What parts are important to sell from my junk car?

It all depends on your vehicle. my wife has a 1991 Honda Accord with 85,000 miles on it. we have no intention of selling or junking it, BUT, we have discovered that the fenders are worth a fortune, since they are metal and in big demand. i would call a junk yard and ask your question or a worker at AutoZone. these guys have a world of knowledge.

What kind of car is it? Some cars have specialized parts or very sought after parts.

What kind of seats does it have? Some people will pay good money for bucket seats.

Grab the catalytic converter.

Toyota 91 Camry

Sorry I didn’t think to include this!

If you don’t know much about cars, and if you don’t plan to make this a hobby, or collect even more junk cars, then you’re going to be engaged in a very unrewarding enterprise here… and wind up with the shell of a junked car in your yard, which you will eventually have to pay to have removed.

It’s likely that your endeavor will end up costing you more than it earns you.

If the thing runs at all, for any length of time, then you’ll get the most for it as a trade-in on another vehicle at a new or used car dealer. Failing that, you’d be better off selling it outright, even for very little money, to someone who has another ‘91 Camry, does work on his own car, and wants yours for “whatever”. Next on the list would be a junkyard, or even (again, if it runs at all) as a charitable donation (for tax write-off purposes) to an organization that seeks and accepts used auto donations.

Your neighbors will thank you, too. Junk cars attract all kinds of vermin, not to mention vandalism and theft.

Thank you, @CyanoticWasp, but no thanks. I was told that there was a piece that has platinum in it and can sell for more than 50$. I’d at least like to know the parts that are valuable before I sell it to a junkyard. Your response was very discouraging. :(

The platinum you’re talking about is the catalytic converter. It’s the most expensive part of any car, if I recall. It’s at the very beginning of your exhaust system. I haven’t the slightest idea how to get it out.

If you could get it out and it were still usable, you could get a heck of a lot more than 50 bucks for it. However, I also have no idea if you can use a used one. I just know if they break and your car is old, it’s almost always cheaper to get a new car than to replace it.

That’s the name of it! Thank you @keobooks!

Is there anything else worth selling? :D

If you’re willing to start disassembling and marketing the parts on your car, then there may be some value to them beyond what a junkyard would pay. How much do you consider your time to be worth? Have you ever removed a catalytic converter from any vehicle? Do you think you could do that without damaging it and making it completely worthless? Finally—and most important—do you know anyone looking for a used catalytic converter for a ‘91 Camry?

My answer was intended to discourage you from a foolish and possibly expensive enterprise. (If you think that your customers will do the work of removal and save you the labor, then how much have you invested in liability insurance for the first time the car falls off a jack and injures or kills someone?)

If all you want is a cheerleader, well then Rah! Rah! Go for it!

Better?

Honestly, I have no idea if that is worth selling. It may not be re-usable and it may be really really hard to get the platinum out.

The only people I know who are successful at stripping down old cars are people who work in scrapyards and have a whole heck of a lot of cars. Not only do they know what they are doing, they have so many cars that mechanics call them and say “Do you have a 91 Camry clutch?” or whatever part they need.

I am in agreement with @CyanoticWasp on this one. If you’re not even sure about what the part is, you’re probably not going to be too handy with removing it successfully. Also the more I think about it—it’s probably not re-usable. It’s something that kind of cleans out the exhaust and the older your car is, the more likely that it’s going to be too dirty to re-use. I think the only way you could make a profit on it is if you had a fairly new one on your car and you were junking it because you had a really bad wreck.

@CyanoticWasp There’s no need for the sarcasm. I appreciate your thoughtful advice. I am not a person who does not think things through. I was just looking for a little info to fill a gap in my knowledge, so I could plan accordingly.

I’m not making a business of this. I have a next door neighbor who works on cars all the time, and will remove my parts for me. I am a housewife with no children, so my time is inexpensive. There’s nothing wrong with selling the parts directly to a junkyard, or advertising them on craigslist.

The reason I didn’t appreciate your first response was because it was overly negative – but we can’t all be positive – I realize that. That’s why I do appreciate your outlook.

I’ve parted out a few cars. I put an ad in the paper and people called and asked for specific parts. Just make sure if you sell the motor, remove the alternator and power steering pump because those can be sold separately. I sold the seats, doors, hood, etc.

Thank you @Russell_D_SpacePoet!