Verify the title. Your clunker may not have lien on it, but are you holding the title? Look through your important documents to find your title. If you cannot find it, then you’ll need to contact your state’s Department of Motor Vehicles for assistance. Likely, you’ll have to demonstrate proof of ownership and pay a fee to secure a copy of your title.
The second reason to look at is, is that the parts you are getting are OEM parts, which means they will fit first time, every time. As they are original parts they have been designed by the manufacturer to fit and work perfectly. There are many auto wrecking yards around and are easily found in your local area’s.
If you have a passion for cars or you know how to fix various types of it, then you can look at old magazines or boat renting for car or antique ones. Believe it or not, there are people who still have very old cars (or at least parts of it!) in their garage. The trick is to find them. Once you have yourself an old car (or a fleet of them) in any way would be to leave your old car for display at trade shows and car shows.
If you do not know how to remove the parts yourself, then you can employ the help of someone who does. You may have to pay that individual, but you can still make money with the auto salvage parts of your car. Don’t just simply sell it for a few hundred dollars. You can certainly get a lot more out of it if you sell it piece by piece. Then again, if you don’t have the time to sell the parts, then it might be in your best interest to take it to a salvage yard and allow them to buy it off of you. They will rebuild the car and sell it as a whole under a salvage title in order to make a profit after buying it off of you and replacing the parts of it that were defective or damaged.
As for the price of auto parts, aside from the age of the vehicle there is the make and model. In this case foreign car parts are much more expensive than domestically made cars. Most people who buy foreign cars don’t realize this or even think about it until it comes time to get their vehicle repaired. Then they get hit with the bill and their eyes pop out of their head. For example, an oil filer for a 2005 Buick Century is about $2.98. The same oil filter for a Honda CRV is $3.98. It’s basically the same filter for the Honda but it costs $1.00 more. That comes out to a 33% markup on a relatively cheap part. Imagine that same 33% markup on a part that costs $60 for the Buick. You’d be paying about $80 for the same part for the Honda.
Advertise your car. If you’re not satisfied with the offers from the salvage yards, you may be able to make more money by selling it directly. You can advertise on Craigslist or some other website, giving details about your car. Include photos and be honest about the car’s condition. Put down an asking prices such as $500 or OBO for “or best offer” and wait for people to contact you. One man’s junk is another man’s treasure — you could be holding a classic that would be worth a mint once it has been restored.