Self Service Scrap Yards
Did you know that it is possible to walk through a scrap yard and find car parts you need and remove them yourself? These are often referred to as “pick and pull junk yards” because customers literally pick the parts they want and pull them off the old vehicle, avoiding the extra cost of paying someone to do this for you.
If you have a junk car that you need to remove from your property, you can sell it to a pick and pull yard. However, they might charge you for towing and will not take a car without a title. With Cash for Clunkers, though, we provide FREE towing of a junk car from any location! We also can take a car without a title thanks to our national title database, making it easy for you to get cash for cars right away. Plus, we still make sure that unusable cars get recycled properly by working with junkyard recycling programs.
If you are interested in knowing and learning more about pick and pull scrap yards, we have broken down all the information you will need. This article covers the following:
- How Pick-n-Pull Yards Help the Environment
- How to Use Pick and Pull Services
- How to Sell a Car without a Title to Cash for Clunkers
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How Pick-n-Pull Yards Help the Environment
A pick and pull scrap yard follows a certain procedure to ensure every vehicle is broken down and scraped following certain regulations to reduce harm from getting to the environment. About 75% of a car can be recycled, while 25% ends up in a landfill.
Thanks to the recycling of junk cars, approximately 85 million barrels of oil are saved. About 11 million tons of steel and 800,000 materials are put back into circulation for consumer use through pick and pulls and their recycling programs.
Cash for Clunkers goes even further than just recycling cars. We resell older models that are still in good condition so that used cars remain in circulation. Used cars in the market keeps vehicle costs low and steady.
When a car is no longer drivable, a pick and pull usually takes the following steps when they receive a junk car:
Drain toxic fluid safely
As you might know, the vehicle’s fluids contain many toxic contaminants that could harm the environment. These contaminants could reach the soil, water, and sometimes even evaporate into the air.
Not everyone can drain the toxic fluid from a junk car properly. These fluids must be stored in certain containers and disposed of at certain locations. You can’t simply dump these toxic fluids into the landfill in municipal areas.
Dispose Mercury switches properly
Did you know that every single Mercury switch can contaminate 132,000 gallons of our drinking water? Thus, the best thing about pick-n-pull scrap yards is that they follow certain regulations by the EPA national vehicle Mercury switch removal program and store them properly in the proposed locations.
Remove lead-acid batteries
At pick and pull junkyards, lead-acid batteries are mostly restored if they are usable. However, if the battery is not usable, a scrap yard will pelletize them and shrink them into smaller quantities.
Then, they wrap the batteries and ship them to the proper sites where plastic and lead can be recycled and converted into less harmful components.
Dispose of catalytic converters
Catalytic converters are not extremely harmful to the environment, but they have special precious metals reused for other uses.
Thus, pick and pulls take care of removing catalytic converters properly. Whenever the catalytic converter is reusable, they can clean it up and resell it. On the other hand, if the catalytic converter is completely damaged or broken, they dispose it properly and take advantage of all precious metals inside of it.
How to Use Pick and Pull Services
The greatest feature of a pick and pull scrap yard is that you can get car parts for a low price. By using the self-service option, you can avoid paying labor fees that a scrap yard will charge if they have to walk through and pull the parts for you. This way, you can get parts for cheap because all you are paying for is what the part is worth.
If you decided to go to a pick-n-pull junkyard, you must have the required mechanical experience to help you take out the parts without damaging them. You also need to get specific tools to help you remove the parts quickly and safely.
If you don’t have any previous experience, it might help you watch YouTube video tutorials about removing a certain part and what tools are needed.
Do pick-n-pull junk yards sell whole cars?
To find out if your local pick and pull sells whole cars, simply give them a call or check out their website. While some scrap yards do sell whole cars, most only sell car parts and not whole vehicles.
When you go to any pick-n-pull salvage yard, you will mostly see vehicles with missing parts. Unless a car has just arrived to the junk yard, customers have already taken most vehicles’ components, so it’s very hard to find an entire vehicle completely without any missing components.
Also, a pick and pull will often preprocess every vehicle before placing it in the junkyard. In other words, most scrap yards drain all of the toxic fluids beforehand and dispose of them properly. Therefore, you will not find a vehicle that has fluids inside of it.
When are pick and pulls open?
The best thing about pick and pulls is that you’ll find them open seven days a week, which is perfect for those who can’t find time during their weekdays to browse through a junkyard and remove needed parts.
In general, pick-n-pulls are open from 8:00 AM till 5:00 PM. You can always check your local pick and pull’s website to see their opening hours for more accurate and exact details.
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How much does a pick-n-pull give you for your car?
Answering this question depends heavily on the make, model, year, and condition of your car. According to some pick and pull websites, they can pay up to $3500 cash for cars.
However, the actual estimate cannot be known until you get in touch with them and provide them details about your car. Keep in mind that like any junkyards as well as with us here at Cash for Clunkers, several factors determine the amount of cash for junk cars you can get:
- Your vehicle’s size – Most junkyards are interested in the metal parts in your car. Thus, the heavier your car, the more cash you will get. For example, if you sell a large SUV, your chances of getting a higher offer can be much more than when selling a midsize or small vehicle.
- Your vehicle’s make, model, and year – If you own a high-demand vehicle, you will get more for it since both the whole car or parts are easier to sell.
- Your vehicle’s condition – A severely damaged vehicle will not bring you as much cash since most of it can only be scrapped and recycled. However, even a wrecked vehicle can be worth a lot of many of the valuable parts are still usable and can be resold.
- The price of scrap metal – The higher the current price of scrap metal, the more that a pick and pull or Cash for Clunkers can pay you, since we can get more from reselling the metal parts.
What to do after selling to a scrap yard?
Whether you are selling to a pick and pull scrap yard or to Cash for Clunkers, you will want to follow some steps before handing over your vehicle:
- Remove all valuable items – thoroughly check all pockets, under seats, and inside of the trunk so that you don’t leave anything you don’t want to lose!
- Cancel your vehicle’s registration – this step isn’t necessary with Cash for Clunkers since we have been a trusted company for over 12 years, but if you sell to a junk yard or private buyer, you will want to remove your plates to either keep for memory’s sake or drop off at the local DMV.
- Cancel your insurance policy – If you have been paying insurance for a vehicle that is undrivable, be sure to let your insurance company know how long you haven’t been driving it. Most insurances will provide you with cash back or apply credit to an insurance policy with your drivable vehicle.
How to Sell a Car Without a Title to Cash for Clunkers
Your vehicle’s title is one of the most important documents for selling it to a pick and pull. Pick-n-pulls do not always clearly state on their website that they don’t accept vehicles without titles. However, the fact of the matter is that most junkyards don’t accept cars without titles. Here at Cash for Clunkers we buy cars in any condition and, in most cases, even if the title is not readily available.
Obtaining a title the hard way
While you can always obtain a title replacement from your local DMV office, this takes lots of effort and time. Not only do you have to spend half a day waiting in line at the DMV but also you then have to wait, sometimes months, for your new title to arrive. If you don’t have the paperwork to prove your ownership, then the DMV won’t even be able to supply you with a title.
Getting a title the easy way
If you lost your title and don’t have the paperwork to prove ownership or simply don’t want to visit the DMV, you can always sell it to Cash for Clunkers and get cash for cars faster and easier than any other method.
Cash for Clunkers is one of the top-rated car removal companies in the nation. We have more than 10 years of experience in selling and buying vehicles around the United States. We are willing to come to your house or office and remove your car, even if it doesn’t have a title, within only three days.
Our process is very straightforward, and all it takes is following these simple three steps:
- Share with us your vehicle’s information: Either give us a call or fill out our online form and tell us your vehicle’s make, model, year, and condition. Be sure to tell us of any major damages or missing parts so that we can provide an accurate quote. This is also where you can tell us if you have a title or not.
- Receive our instant offer: In less than 2 minutes, you will get an instant offer. We use the most advanced technology in generating our offers, which allows us to evaluate your car within seconds. We compare your vehicle to the most recent transactions around your area and scrap metal price in the evaluation process. At this point, we allow you to take as much time as you need to review the offer and make sure it works for you before accepting it and proceeding to the next steps.
- Get your vehicle removed and receive the cash payment: Once you accept the offer, we will connect you to one of our local car removal specialists, who will schedule a pickup time and location that works for you. Our company is a 24-hour car removal company, which means that we can come to your house or office weekends, evenings, or same-day if you would like. The best part about Cash for Clunkers is that we provide cash payments for all customers to reduce the hassle in the car selling process. Therefore, at the pickup time, we will inspect your car to make sure it matches the description and condition you provided online. If it checks out, we will hand you cash on the spot and remove it safely!
While a pick and pull is great for when you need a cheap but working part to repair your vehicle, it is not always the best option for getting rid of a junk car quickly and easily. If you need cash in hand within a day or two, want your junk car removed from your property without any hassle, or need to sell a car without a title, then Cash for Clunkers is your best option. So contact us today and rest assured knowing that you can get cash for cars without any hassle!
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