There are many factors that could lead you to the decision to visit a junkyard. Maybe you have fixed that old car many times over, and now, it is no longer sensible to do so financially, or perhaps, what you have is a partially-wrecked scrap pickup taking up space in front of your house, just rotting away uselessly.
Having made the decision to sell your junk vehicle as scrap, you are now faced with a decision on which junkyard to patronise.
Choosing the right junkyard is not an easy proposition, and in this post, you will find tips that will help you choose the perfect junkyard for your scrapping needs.
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Price
At the end of the day, the most important consideration for people looking to sell their junk cars is how much cash they stand to gain from the exchange. Scrap metal is sold using per ton rates, so all you have to do is contact all the junkyards close to you and find out which has the highest rates. If you do not have the time to call every one of them, there are online tools that will help you find out what the national price average of scrap metal is. Once you do this, all you have to do is compare the price a junkyard quotes with the national average. That way, you can tell whether or not you’re getting good value. If the price doesn’t cut it for you, contact the next junk car dealer.
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Location
Another important factor when it comes to choosing the right junkyard for you is location. Junkyard location with respect to your home is nearly as important as scrap metal pricing. A junkyard miles and miles away may be offering better rates than the ones close to you, but after you factor in the cost of driving down there, will the deal still be financially sound? What you want to do is strike the perfect balance; a junkyard that offers good rates, and at the same time, is not too far away.
Yes, junk car dealers offer free towing services, but if your pick-up location is too far from their yard, they may opt out of the deal. If you find a junkyard that you think is perfect in all other ways, but don’t offer towing services, you can find tips on picking the right towing service [4] here.
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Customer Relations
First impression says a lot, and it lasts long. You can tell a lot about a business from the way you they relate with their customers. Apart from the usual signs of unprofessionalism like impatience, nonchalance, and rudeness, there are other subtle signs to look out for. Do they answer your enquiries professionally, or does it seem like they don’t know much about the services they claim to offer? Is the attendant trying to take advantage of you off-the-bat, or are you being availed of special offers? Are they willing to work around your schedule, or do they care less about your comfort?
These are just some of the ways you can use to judge how efficient any business is, and the case is the same for junk car buyers. How they relate with you for the first time is an indicator of how they will in the future, and while their rapport with you may get better with time, bear in mind that if it is bad, it will likely get worse.
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Working Hours
You may think you have found the perfect junkyard for you because they offer good rates, and they are located close to where you live, but you must confirm that their working hours coincide with your free time.
Do you work 9-5 everyday, making it impossible to attend to your chores until the weekend? Or you work in shifts, and your daily work hours vary on a week-to-week basis? It is important that you find junkyards that have working hours that suits your needs. If your local junkyard doesn’t work on weekends, and weekends are the only free time you have, you have no choice than to sell to another dealer.
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Special Offers
All the tips above point to a deliberate selection process, but this is not always the case. There are times when the special promotions on offer at a particular junkyard are so good that you ignore logic and go with the flow. This could be in the form of giveaways (souvenirs, shirts and so on), or a certain percentage increase in rate per ton of scrap metal. If you see specials good enough to sway you, do not overthink things. You may end up taking your other junk vehicles somewhere else with better customer service and higher rates, but at that point, take advantage of the specials on offer.
