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It might be that you love travelling by air so much that you come back home one day and find your car corroded, frozen, or something worse. You are literally left with a useless car. We all know how expensive car maintenance is. You would rather get rid of it. Don’t want to? Well, here’s the bad news. You don’t decide if you can still drive it anymore. 

Your insurance company and DVLA will probably total it and label it as a Salvage car. There are a number of things you can do with your salvage car, like selling it for parts, selling it, or scraping it. 

If you are knowledgeable, you probably know that selling your salvage car is hard. So come scrap it at Fast Scrap Car. But if you are still interested in learning how to sell a salvage car, here’s the ultimate guide to selling salvage car. 

What is a Salvage Car?

A salvage car is absolutely useless, and your insurance company considers it a ‘total loss.’ The DVLA totals your car when repairing it is almost (more than 75%) the selling price. Afterwards, your insurance company will recompensate you for replacing your vehicle instead of repair costs. You receive the salvage title at this point, which bans your car from ever being it to any public road.

What is a Salvage Car Title?

We just told you that you would get a salvage car title if your car is a total wreck beyond repair. So what is this title? A salvage title is a statement you receive when insurance companies write off your car. 

How do you know your car has a salvage car title?

It’s simple. A salvage car should have something close to ‘Salvage’ written on the car certificate. If you can’t find it, look up the scrap car’s VIN(Vehicle Identification Number). It should have the salvage title given. 

Driving a car with a salvage title

That’s a no-no. A salvage car is especially titled as one so that no one uses it again. It won’t ever have insurance or a license. So there’s no chance of ever driving it around your side of the street, let alone the highway. However, once you have repaired your car and made it driveable, you can change the title to “rebuilt” title. This title will permit you to legally insure, license, and drive the car.

What makes a Car Salvage?

Natural disasters like earthquake, tornado, volcano, hailstorms etc., collisions and other car accidents, heavy objects like a tree falling on the car, fire and flooding are all likely causes. These cases may prompt the government and insurance companies to total your car and write it off if the conditions of totalling are met. 

However, the car may also age and lose its shape with rust, mould, and metal quality, losing its durability. An extremely corroded car is highly unlikely to pass an inspection and gain certification. If the state calculates the repair costs to be overly expensive, you will also end up with a scrap car.

Another reason that may consider your car scrap is a stolen car that was found a little too late. The state will give the car a reasonable period before it labels it as a lost cause then… you get the drill– it gets labelled as a salvage car. But you can change that by retitling and legalising it. It will be a costly process, though.

Can you Sell Salvage Car?

Definitely, but the buyer needs to know about it being salvaged. The easiest way to do it is by listing it in some car store online, even though it might be a slow process. Selling your salvage car is only possible when it is in excellent or repairable shape or when you are selling it to scrap resellers. Scraping it at Car Scrap Fast will give you the best value for a salvage car in its worst state. 

Tips on How to Sell a Salvage Car:

Mind the VIN

Since you have decided to sell the car, you had better check out the VIN and ensure it’s correct. You may call the DVLA in your area and do the checkup.

Clearing the Salvage title

A rebuilt title is worth more than a salvage title. You may want to clear the salvage title if your car is in a good state. However, if it’s not good enough to be cleared, it’s probably not good enough to be sold, either. Then again, your region may have laws that prevent a salvage car from being sold. So watch out for that.

Why Should I Sell my Car for Salvage?

Many car connoisseurs are into buying a salvage car and looking for a cheap car to DIY. They are proficient and can turn it into a brand-new car. If your car doesn’t need a lot of parts to replace and it’s still functional from the inside, you can sell it for enough. 

A salvage car with well-functioning parts also works for scrap resellers who eye out good parts of a car. They will pay well for it, so don’t be shy to present a worthy estimate while selling salvage.

What you need to sell a salvage car:

When selling a salvage car, you need to get a little smart. You can’t just put up an ad with a picture of a damaged car and expect it to sell. And then again, you need some materials for transferring and documents for legalisation when selling your salvage car. 

Here is what you will need to Sell Salvage Car to a private buyer:

• Car title (Scrap or Rebuilt)
• Records
• Warranty documents
• Odometer disclosure form
• Quote
• Certificate of Inspection
• Ownership document
• Good quality photos
• Clear photos of as many parts of the car as possible

Conclusion

Don’t want to keep that old car with you anymore? Sell it! Don’t know how to sell a salvage car? Fast Scrap Car makes selling salvage easy. We are your favourite UK scrapyard that gives you the best value for selling salvage cars than any of the private sellers you find on car reselling websites or platforms. Call us to find out how we help.