Cash Auto Salvage
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What’s my junk car worth?

Get a ballpark estimate in 30 seconds. Backed by 42,000+ historical purchases — median payout $400, top 10% around $1,090.

Calculator

Your car’s estimated worth

Heuristic estimate based on 42,000+ historical purchases. The real number from a live offer will be more precise.

Condition
How it works

We estimate using the average payout for your make in our offer ledger, scaled by year and condition. The result is a 25%-wide range — not a guarantee.

For an actual offer with a number we’ll honor at pickup, run the full 90-second flow. It checks the catalytic converter, your local scrap market, and 8 other factors this calculator doesn’t.

Estimates only — not a binding offer. Real offer comes from the full flow.
What we actually buy

The 10 most-bought makes in our ledger

Across our 42,000+ company-wide purchases. Median payouts shown below are what sellers actually received — pulled from the same data the calculator uses, which is what makes the estimate more accurate than a generic web tool.

MakeMedian payout
Ford$390
Chevy$372
Toyota$550
Honda$407
Nissan$400
Hyundai$505
Dodge$380
Kia$530
Chrysler$320
Jeep$415

Median payout is what sellers actually received from our purchase ledger — never commission, never an advertised number. Two cars of the same make can pay very differently — year, mileage, condition, and the catalytic converter all swing the number. Use the calculator above for a make-aware estimate.

What moves the number

Five things that change your offer

The calculator only knows three of these. The full offer flow checks all five — which is why a firm offer through the form is more accurate than this estimate.

Catalytic converter

The single biggest swing on most cars built after 2000. Some cats are worth $150 in scrap; others (older trucks, hybrids) over $800. We can ID yours from year/make/model.

Make and model

Toyotas hold value better than most — median $550. Other makes vary by parts demand and scrap weight. The calculator uses your make's actual median.

Year and mileage

Newer cars carry more residual parts value. Older cars are mostly priced as scrap by weight. Mileage matters most for cars that still run — a 2015 Civic with 80k miles versus 250k miles is a meaningful spread.

Condition

Running, drives, and inspectable cars routinely earn 2-3x their non-running siblings. The calculator captures this with a condition multiplier; the firm offer captures more nuance (won't start vs. starts but won't shift, etc).

Local scrap-metal market

Steel, aluminum, and copper prices set the floor. They move daily. Our offer engine pulls today's prices for your region; the calculator uses national averages, which is why a firm offer can swing 5-15% from the estimate.

Title status

Clean title gets full payout. Salvage or rebuilt titles knock 10-25% off. No title at all is doable in some states but typically the lowest tier. The calculator doesn't ask about title; the offer flow does.

FAQ

Calculator questions, answered

What it does, what it doesn't, and how it compares to the firm offer.

How accurate is this calculator?
It’s a heuristic — useful for a ballpark, but not a binding offer. Actual offers consider your specific year/make/model, the catalytic converter, your local scrap market, mileage, body damage, and 8 other factors. The calculator only knows year, make, and condition. Treat the range as ±25%; the dollar figure on the offer is what we pay.
Why is the range so wide?
Because make + year + condition don’t tell us enough. Two 2010 Honda Civics in the same condition can pay 30% apart depending on the trim, the catalytic converter (some Civic cats are worth $400+, others closer to $150), and how much aluminum is on the wheels and suspension. The range spans those swings honestly.
Where does this data come from?
Our internal offer ledger. We’ve purchased 42,000+ cars across the U.S. and stored the make, model, condition, and payout for each one. The medians you see here come from that data — no industry estimates, no third-party guesses. More on what determines a junk car’s value →
Will the actual offer match the calculator?
Usually yes — within the range. The actual offer can come in higher than the calculator (running cars with rich catalytic converters often do) or lower (heavily rusted cars from salt-belt states often do). Either way, the offer you get is the number we pay at pickup, no surprises.
My insurance company totaled my car — is this the right tool?
Use our total loss calculator first to confirm the insurer is likely to total the car (the math: repair cost ÷ actual cash value × 100; most insurers total at 70–80%). Once you’ve settled with the insurer and have the salvage title in hand, come back to this calculator (or skip straight to the offer flow) for what we’ll pay for the car itself. We buy salvage-titled and totaled vehicles routinely.

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