A broken-down car that is of no use to you not only takes up space in your garage but is a health hazard. So, it’s in your best interest to get rid of yours soon, before it becomes completely unworthy of attracting any buyers.

But who will buy an old worn-out vehicle? Perhaps, an auction house, a private buyer, or a car wrecker would take an interest in your car. However, you also have the option to sell your car for parts.

Wondering how you can do that in NSW?

This guide will teach you exactly how you can sell your old car for parts and earn the most money possible.

But before we get into the details, let’s see if selling your car for parts is in fact a good idea or a waste of your time:

Sell for Parts or Repair Car?

When you show the willingness to sell car parts for money, some people will ask you to reconsider. They’ll say that it is better to repair your car and use it or sell it in working condition rather than selling it as a jalopy.

To be honest, they are not wrong. You can possibly get a good deal at an auction or with a private buyer when you have a working car. However, for the people living in NSW, the cost of hiring a mechanic is too high.

If you think of repairs, you’ll probably end up with a bill that’s higher than the car’s resale value. So, what’s the point, especially if you never intend to drive it ever again?

In other words, repairing a car and making it roadworthy is costly, especially if it is an old model. You can consider this option only when your car is new and you intend to keep it longer.

Now, an important question remains to be answered and that is:

What To Consider Before Selling Your Car for Parts

Since you have decided that selling is the only option, you must put aside some information about your vehicle to help determine the value of your vehicle. Here is what you must consider before selling your car for parts:

• It’s age: If your vehicle is recently bought, there’s no point selling it for parts to a junkyard. You should only consider this option if you have a car that’s not common on public roads anymore.
• It’s value as a whole and per-part: It’s possible that selling your entire vehicle as junk brings you more money than selling it part by part. When your vehicle is a recent model, chances are that a private buyer or a car wrecker is willing to pay more money for it, so it’s always a better idea to first ask around.
• Where to sell? Selling parts isn’t easy. In fact, most people don’t trust parts that aren’t professionally handled. So, you must first confirm a buyer and widen the list of options before even touching your vehicle.
• Time required to extract parts: Selling a car for parts requires extra effort on your behalf. You must look for potential buyers, list your parts, organize them and be ready to ship them.

How To Sell a Car for Parts

Once you have jotted down the specifics and decided to sell your car for parts, the next hurdle is, how do you sell it? Below you’ll find a step-by-step guide on how to sell car parts for money.

1. Assess the Vehicle’s Value

There’s nothing wrong with gathering information and knowing what your vehicle is worth in its current condition. Perhaps you may hit a stroke of good luck and find someone willing to buy your car from you for an attractive price. Anything can happen so be on your toes.

Also, once you know the whole car’s worth, you can determine whether the amount you’ll get from selling parts gives you a profit or not and how to price the parts appropriately.

2. Determine the Condition of Parts

If you have an old car, chances are that most of its parts are not working. So, you also need to visually and mechanically check as many parts as you can to determine if they are worthy of selling. These are some commonly sold parts:

• Sensors
• Catalytic Converters
• Batteries
• Tyre & Rims
• Interior Cosmetic Items
• Airbags
• Car seats
• Electrical components

Fortunately, it’s not very hard to check all these components to see if they’re working. You can do it yourself or take the help of a professional. Once you have made a list of all the working parts, you need to categorise them and move on to the next step.

3. Research The Value of the Parts

Now comes the hard part, which is researching the value of each part you have entered in your list. For this, you would need the help of the internet. A quick Google search will get you decent results, which you can compare to determine the price for your parts.

Car wrecker sites are perfect for such endeavours!

4. Compare Options

Potential buyers for car parts are either car wreckers, spare part shop owners or private buyers looking for a particular part online. With car wreckers, it’s easy to sell a part often as much as picking up the phone and dialling their number. But since yards are constantly refreshing their stock, you’ll only get good money if you have a car part from a rare vehicle. The same goes for spare parts shop owners.

Private buyers, on the other hand, might offer you lots of money, but it is difficult to find serious ones online. Most are out there simply to waste your time. So, make sure you have access to a good community online where the buyers show genuine interest

5. Remove All Belongings

Before stripping your car of its parts, you need to empty it of your personal belongings. So, your favourite all-weather mats, documents, USBs, spare money and all other things must be extracted. The rest goes into the rubbish.

6. Extract Spare Parts

It’s finally time to remove the parts that you listed. However, you must proceed with caution, because removing salvageable parts isn’t every person’s job. It’s hugely emphasized that only professionals should handle car parts and remove them from your vehicle. That’s because if you attempt this yourself, you might end up hurting yourself and you won’t have the proper equipment or training to do such a job. So, hire a professional and do not risk yourself.

7. Take Snapshots of the Parts

In order to sell spare parts online, you will need proper photos of all the extracted items. Also, the photos do not have to be artistically done. All you need is some good lighting, a camera and the part you intend to take the photo of. Voila, you are done!

8. Prepare Parts for the Internet

With car wreckers, only the condition of your spare parts matters. But when you are selling spare parts online, you must write a detailed description that accompanies the photo. It will help the buyer learn more about the part and allow them to make a decision.

Remember that shipping isn’t cheap. You should either include that in the final asking price or add shipping costs as an extra so that the buyer isn’t taken by surprise.

9. Complete the Transaction

Once you have performed all the previous steps, you must wait for a buyer to show interest in your product. When you get a willing buyer, set up a time and place for the transaction to happen, or if it is an online order, prepare the spare part for shipping.

Always remember to ask for cash upfront so as not to get scammed by people. If that’s not possible, choose a public place to perform the transaction.

Luckily, with wrecking yards making such transactions is easy. If they show interest, take the part to their premises and get your money there and then. There are several such wreckers in and around Sydney that provide hard cash for spare parts immediately.

Alternate Ways to Sell a Worn-Out Car

Do you think it’s too much of a hassle selling your wrecked car for parts? There’s good news for you! There are other ways to get rid of your car in dilapidated condition.

Sell the Whole Car to a Wrecker

Wreckers prefer that you sell them the entire car rather than sell them parts. The reason is that they have professional staff well-versed in stripping off parts from vehicles. They do this job expertly, swiftly and without causing harm to anyone or anything. Not only that, but they are able to extract the most amount of parts, which you might not even deem worthy of reusing.

Moreover, there’s a higher chance of you getting more money for the whole car than for parts. That’s because when car wreckers buy your vehicle, they look at the total value of the car, including that of its parts and its body, before providing an estimate. So, it’s wiser to sell your car completely and get rid of it within a day.

Auction it

The very last option on your list is selling parts to an auction house. Yes, not all auction houses will accept spare parts but some of them allow this, especially if you have a spare part from a rare car, or a luxury vehicle etc.

Final Thoughts

By now you know everything there is to know about selling your car for parts. You know that it takes time to extract parts, list them, categorise them, find buyers for them and finally sell them. It is a lucrative venture, but it’s safer and sometimes more profitable to sell your old car as a whole to wreckers. In doing this, you are free of your old car in a day, you get immediate cash, and there is no effort wasted in haggling with potential buyers.

So, regardless of what you choose to do, always consider assessing the value of your vehicle from car wreckers in Sydney.