offered a middle $710. Alabama sits at the bottom.
No one region owns the top of the chart: Colorado leads it, and the bottom mixes the Deep South, the Plains and the Northwest. A state is only on the chart if it has 30 or more offers, so a few small states are missing.
Middle junk car offer by state 12,707 offers across 44 statesShow the numbers
State Middle offer Offers CO $710 321 TX $690 938 NJ $680 423 NY $650 546 LA $638 124 MT $635 58 DE $625 43 MD $620 285 CA $615 1,884 FL $605 789 PA $603 520 AZ $585 291 NV $578 112 MA $573 322 VA $565 393 GA $540 477 KS $533 78 TN $530 276 CT $528 184 WI $525 194 MS $525 63 RI $525 55 ME $515 65 KY $510 129 OH $508 490 NM $508 64 MI $505 355 NE $505 64 IL $503 462 ID $495 54 UT $490 145 SC $490 180 MO $485 243 AR $485 62 NC $480 448 NH $475 56 OR $455 219 MN $455 245 IN $455 221 IA $450 91 WA $435 410 WV $415 71 OK $405 123 AL $380 134
The chart below ranks the fifteen cities with the most offers on cars 10 years and older. Texas, California, Colorado and New York metros fill the top.
Cities with the highest offers on old cars 900 offers in these 15 citiesShow the numbers
City Middle offer Offers Austin, TX $845 56 Houston, TX $813 86 San Jose, CA $790 55 Brooklyn, NY $750 42 Colorado Springs, CO $715 42 Denver, CO $710 78 Philadelphia, PA $710 49 San Antonio, TX $695 55 Las Vegas, NV $695 57 San Diego, CA $650 69 Phoenix, AZ $630 56 Atlanta, GA $598 50 Los Angeles, CA $595 105 Dallas, TX $575 55 Saint Louis, MO $570 45
Where a car sits also changes whether it gets an offer at all. Across the states with 60 or more requests, Maine had the highest share come back with nothing, at 14.5%, and Connecticut the lowest.
The top of that chart is rural. A buyer that has to send a truck a long way for a car offered a few hundred dollars more often sends nothing.
Where a buyer is most likely to make no offer 12,896 offer requests across 41 states, cars 10 years and olderShow the numbers
State Share of requests with no offer Offers Maine 14.5% 76 Mississippi 10.0% 70 Arkansas 8.8% 68 Kansas 8.2% 85 New Hampshire 8.2% 61 Oregon 6.8% 235 West Virginia 6.6% 76 Montana 6.5% 62 Arizona 5.2% 307 Kentucky 5.1% 136 New Mexico 4.5% 67 South Carolina 4.3% 188 Wisconsin 4.0% 202 Oklahoma 3.9% 128 Alabama 3.6% 139 Michigan 3.3% 367 Missouri 3.2% 251 Louisiana 3.1% 128 Nebraska 3.0% 66 Pennsylvania 2.8% 535 Colorado 2.7% 330 Nevada 2.6% 115 Georgia 2.5% 489 Virginia 2.5% 403 California 2.4% 1,930 Minnesota 2.4% 251 Texas 2.4% 961 Florida 2.2% 807 Iowa 2.2% 93 Washington 1.9% 418 North Carolina 1.8% 456 Illinois 1.7% 470 Maryland 1.4% 289 New Jersey 1.4% 429 Tennessee 1.4% 280 Utah 1.4% 147 Indiana 1.3% 224 Massachusetts 1.2% 326 Ohio 1.0% 495 New York 0.9% 551 Connecticut 0.5% 185
Which Junk Cars Get the Highest Offers?
Body type moves the offer about as much as the state does, going by the same offers. The pickup truck was offered a middle $850, against $495 for a minivan or van. SUVs and sedans sit between.
Middle junk car offer by body type 10,619 offers, cars 10 years and olderShow the numbers
Body type Middle offer Offers Pickup truck $850 1,083 SUV / crossover $675 3,607 Car (sedan, coupe, hatch) $510 5,327 Minivan / van $495 602
By make, Lexus leads among cars 10 years and older. The bottom of the chart is mostly makes that no longer exist. Porsche is off the chart entirely: its old cars are offered well above the junk range, and it would have squashed every other bar.
Middle junk car offer by make 12,692 offers across 35 makesShow the numbers
Make Middle offer Offers Lexus $1,115 254 Land Rover $1,110 62 Audi $990 185 Toyota $968 1,538 BMW $763 440 Mercedes-Benz $755 345 Mini $740 84 Ram $738 162 Hyundai $640 481 Honda $635 1,209 Kia $635 226 Subaru $603 350 Infiniti $590 140 GMC $580 283 Acura $575 220 Jeep $553 466 Volkswagen $550 335 Ford $540 1,569 Mazda $525 325 Jaguar $513 40 Nissan $508 756 Cadillac $505 185 Chevrolet $475 1,207 Dodge $440 411 Lincoln $430 87 Mitsubishi $425 99 Pontiac $418 174 Chrysler $415 251 Volvo $413 218 Buick $405 210 Suzuki $395 37 Saab $385 41 Mercury $383 122 Saturn $365 141 Oldsmobile $320 39
By model, the Toyota Tundra gets the highest offer and the Buick LeSabre the lowest, among models with 40 or more offers. The chart below shows the top twenty. The gap between them is more than the whole middle offer several times over.
The old models with the highest offers 1,783 offers across these 20 modelsShow the numbers
Model Middle offer Offers Toyota Tundra $2,560 51 Toyota Tacoma $2,520 76 Chevrolet Camaro $2,510 45 Chevrolet Corvette $2,005 43 Toyota 4Runner $1,715 89 Toyota Rav4 $1,610 110 Toyota Prius $1,495 139 Lexus RX $1,335 64 Toyota Highlander $1,273 84 Mazda CX-9 $1,208 42 Chevrolet Silverado $1,190 133 Ford F250 $1,105 67 Honda CR-V $1,050 189 BMW 328 $1,025 110 Kia Sorento $1,020 57 Ford Edge $840 57 Toyota Corolla $830 188 Subaru Outback $805 76 GMC Terrain $765 43 Ram 1500 $748 120
The two Toyota pickups hold value in a way no domestic full-size truck does. As a share of the offer, the gap widens as the trucks age.
What old pickups are offered 716 offers across 6 pickupsShow the numbers
Pickup 10 to 14 yrs Offers 15 to 19 yrs Offers 20+ yrs Offers Ford F150 $2,123 70 $735 99 $445 119 Chevrolet Silverado $2,220 42 $1,100 47 $495 44 Ram 1500 $2,690 35 $740 45 $435 40 Toyota Tacoma — 12 $2,745 33 $1,645 31 Toyota Tundra $3,815 19 $2,560 21 — 11 Dodge Dakota — 1 $743 18 $360 29
An old Toyota Prius is offered more than a Corolla or Civic of the same age, not less, and the gap widens as they age: +12% at 10 to 12 years and +44% at 15 to 17, where the Prius drew a middle $1,063 against $738. The battery that worries owners does not show up as a discount from the buyers, who price the car for its parts and its weight either way.
What an old Prius is offered against a Corolla or Civic 627 offers, cars 10 years and older · Age of car when the offer was made (years)Show the numbers
Age (years) Toyota Prius Offers Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic Offers 10-12 $2,065 61 $1,845 87 13-14 $1,510 31 $1,140 91 15-17 $1,063 48 $738 114
Japanese and European makes hold up better than American and Korean ones at 10 to 19 years. Past 20 the four converge on the scrap floor and the order stops meaning much.
Offers by where the car was made 12,814 offersShow the numbers
Age band Japanese Offers European Offers American Offers Korean Offers 10 to 14 yrs $1,255 1,736 $1,280 777 $770 1,794 $830 464 15 to 19 yrs $615 1,857 $515 624 $460 1,735 $440 197 20 to 24 yrs $430 1,023 $390 266 $395 1,110 $335 46 25+ yrs $330 333 $395 153 $355 697 — 2
Learn more: 20 Most Valuable Junk Cars to Sell
How Has Junk Car Value Changed Since 2021?
For cars under 20, junk car offers were highest in 2021, fell for three years, bottomed out in 2024 and are higher this year. The oldest band fell too and bottomed a year later, but in dollars its moves were small. We compare the same age band each year so the mix of cars doesn’t skew the picture.
For cars 15 to 19 years old, the middle offer went from $605 in 2021 to $475 this year. That is -21% over five years.
For a car under about 18 years old, waiting for the market to recover did not pay. The same car got two years older in the meantime, and that cost more than the market gave back. Past that age it sat on the scrap floor, and the market’s rise since 2024 lifted it back.
How junk car offers changed, year by year 12,361 offers across 6 yearsShow the numbers
Year offer was made 10 to 14 years old Offers 15 to 19 years old Offers 20 to 29 years old Offers 2021 $1,193 602 $605 489 $420 269 2022 $1,063 1,464 $568 1,464 $430 948 2023 $980 1,365 $500 1,349 $395 944 2024 $905 335 $425 329 $345 283 2025 $905 477 $445 374 $328 322 2026 $943 528 $475 409 $400 410
Two forces move a car’s offer at once: it gets older, and the market moves. The chart below separates them.
Read down at one model year to see what a year of waiting cost that car. Read along a line to see how much age alone takes off within one year’s market.
What the same model year is offered now against before 3,001 offers across model years 2000 to 2014 · Model year of the carShow the numbers
Model year Offered in 2024 Offers Offered in 2025 Offers Offered in 2026 Offers 2000 $315 26 $290 23 $330 25 2001 $320 43 $350 31 $365 29 2002 $380 36 $310 39 $410 41 2003 $370 49 $320 47 $360 42 2004 $368 64 $385 49 $400 62 2005 $345 57 $340 69 $433 72 2006 $410 72 $410 88 $425 82 2007 $475 72 $375 81 $395 86 2008 $440 76 $465 78 $415 78 2009 $485 52 $588 44 $435 73 2010 $490 64 $540 83 $520 76 2011 $673 60 $675 67 $653 96 2012 $920 67 $860 92 $620 105 2013 $930 78 $725 110 $813 132 2014 $1,435 66 $1,045 116 $850 103
109 old cars in our offer data were quoted again by the same buyer a month or more after their first offer. The middle change was -$40, and 58% of them were offered less the second time.
Wait a year or more and the middle change was -$195, with 69% offered less. For a junk car, waiting for a better number is mostly waiting for a lower one.
What asking again later cost 109 cars 10 years and older, each quoted twice by the same buyer · Time between the two offersShow the numbers
Gap between offers Middle change in the offer Offers 1 to 3 months $0 42 3 to 6 months $-38 20 6 to 12 months $-113 18 More than a year $-195 29
All four US regions fell to a low in the same year and sit above it now. The Northeast led at the start and has since slipped behind the South and West. The chart below follows them year by year for cars 10 years and older.
Old car offers by region, year by year 12,827 offers, cars 10 years and olderShow the numbers
Year Northeast Offers South Offers West Offers Midwest Offers 2021 $720 264 $645 441 $695 416 $600 277 2022 $665 685 $605 1,372 $620 1,181 $500 798 2023 $575 656 $560 1,403 $540 1,018 $495 726 2024 $475 154 $475 370 $430 278 $415 183 2025 $540 204 $535 448 $500 321 $443 242 2026 $510 224 $553 528 $558 374 $488 264
When Is the Best Month to Sell a Junk Car?
Offers on cars 10 years and older peak in April and bottom out in September, a swing of $135 across the year. The month you ask matters, most likely because buyers stock up in spring for the driving season and are full by late summer.
The Federal Reserve’s seasonal factors put May as the month with the most car sales and January as the fewest. Our offer peak comes a month before the sales peak, which is what you would expect if buyers are stocking for it.
The month you ask changes the offer 12,827 offers, cars 10 years and older, all five years pooledShow the numbers
Month Middle offer Offers Jan $590 1,120 Feb $620 899 Mar $615 1,107 Apr $625 989 May $615 949 Jun $540 1,048 Jul $538 1,246 Aug $528 1,446 Sep $490 1,112 Oct $530 1,036 Nov $585 957 Dec $575 918
How Do Junk Car Offers Compare With the Used Car Market?
The junk end of the market is a different world from the used car lot. Kelley Blue Book, which is part of Cox Automotive, puts the average used car listing at $27,028 in July 2026.
The middle junk car offer on this page is $565. The two are not competing for the same cars.
Depreciation explains the gap. In iSeeCars’ 2026 study a five-year-old hybrid had lost 35.4% of its price, and a midsize SUV 47.0%. By the time a car is 15, that curve has flattened onto the scrap floor this page measures.
How much a five-year-old car has lost, by type 950,000 five-year-old cars sold March 2025 to February 2026Show the numbers
Type Five-year depreciation Trucks 34.2% Hybrids 35.4% Small SUVs 41.7% All cars 41.8% Midsize SUVs 47.0% Large SUVs 52.1% Electric 57.2%
How we got these numbers
The offer figures on this page come from 18,326 instant cash offers made to sellers from 2021 to 2026. Every one is a real offer on a real car, from an online car buyer, and not a sale price.
The condition of the car is recorded only for the cars quoted through our own form.
That is why no chart on this page shows a car under 10 years old. A young car offered a few hundred dollars is telling you about its damage, not its age.
We report the middle offer, never the average. A few very high offers would otherwise make a typical junk car look worth far more than it is.
Most charts drop any group with fewer than 30 offers rather than show it with a caveat. The pickup, model-year and re-quote charts use 15 per point.
Every chart carries its own sample size, and the numbers behind it are one click away under “Show the numbers”.
The condition figures come from the cars quoted by up to four buyers through our own quote form, where the seller answered a condition questionnaire. Each condition’s own sample is shown under the chart. Those comparisons are made only between cars of similar age and mileage.
A naive comparison across all cars gets the answer badly wrong. It would tell you a car with a loan on it is offered several times more. The truth is that cars with loans are newer.
The newer figures come from the same quote-form cars. The number of buyers that answered is a count, so it needs no matching. The mileage figures are the best of up to four same-day offers, grouped by age band and mileage band, 30 cars to a point.
The re-quote figures match a car’s year, make, model and town rather than its VIN, so a common model in a big city can occasionally pair two different cars. The no-offer rates by state need 60 requests, because a rate on 30 requests is one and a half cars.
Every figure is recomputed from the current data when new offers arrive, and the offer window each one covers is shown under its chart. Outside figures are credited to their publisher where they appear, with the day we last checked them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is $500 a good offer for a junk car?
It depends on the age. For a car 15 to 17 years old the middle offer in our data is $560, so $500 is typical.
From 20 to 24 it is $410, and $500 is good; older still, the middle offer is lower again. For a car 10 to 12 years old it is low: those were offered a middle $1,240.
Why do two buyers offer such different amounts for the same junk car?
Each buyer prices from its own scrap contracts, its parts demand and how far its tow truck has to come. Across the old cars in our quote data that were quoted by more than one buyer, the gap between best and worst was a middle $328.
Learn more: Best Online Junk Car Buyers
Does a junk car with a missing catalytic converter still get an offer?
Usually, but a much lower one. Against a comparable car with the converter in place, in the quotes sellers get through our form, the offer is -68%.
The converter is often the single most valuable part left on an old car. That is why it is one of the parts thieves go for.
Does a junk car without a title get a lower offer?
Yes, and by more than most people expect. Against a comparable car with a clean title in hand, a car whose title is missing is offered -42% in the quotes sellers get through our form.
The buyer has to get a title before it can sell the car on, and prices that work in. A replacement title from the DMV usually costs far less than the discount.
Does an old Prius get a lower offer because of the battery?
No. In our offer data a Prius 15 to 17 years old is offered a middle $1,063, against $738 for a Corolla or Civic of the same age, which is +44%. The premium holds at every age band with enough offers to measure.
What does it mean when a junk car gets no offer?
It means the way that buyer sets its prices found nothing it could resell or scrap at a profit from where the car sits. Across cars 10 years and older in our offer data that happens to 2.8% of requests. The rate is low until 25 and then climbs fast, and it depends on where the car is: in Maine, 14.5% of requests came back with nothing.
It is not a verdict on the car. A different buyer prices from a different yard and different costs. Ask more than one before you decide there is no offer to be had.
Why is a state missing from the junk car offer chart?
A state needs 30 or more offers before we report a figure for it. Below that, one unusual car would move the state’s number, so a small state is left off rather than shown on a handful of offers.
The national figure is the better guide there. Our state guides carry each state’s own figure where there are enough offers, and say so where there are not.
Article Update History
Originally posted and shared with our readers.
Sources
Sell Car Advisor instant offer data
"18,326 instant cash offers from online car buyers, July 2021 to September 7, 2026, and 1,624 cars quoted by up to four buyers through the quote form" Accessed Sep. 17, 2026
"$2,572 to $3,386, head gasket replacement cost; $6,238 to $6,764, transmission replacement cost" Accessed Sep. 11, 2026
"May, month with the most car sales; January, month with the fewest car sales" Accessed Sep. 11, 2026
"$27,028, average used car listing price" Accessed Sep. 11, 2026
"35.4%, five-year depreciation, hybrids; 47.0%, five-year depreciation, midsize SUVs" Accessed Sep. 11, 2026
