Are you confused about whether to sell a damaged car or scrap it? Every car owner probably has to ask this question at some point, and it’s a very important decision to take. In this article, we will guide you through both processes to help you decide.
Just putting out there that we buy all sorts of cars, running or not. If you want to sell a damaged car for cash we may pay you more cash than you expect. So reach out for a quote.
We will ask a few questions to figure out whether to sell a damaged car or scrap it.
Should you Sell a damaged car?
When it comes to selling your car to a private buyer, the biggest pro is that the amount of money you will get is probably much more than what you’ll get from scrapping.
However, the con is that the whole process takes a huge amount of time. It often takes weeks and even months, in fact—so if you’re in need of money ASAP, then selling it wouldn’t be a good idea.
Moreover, if your car is damaged, or doesn’t function too well, then it’s more likely that you won’t find a buyer. And even if you do, you won’t earn much from it.
Should you Scrap it?
On the other hand, the best thing about scrapping your car is that you get the money within a few hours. You need not wait for a long time. Also, wreckers are the only ones who are willing to pay you in exchange for a very old, damaged, or unusable car.
However, you won’t get more money just because your car is from an expensive brand. But that also means that even if your car is from a cheaper brand, you can still earn a lot of money from it. You have to make sure to find the best car wreckers for yourself to get the best result.
It sounds like if your car is damaged, scrapping it and selling it is the best (and perhaps, the only) option. However, don’t make the decision too hastily. That’s because how much money you will get from scrapping your car depends on some factors. So before you decide whether to sell a damaged car or scrap it, consider all the important factors first.
Which Option is Better?
In a general sense, the simplest answer is neither of them is better or worse than the other. Both of them have their pros and cons, which makes both of them an equally good or an equally bad option. However, depending on certain factors, one can become a wiser option than the other.
How to decide?
To sell a damaged car or to not sell it? It’s not something that can be decided by plucking flower petals one by one. Instead, you have to consider a bunch of factors, weigh your options, and then come to a conclusion. Let’s check out these factors in detail–
- Consider the condition of your car: This is the most important factor. Ask yourself, would you buy a damaged car that will probably not run very well and require constant repairs? No, you won’t, and that’s exactly how potential buyers feel too.
If you think that your car is in a condition where no same person would be willing to buy it, then you don’t need to waste time searching for buyers. Instead, sending it to car wreckers for scrapping is probably your only option. They would be more than glad to pay you for the damaged car.
Factors To Consider
However, if you feel like your car is not that damaged, that it can still run with a few repairs and maybe a bit of patience, then read on for the next factors to consider.
- Find out the value of your car: Determine the estimated value of your car, that is, the potential amount of money you will be able to get then decide to sell a damaged car. There are various free tools on the internet that can help you get an overall estimated value that you can use as an asking price when selling your car.
However, keep in mind that these tools don’t usually take your car’s condition into account. So if the condition is bad, the value will considerably be much less than estimated.
Once you’ve found out an estimated value of your car after taking the condition into account, you have to decide whether it’s enough or not. How much money do you need? Or, how much money do you expect? You can always set a higher value for your car, but you might not find a buyer easily like that since the industry is very competitive.
If you feel like the value isn’t really enough, then you should move on to the next step.
- Compare the quotes: You can get yourself a free online quote from reliable sources to find out how much your car is worth. From these online evaluation tools, you can find out how much scrap buyers will pay for your car and also compare the deals.
So then you have to compare quotes from as many buyers as possible and find out which buyer is offering you the highest amount of money. Now decide whether this amount of money is better, or the value you got previously for your car is. Then decide to sell a damaged car.
Still unsure? Sell a damaged car or scrap it? No problem.
- Consider how fast you need the money: You might want to sell your car because you are in urgent need of money, or you need to buy another car as soon as possible because the current one is too damaged to be used daily. This is why time is an important factor.
As mentioned earlier, if you want to sell a damaged car, it might take you a lot of time to find a buyer. Before that, you have to list the car online (Trademe) and advertise as well. And even after you find a buyer, things like test driving, inspection, and all that hassling staff can take a lot of time, especially because the seller and buyer’s schedules often don’t match.
On the other hand, scrapping your car is a much quicker option because wreckers pay instant cash. All you need to do is call in for a car wrecking service, who will then inspect your car find out the value of it depends on the materials, and then immediately pay you. Getting quotes and then contacting the buyer doesn’t take a long time at all. You can probably get the money within the same day.
Figure out if the repair is worth it:
If you want to sell a damaged car, you need to do some repairs to make it worthy of being bought by someone else. So, first of all, you should consider if the major problems of the car can be fixed or not.
If yes, try to find out how long these repairs will prolong the life of the car, because that is also something most buyers would like to know. If the repairs are only temporary and don’t guarantee at least a few years of stress-free driving, then repairing is not worth it.
Moreover, calculate whether you can afford the repair or not. And even if you can afford it, will it be your loss or profit after you sell the car? Consider all these factors and decide whether you should send it for repair before selling or just scrap it.
Now you have a detailed insight into every factor you should take into account when deciding whether to sell the damaged car or scrap it instead. Choose the option that is both financially and practically beneficial for you. If you do choose to scrap it, we will gladly help you out in the next steps.
