Evaluating a Junk Car
The items that make a junk car valuable are made from metal. And the most valuable metals in a junk car are its parts, like the catalytic converter made primarily from platinum. If your junk vehicle has all its parts intact, even if they are not functional, they are worth good cash. The rest of the steel in the vehicle is valuable and recyclable as well. Even the headlights, taillights, fenders, bumpers, windshields, tires, and more are reusable and valuable. So the more intact your junk car is, the more money it will be worth to a junk car buyer.
Let’s say your junk vehicle is not very-well intact, missing valuable auto parts like the motor or catalytic converter, it is still profitable. The steel, steel frame, and more can be sold for cash and recycled at a junk car lot. Although the overall value and return is less, it is still worth something.
The current metal prices in the market determine the maximum payouts at local junk car buying lots and scrap metal recycling centers. So one year steel can be worth more, while the next it brings in less profit. This is how junk car buyers evaluate the overall worth of a junk vehicle.