# Is there any chance in heck that anyone would buy my car for parts?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-chance-in-heck-that-anyone-would-buy-my-car-for-parts/132976
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [October 19, 2002, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-chance-in-heck-that-anyone-would-buy-my-car-for-parts/132976 "2002-10-19T15:24:02Z")
**Posts on this page:** 13
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)
#### Post date: [October 19, 2002, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-chance-in-heck-that-anyone-would-buy-my-car-for-parts/132976/1 "2002-10-19T15:24:02Z")
I have a 1989 Toyota Camry station wagon. It needs new CV joints and it harpooned its own engine with a rod. It’s toast. I’ve been calling junkyards to sell it for parts, but the best offer I’ve had is “well take it off your hands and not charge you for towing”
Am I being unrealistic in thinking anyone would buy it? All the body parts are still good…
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### Author:  [@beagledave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagledave)
#### Post date: [October 19, 2002, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-chance-in-heck-that-anyone-would-buy-my-car-for-parts/132976/2 "2002-10-19T15:32:11Z")
You’re being unrealistic if you think a junkyard will pay for it. Maybe by WOM you might find someone looking for a specific Camry part(s) who will pay for those parts.
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### Author:  [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)
#### Post date: [October 19, 2002, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-chance-in-heck-that-anyone-would-buy-my-car-for-parts/132976/3 "2002-10-19T17:14:28Z")
Does it drive at all? See how big of a receipt the Salvation Army will give you for it. If you itemize your tax return, this could be the best way to (eventually) make some money. There is another oaganization that’s always leaving unsolicited messages on my answering machine asking for junker cars to be donated, but I forget their name. Purple Heart maybe?
I know people are going to say “but they are only supposed you write you a receipt for what it’s worth, and since it’s busted & doesn’t run, it’s not worth anything!” Well, I repeatedly told Salvation Army that my 11-year old Civic was at death’s door, and that it barely made it to the SA car lot without catching fire. But the lady said that didn’t matter. She wrote me out a receipt for $4,750. I don’t know what percentage of that I got back in my tax refund, but I bet it was more than I would have gotten from a scrap yard.
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### Author:  [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)
#### Post date: [October 19, 2002, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-chance-in-heck-that-anyone-would-buy-my-car-for-parts/132976/4 "2002-10-19T17:36:17Z")
try Ebay
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### Author:  [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)
#### Post date: [October 19, 2002, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-chance-in-heck-that-anyone-would-buy-my-car-for-parts/132976/5 "2002-10-19T17:37:20Z")
Most towns have some sort of “Pennysaver”-type “free ads” only newspaper. Put an ad there like, “1989 Toyota Camry Wagon - does not run - parts only. Best offer”.
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### Author:  [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)
#### Post date: [October 19, 2002, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-chance-in-heck-that-anyone-would-buy-my-car-for-parts/132976/6 "2002-10-19T17:56:23Z")
Geez, Opal, you live around here and don’t pay any attention to those ubiquitous donate-your-car ads? Like **Attrayant** said.
[I never understood how donating a good-condition car to these people would be better for me than selling it…]
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### Author:  [@Lucretia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucretia)
#### Post date: [October 19, 2002, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-chance-in-heck-that-anyone-would-buy-my-car-for-parts/132976/7 "2002-10-19T18:28:27Z")
I’ve sold two non-running cars for parts, and I got $50 for one, and around 100 (I think, I don’t really remember) for the other. I wish I could remember what places I sold them too, but I do remember that I spent about a day each just going through the yellow pages, calling every body shop and junkyard I could find.
All rather less than helpful, I know, but the upshot is that yes, there are places out there who will pay at least minimally for parts.
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### Author:  [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)
#### Post date: [October 19, 2002, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-chance-in-heck-that-anyone-would-buy-my-car-for-parts/132976/8 "2002-10-19T19:14:52Z")
> [@](#):
>
> try Ebay
Who pays for postage? 😃
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### Author:  [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)
#### Post date: [October 19, 2002, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-chance-in-heck-that-anyone-would-buy-my-car-for-parts/132976/9 "2002-10-19T19:33:22Z")
The neat thing about ebay is that you can specify the person has to pick up the item (which in this case might make a heck of a lot of sense). I did this recently with a treadmill I was selling - no way I was gonna lug it to the post office if I could avoid it!
Oh, and Opal… happy 6K.
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### Author:  [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)
#### Post date: [October 19, 2002, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-chance-in-heck-that-anyone-would-buy-my-car-for-parts/132976/10 "2002-10-19T20:29:43Z")
Yeah I know about the donation thing, but that was sort of a last resort. It is looking more and more likely ☹
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### Author:  [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)
#### Post date: [October 19, 2002, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-chance-in-heck-that-anyone-would-buy-my-car-for-parts/132976/11 "2002-10-19T21:40:54Z")
I don’t think you could go wrong with ebay, though. Might want to check it out. They have two 1989 Camrys up for bid right now, although both are probably in better shape than yours. Still, you could put in a starting price of, say $500 and see if anyone bites. If not, redo it at $300, and so on. Better than nothing, correct?
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### Author:  [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)
#### Post date: [October 19, 2002, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-chance-in-heck-that-anyone-would-buy-my-car-for-parts/132976/12 "2002-10-19T23:43:33Z")
I donated once, they came & got it & gave me $35. What do you expect for a car that old? 🙂 Actually, before they got it I took all the nice parts off & sold them to a dealer up north, they didn’t mind though.
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### Author:  [@pesch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pesch)
#### Post date: [October 19, 2002, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-chance-in-heck-that-anyone-would-buy-my-car-for-parts/132976/13 "2002-10-19T23:53:01Z")
We gave our 1991 Ford Festiva to the tech school that offers classes in auto repair, and got a letter from them for a value of $400 (our estimate). This will translate to about $130 cash when I file my tax return.
Just make sure they transfer the title over to themselves when you sign it over. I got a call a month later from the police. “My” car was sitting in someone’s driveway, violating the local ordinance. Fortunately, it took a phone call to the school to get it straightened out (he said, crossing his fingers).