Sell my broken car in Atherton

Often the trigger is a repair quote nobody wants to pay. A dead clutch, a failed turbo, a blown head gasket or an electrical fault that keeps coming back can all make repair poor value on an older car. We buy the car with the fault still in it, and the price counts the parts that still work.

The car is collected from Atherton on a recovery vehicle, so it never needs to move under its own power. Payment is by bank transfer to an account in your name. As a rule, the cars we buy go to a licensed Authorised Treatment Facility, which issues the Certificate of Destruction and notifies the DVLA when a car is scrapped.

Atherton is about 300 miles from our Fort William base, and collections here are grouped with other north-west and Cheshire collections, including Crewe, into scheduled runs that come round less often than our Scottish ones. We agree the date when you accept the price. Tell us where the car is parked and how close a truck can get. Postcodes, districts and how collection runs in Atherton are on our Atherton collection page.

Getting a firm price for a car with a fault

Precise information gives you a firm quote that reflects the car; vague information means that firm quote has to allow for the unknown. Tell us the make, model and mileage, then the symptoms in plain words: will not start, starts but will not move, overheats, loses coolant, runs rough, jumps out of gear. If the MOT tester or a garage has put the fault in writing, send a photo of it. Say whether the car is complete or whether the wheels, battery or catalytic converter have been removed. Tell us where it is parked in Atherton and whether the wheels turn. We then send one figure, and that figure stands on the day as long as the car is as you described.

Weighing a repair bill against a sale

Start with two numbers: the repair estimate, and what the car would realistically sell for once fixed. If the first is close to the second, the repair is hard to justify, especially on an older car where another fault may follow. Add the cost of an MOT retest and the time spent advertising a car that has just been repaired. Then compare that with selling it as it is: one firm price, no outlay and a free collection from Atherton. There is no right answer for every car. A low-mileage car with a single, well-understood fault may be worth fixing. A tired car with a failed gearbox and rust on the sills usually is not.

Getting a non-runner ready for collection

A car that will not run is loaded onto a recovery vehicle, so the engine does not matter, but access does. The driver needs to reach the car, so tell us in advance if the wheels will not turn, the handbrake has seized, a tyre is flat or the steering lock is on without a key. Clear a path if the car is in a garage or tucked behind another vehicle. Until collection day, a car kept on a street in Atherton must be taxed, insured and have a valid MOT. Remove your belongings. After collection, tell the DVLA online or with the yellow V5C/3 slip that you sold the car to the motor trade. On the day the driver checks the car against your description and your photo ID, then loads it. We pay by bank transfer to an account in your name once those checks are done.

Read our full guide to selling a broken car, see how the WhatsApp quote works, or start a quote.