How to sell a car that does not run

A car that will not start is not a problem you have to solve before you can sell it. It is just a car with a smaller number attached. The thing to get right is who you sell it to, and whether the tow comes out of your pocket.

Your four options

Sell it privately. Pays the most in theory. In practice you are advertising a car nobody can test drive, to buyers who mostly want to talk the price down in your driveway, and you still have to deal with the tow. It works best when the car is desirable broken: a common model with an obvious, cheap fault.

Sell it to a scrapyard. Fast and certain. It also anchors on the metal rather than the parts, and many yards quote a price and then deduct for towing when they arrive. Ask specifically whether the number includes pickup.

Donate it. Genuinely easy, and the deduction is usually far less than people expect — often based on what the charity actually sells the car for. Worth it if the cause matters more than the money.

Sell it to an online buyer. You describe the car, you get a number, they come get it. The whole model depends on the number holding when the truck arrives, which is exactly what to check before you agree to anything.

Before you accept any offer

• Is towing included, actually? A $400 offer minus a $150 tow is a $250 offer.
• Does the number hold at pickup? Renegotiating in the driveway is the oldest trick in this trade. Ask what changes it — the honest answer is "only if the car is not what you described".
• Who handles the paperwork? In Washington you still file a Report of Sale within five business days. That part stays yours.
• When do you get paid? At pickup is the right answer. "We will mail it" is not.

Getting the description right pays

It is tempting to soften it — it "just needs a battery", it "ran when parked". Do not. A quote built on a car that turns over is worth nothing when the car that does not turn over arrives, and you will be having that conversation with a driver on a schedule. Say what it does and does not do and the first number is the one you keep.

Worth knowing what yours is? Get your offer in about two minutes, or read what sets the price on a dead car.