How To Sell a Car For Parts

Decide What You Want To Do

Even if your car isn’t in working condition, you can often sell it. Whether you sell it to a private person or a salvage yard, these are two options to choose from without selling your car piece by piece. PrivateAuto makes it easy to buy or sell a car privately, and you can easily manage and respond to offers.

If you choose to sell it for parts, here is some helpful information on how to get started.

Selling a Car for Parts

While selling your car as a whole is the easier option, sometimes that is not possible. This may be because of the car having severe damage or it being in too bad of shape to sell. And sometimes the parts you sell may be worth more than your car as-is. You find that out first.

Talk to a Mechanic

A mechanic can be your best friend for selling your car for parts. If you do not know where to start, your mechanic helps you assess what parts are valuable and an idea of how much the parts can net you. Of course, you’ll want to find out how much they charge for this since it takes time for the mechanic. But if it’s not too costly, it’s a good start in finding out if it’s worth it to sell your car for parts or to choose the option of selling it as it is.

Some parts may only be good enough to sell as scrap. While others may be in the condition that works for private buyers. This all depends on the condition of your car and how much of a demand there is for the parts.

A Salvage Yard

For parts you cannot sell to private parties, talk to someone at a salvage yard and see what they offer. These salvage yards often specialize in selling broken down or stripped off vehicles to buyers. These buyers use them for individual parts or as rebuilding projects.

Advertise to Private Buyers

This option is the more tedious of the two. After working with salvage yards, you may sell specific parts to private buyers. You must do a few things to keep up with everything. Take an inventory of what parts you have including the make and model of the car. If you have already done your research on what the parts go for, write this down in your inventory sheet. And speaking of research, it is imperative you have done yours. If you have the help of a mechanic who can assess your car, as mentioned above, you have an idea.

If not, you will need to look online at similar parts to find out average prices. Know your part’s worth but keep in mind that buyers are looking to get a deal. This means you may have to sell it less than it’s worth to make any money. This takes time and research skills but unfortunately, there is not a single source to use.

You must list the color and other options important to buyers. You need to strip the part, make sure it’s clean, and take photos for your advertising.

Advertise on places like eBay, Marketplace, or Craigslist of what parts you have. Be sure to research shipping costs so the buyer knows the total charge for your part.,
Choose your payment source. For example, with eBay they pay you via PayPal. If you sell something in-person, you can accept cash.
After making a sale, prepare for shipping to the buyer.
Ship your part and mark the part as sold on your inventory list.
Make sure you remove the part from any advertisements, so buyers don’t waste their time – and yours.

Doing research first is important. You must know how much these parts are going for and if there is a demand. If there is no demand for your parts, it can be a time-consuming process that does not warrant much of a profit. Why not let us help you sell your car instead?

The Better Option

Selling your car for parts may work for some, but your best option is to sell your car in its entirety. This saves you time on researching parts. Along with stripping them, cleaning them, taking photographs, advertising, and more. Not to mention that some parts are tough to remove without damaging them. And while removing a seat may be easy, taking out an engine part isn’t always as straightforward. Shipping takes effort too. Large items sometimes must ship by freight And you must take time to prepare everything.

Selling your car through PrivateAuto makes it easy. You advertise it until it’s sold. And you communicate without sharing your personal information. That’s much easier than learning how to sell a car for parts.

Interested in selling your car? Try PrivateAuto

PrivateAuto makes it easy to sell your car privately and close the sale on your own.