Parting Out a Car: Where to Sell Parts or the Whole Car

Parting out a car means pulling its parts and selling them one at a time, and where to sell a car for parts depends on how much of that work you want to do. You can sell the whole car to a business that will take it apart, or do the work yourself. Parting out can bring in more money, but only when that model's parts are in demand and you have the time, tools, space and patience to sell them.

For most older cars that don't run, selling the complete car is the better trade. Once you count selling fees, shipping, fluid disposal and the lower price you'll get for the stripped shell, the extra cash from parting out often shrinks, and sometimes disappears. Before you decide, get a quote for the complete car. That number is your baseline, and parting out has to beat it after costs.

Where can you sell a car for parts?

You can sell the whole car to a salvage yard, a self-service yard, an online junk car buyer or someone who needs a parts car, or you can pull the parts and sell them yourself. The main options:

• Full-service salvage yards pull parts and sell them to repair shops and the public. They may pay above scrap for models whose parts move in their area.
• Self-service (pull-apart) yards set the car on the lot and let customers remove what they need. Several chains buy cars directly, among them Pick-n-Pull, Pull-A-Part and Pick Your Part, which say on their own sites that they buy junk and non-running cars.
• Online junk car buyers quote over the web or phone and send a tow truck.
• Repair shops, rebuilders and hobbyists sometimes want a parts car of the same model.
• If you part it out, the usual places to list are online marketplaces such as eBay Motors, Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist, plus forums and clubs for your model.

Whichever business ends up with the car will pull what sells and recycle the rest. Our guide to how car recycling works walks through what happens after pickup.

How do you find a parts buyer near you?

Search for '[your city] auto salvage' or 'pick and pull near me', then call two or three yards. Give each one the year, make and model and say whether the car runs, and ask for the price after towing, since some yards charge for the tow or expect you to deliver the car. Compare the best of those quotes with the offer for the complete car you got at the start.

Is it worth parting out a car?

Parting out pays when the parts sell for clearly more than the car is worth whole, and you can sell them before storage, shipping and your own time eat the difference. Check these before you start:

1. Check demand by looking up sold listings, not asking prices, for the parts on your exact year and model. Models with lots of copies still on the road, plus popular trucks and enthusiast cars, tend to have the most buyers.
2. Count the hours: every part needs photos, a listing, messages and a meetup or a shipment, and big parts can sit for weeks.
3. Be honest about tools and skills. Pulling an engine or transmission takes jack stands or a lift, an engine hoist and some experience, and a part damaged on the way out is worth little.
4. Find a place where you're allowed to keep a half-stripped car for weeks or months (see the local rules below).
5. Plan the shipping. Small parts ship easily, but engines, transmissions, doors and bumpers need freight or local pickup, and buyers may expect a return if a part doesn't work.

Which car parts sell for the most?

The big mechanical parts usually bring the most, as long as they work: the engine and transmission, then the catalytic converter, which is priced by its type and part number (see our catalytic converter price guide). After those come wheels and tires with tread left, headlights and taillights, electronic modules and infotainment units, and body panels and doors in a common color. What actually sells depends on the model, so check sold listings for your exact year, make and model before you pull anything.

How much will you get if you sell your car for parts?

Sold whole, a parts car usually brings at least its metal value, about $310 for a complete midsize sedan (November 2026), plus whatever its usable parts add. Parting out comes out ahead only when what the parts net, after fees and shipping, plus what the stripped shell brings, beats an offer for the complete car. That offer is your baseline, and it can be more than metal value for a car that runs or has parts in demand.

Here's a hypothetical, with made-up numbers: say you could net $900 from the engine, transmission, wheels and a few body panels, and the leftover shell then sells for $150. That's $1,050 before you count your time, against about $310 for the car sold whole as it sits. For a common older car whose parts sell slowly, the parts total is often far lower.

How do you part out a car?

Plan the job before you pull a bolt: check the rules, price the parts, work safely, and sell the parts in demand before the rest.

1. Check your local rules first. Some cities limit how long an inoperable car can sit where neighbors can see it, so make sure you have the time and the space.
2. Price the parts before you pull anything. Look up sold listings, not asking prices, for that model's engine, transmission, wheels, lights and body panels.
3. Gather the tools: jack stands or a lift, wrenches and sockets, and labeled bins and bags so every part keeps its bolts.
4. Work safely. Disconnect the battery before you start, and never work under a car held up only by a jack.
5. Drain the fluids into sealed containers before you pull the engine, transmission or radiator, and take them to a recycler.
6. Pull and sell the parts in demand first, the ones the sold listings show moving quickly.
7. Sell what's left. The stripped shell still has a title, and a licensed yard will want it, along with your ID.

What does parting out a car cost you?

The costs are your time, the fees on each sale, safe disposal of fluids, local rules on where the car can sit, and a lower price for the shell at the end.

Fluids and hazardous parts

Pulling an engine, transmission or radiator releases oil, coolant and other fluids, and they're your responsibility. EPA says the used oil from one oil change can contaminate a million gallons of fresh water. It asks do-it-yourselfers to collect used oil in a leak-proof container and take it, along with drained oil filters, to a collection center (EPA). Antifreeze is toxic to people and animals, so catch it in a labeled container and keep it off the driveway. Leave the air conditioning lines closed. EPA rules under the Clean Air Act prohibit intentionally venting refrigerant while servicing or disposing of air conditioning equipment (EPA), so have a shop recover it before you pull A/C parts. Recycle the battery. North Dakota, for example, bans lead-acid batteries from landfills (ND Department of Environmental Quality).

Local rules on inoperable cars

A car sitting in pieces can break local rules. Phoenix's city code bans keeping an inoperable vehicle that's visible from beyond the property line unless it's undergoing repair, the total time it's been inoperable is 15 days or less, and it hasn't happened more than three times in 12 months. An accumulation of vehicle parts counts as blight too (Phoenix City Code 39-7).

In Texas, a "junked vehicle" includes one that's wrecked or partially dismantled, or one that has been inoperable for more than 30 consecutive days on private property, if it has an expired license plate or none. State law calls a junked vehicle, or part of one, a public nuisance if it's visible from a public place or road (Texas Transportation Code chapter 683). Check your city code and any HOA rules before you start.

The shell still needs a title

When you're done, you still own a titled car. A licensed yard buying the leftover shell will ask for the title and your ID, as state rules require, and it reports the VIN and who it got the car from to a federal database (our recycling guide explains that report). Keep the title safe until then. If it's lost, sort that out first; our guide to selling a car without a title covers the options. Leave the wheels on so the shell can be rolled onto a truck.

The catalytic converter has its own rules

States such as California, Texas and Minnesota require proof of ownership to sell a loose converter, and California and Minnesota hold your payment for days. Our catalytic converter guide explains the rules and why the converter is often worth more left on the car.

How does pulling parts lower a whole-car offer?

Each major part you remove lowers what a buyer will pay for what's left. A complete car is priced on its weight plus the parts a buyer can use: about $310 in metal for a midsize sedan at $186 a ton (November 2026), or $450 for a pickup, before any parts value. Pull the engine and transmission and the car loses its heaviest and most valuable parts at once. Some buyers then price the shell per pound, like loose scrap. Our junk car value calculator lowers its estimate when the engine, transmission or converter is missing, so you can see the effect before you pick up a wrench.

Our page on how to scrap your car for cash walks through the scrap math for a complete car.

Part it out, sell it whole or junk it: how do they compare?

Parting out has the highest possible payout and by far the most work. Selling the car whole gives up some of that upside in exchange for less effort and a faster sale.

	Part it out yourself	Sell whole to a parts yard	Junk it through a request service
Money	Highest possible total, if the parts sell	Weight plus the parts the yard wants	An offer on the complete car
Your work	Pull, list, ship and answer buyers	Call around; you may need to deliver it	Describe the car online
Time to get paid	Weeks to months, part by part	Once a price is agreed and the car is delivered	At pickup, on the buyer's schedule
Towing	You still have to move the shell	Sometimes free, often for a fee	Free with every offer
Paperwork	Converter rules, shell title, fluid disposal	Title at the sale	Title at pickup
Best for	Popular models, owners with tools and space	Common models with parts in demand nearby	Cars that don't move, owners short on time

Ready to sell it whole?

If the numbers don't favor parting out, the quicker way to get cash for your junk car is to sell it in one piece. Describe it once, and our buyer partner makes the offer and includes free towing. Request a free offer and set it next to what the parts would bring.