Sell my broken car in Walsall

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.

Because the car travels on a recovery truck, it does not need a working engine, and a car kept off the road on SORN needs no tax or MOT either. We pay by bank transfer, never cash, since cash for scrap vehicles is illegal in Great Britain. If an accident rather than a fault ended the car's life, our salvage page for Walsall is the better fit.

Walsall is nearly 400 miles from our Fort William base, so collections here are grouped into scheduled Midlands runs that come round less often than our Scottish ones. You know the collection date before you commit, because we agree it when you accept the price. Terraced streets are fine: the driver loads from the kerb. Postcodes, districts and how collection runs in Walsall are on our local collection notes.

What to tell us about the 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 Walsall 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.

When selling a broken car makes more sense than fixing it

A repair can make sense when the fault is cheap to fix and the rest of the car is sound. It makes less sense when the estimate is a large share of the car's value, when parts are hard to find, or when the MOT has also turned up corrosion or suspension work. Private buyers will knock money off for any known fault, so a repair does not always come back in full when you sell. Before deciding, ask a garage for a written estimate and send it to us with the reg. You can then compare a firm offer for the car as it stands with the true cost of fixing it, and choose with the numbers in front of you.

Collection day for a broken car

Once you accept the price and a date is agreed, there is little to do. Make sure someone can meet the driver with photo ID, any keys you have and the V5C if you have it, or tell us in advance if that is a problem. Empty the car, including the boot and any spare wheel well. If the battery is flat and the car has an electric handbrake or an automatic gearbox, say so, because those cars can be harder to move without power. The driver compares the car with your description, sees your ID, then loads it on the recovery vehicle with any keys and paperwork. Payment is by bank transfer to an account in your name once those checks are done, and as a rule, cars we buy go on to a licensed treatment facility.

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