How to Choose a Junk Car Buyer in Washington

Each check takes a few minutes. The table shows what to do and why it matters to you.

Want the exact words to use? Our list of 12 questions to ask a junk car buyer turns these checks into a phone script.

Before you compare companies, decide which kind of sale fits your car. A car that runs safely and has some life left may bring more from a private buyer. A car that cannot move needs someone with a truck.

• Dead, wrecked or unsafe to drive: a hauler or yard that can come get it. See local hauler, instant-offer site or yard.
• Runs, and you have time: a private sale may be worth trying first. See selling on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist.
• You would rather give it away: compare a buyer and a charity pickup.
• The insurance claim is still open: stop and read whether you can sell before the claim settles.

If you are not sure the words mean what you think they mean, here is how a hulk hauler, wrecker and scrap processor differ.

Two offers only compare if both buyers heard the same facts. Before you call anyone, write down one short description and read it to each of them:

• Year, make and model.
• Whether it starts, rolls and steers.
• Damage, and any parts that are missing.
• Which document you have: title, affidavit or nothing yet.
• Where it sits and how a truck would reach it.

Then write down each offer with the answers to checks 3, 4 and 5 beside it. Our guide to why offers differ explains the gap you may see between two honest numbers. If you want to know how a change at the curb would play out, read what to do if the price drops at pickup before the truck is booked.

Whoever you choose, you should finish the pickup holding these things:

• Your payment, counted.
• Your license plates. DOL says sellers are legally obligated to remove them.
• A receipt or bill of sale showing the date, the price, the VIN and the buyer’s name.
• A photo of the title or other document you signed, front and back.
• The buyer’s full name and complete address.

The last item is for your Report of Sale, which you must file within five business days under RCW 46.12.650. Our guide to handing over a signed title covers why that name needs to be filled in before the title leaves your hands, and our after-the-sale guide walks through the filing.

You do not owe a buyer a pickup because you called them first. Move on if you cannot get a straight answer to any of the six checks. Our red flags guide lists specific things to watch for and how to check each one.

Reviews can help you break a tie, as long as you read them for detail and pattern. Here is how to read reviews for a junk car buyer.

Also think about whether you should be selling at all. If the car could be repaired for less than it would be worth afterward, or an insurance claim is still open, a buyer may be the wrong call. Our guide to weighing repair against junking can help.

We hold Washington Vehicle Transporter endorsement #09770, and we are hulk hauler licensed and insured. The license page explains it. We need one of three documents: the Title, an Affidavit in Lieu of Title or a Junk Vehicle Affidavit. Towing is free, and you get paid in cash at pickup. Offers depend on five things: year and model, condition, demand for parts, weight and size, and towing distance.

Ask us the same questions you ask anyone else, at (206) 941-0612. How it works lays out the steps.