You may not think of a junk car as a valuable asset, but you might actually be surprised at how much you could get for it. In general, vehicles depreciate in value pretty consistently over the years; that being said, recent trends have come together to give junk car prices a significant boost. The pandemic disrupted all kinds of things, from weekend get-togethers with friends to the global shipping industry. As it happens, a lot of these changes actually worked in favor of anyone who`s looking to sell a non-running vehicle. Junk car buyers like Orthodox Auto Company are now paying competitive prices for cars in almost any condition; you could also try to find an online buyer who`s looking for a fixer-upper. Whoever buys your junk car, they`ll pay a good bit more today than they would have a few years ago; it`s definitely a seller`s market when it comes to cars of any description, even if they don`t run.
Before we dive into the factors behind junk cars` high prices, it`s important to point out that “junk cars” aren`t always ancient rust-buckets that`ve been sitting in the back 40 for the last decade; sometimes they`re nearly-new sports cars that`ve been totaled in an accident, or trusty family SUVs that have reached the end of the road. Plenty of junk cars have a lot of potential; it`s just that the cost to get them running again would exceed their market value. With that in mind, let`s get into the details below.
Traffic accidents stopped generating as many junk cars
You might not think of the junk car supply line as being terribly important, but the relationship between supply and demand works the same no matter what commodity you`re talking about. Car crashes happen to be a pretty major source of junk cars, but that`s assuming that both new and used cars are readily available. Various factors have made it a lot harder to simply go and buy the kind of car you want from a dealership (more on that later), so a lot of people started opting to repair their cars after a crash instead of junking them. This created a shortage of junk cars, and scarcity drove up the price.
More people relied on used car parts to keep their current vehicles going
What happens when your car breaks down? That depends on your budget. If you have the money, you can buy a new car. If money is tight or your financial future is uncertain, which was the case for many during the pandemic, you get your vehicle repaired as economically as possible. This is what increasing numbers of people have been doing over the last couple of years, and it`s added up to a huge jump in demand for car parts from junk cars.
Factory closures meant that used car parts were often the only ones available
Sometimes junk cars aren`t just an alternative source of car parts; they may be the only source. With factories all over the world being closed for months at a time, various car parts simply weren`t being made for quite a while. Whether they`re needed by mechanics, used car dealerships, or individuals who want to do the job themselves, certain car parts are hard to find new – but they can still be gotten from junk cars, of course.
Accidental lockdown savers splurged on vehicles after the pandemic
Although a lot of people didn`t have money for new vehicles, others discovered that their complete lack of a social life had saved them thousands of dollars over the course of several months – in fact, it was enough for them to go buy a car. This was a definite trend in the months after many of the restrictions were lifted, and while it was great news for car dealerships across the nation, it also resulted in rising prices for both cars and car parts. People bought new cars, unless they weren`t available. Then they bought used cars, unless they couldn`t find the ones they wanted. Then they bought junk cars, and fixed them up using parts from other junk cars. You probably already know how it works by now.
Production issues exacerbated the problem
The less people can rely on new or used cars, the more they rely on junk cars – that`s the pattern we`re seeing. The supply of new cars over the past several years has been on the downturn, whether it`s because of semiconductor or steel shortages, shipping delays, or factory closures. Demand for new cars may have fallen during the pandemic, but that was partly due to the fact that people couldn`t leave their houses to go buy a car. Once they were allowed to participate in most normal activities, the demand for new cars bounced right back; the problem was that the supply couldn`t keep up. The used car market saw the exact same trend, and the junk car industry has been enjoying a lot more interest than usual as a result.
Disruptions in the used car supply channel caused people to turn to junk cars
Under normal circumstances, car leasing companies and car dealerships would have a certain turnover rate for their rental or demonstration fleets; their old vehicles represent a fairly significant source of used cars. Once it became clear that new vehicles were getting scarce, though, they stopped getting rid of their vehicles so often, resulting in less incoming inventory for used car dealerships. Without leasing companies or new car dealerships to rely on, used car dealerships turned to junk cars that could be fixed up and sold.
The takeaway
Even if your junk car isn`t in the best condition, there`s a good chance that a salvage yard would pay a decent chunk of change for whatever`s under the hood. The make and model will be a determining factor in how much you end up getting paid, but the truth is that you shouldn`t have any trouble finding a buyer, no matter what type of junk car you have.