When selling your old car, it is essential to know how to avoid junkyard scams.
This article will discuss how to avoid a common car scrapping scam, including Fake Certificate of Destruction, Getting your car “Recycled” and Signing the Title Over.
Hopefully, by the end of this article, you will feel better informed about what to do next. Remember, if it is not a registered junkyard, it is not a legitimate buyer.
Be Careful of Scams
There are a number of common junkyard scams to avoid when car scrap-ping. These tricks often prey on those who can’t back out of an initial quote and can’t back out of the deal. For an informative glance at how to sell junk cars effectively, see the given link.
To avoid falling victim to these tricks, be sure to call ahead of time and set up a meeting with the junkyard before you give them your vehicle. Unless you’re in a position to negotiate, it’s best to stick to cash on delivery.
Be wary of junkyards that offer installment plans. While many of them pay with checks, the money may not be available in your bank account when you’re ready to pay.
Check reviews online to make sure the business is legitimate. A reputable junkyard will offer payment in cash and won’t try to trick you with hidden fees. You should also avoid junkyards that offer to tow your car and don’t mention the costs of towing the vehicle.
Signing the Title Over of Your Car
Before you sign over the title of your car, make sure you have enough cash in hand. A scammer will offer you a check for more than the car is worth and try to trick you into shipping the money to them instead of receiving cash in hand.
Scammers often use the victim’s greed against them. If you sign over the title before the money is clear, you’re out of luck. Secondly, do not sell your car to anyone who offers to tow the vehicle.
A car scrapping business can do so without a signed title, causing you to be scammed. Instead, do some research on the business and make sure they are legitimate before selling your car.
Once you’ve gotten their attention, make sure to remove the license plate and cancel the registration.
Checking for a Certificate of Destruction
If you are selling your car, check for a Certificate of Destruction (COD) from the Authorised Treatment Facility (ATF) where you purchased it.
This document will state whether your car was destroyed completely or not. The ATF requires that you obtain the COD within seven days of the sale.
If you receive the COD after a few months, this could mean that the ATF hasn’t actually scrapped your vehicle, but instead decided to sell it. In that case, you could end up with confusion, since you might have been the last owner of the vehicle.
A legitimate car scrapping company will provide you with a Certificate of Destruction. However, if you do not receive one, you should always follow up to make sure that the car is truly scrapped.
The last stage in transferring ownership is the Certificate of Destruction, so if you don’t receive one, you should follow up to ensure that everything was handled properly.
Getting a Certificate of Destruction from a junkyard is an important part of the car scrapping process. You should ask for it before you hand over the vehicle to the junkyard.
You should also check to see if the certificate is authentic. Some junkyards issue fake Certificates of Destruction or even a Document of Destruction which is a different document altogether.
To make sure that the certificate is authentic, check the state DMV’s website to see if it’s actually issued by the junkyard. When delivering your car for scrapping, you should always show identification.
It’s also essential to provide the proper information required for the car’s scrap deposit. A certificate of destruction won’t include your Norwegian national identity number or account number, so make sure to document the information that you need to provide to the junkyard.
Also, make sure to provide any insurance documents relating to the car.
Checking for a Certificate of Destruction from the Junkyard
While a vehicle may seem like it is in working condition, checking for a Certificate of Destruction from the salvage yard before purchasing it is important for liability reasons.
A certificate of destruction may be issued for a number of reasons, including a defect in the airbag system or a faulty frame. In such cases, insurance companies prevent the vehicle from being driven on public roads.
The reason they do this is to avoid possible claims against them for a vehicle that was never properly inspected. A Certificate of Destruction is the equivalent of a death certificate for a car.
It states that the vehicle is no longer roadworthy and has been deemed an unusable total loss by its insurance company.
A car with this document will have no worth to anyone but a scrapyard. While a salvage title may look similar, it’s a different story. Most states use a formula to determine the value of a vehicle.
