Written offer in 24 hours, free collection anywhere in the state, paid when the truck arrives. And an honest answer about whether your car is worth more than scrap, because quite often it is.
A lot of people searching for cash for cars are about to take far less than their car is worth, because “it needs work” and “it is only good for scrap” are not the same sentence.
Scrap value is a floor set by weight and the metal price that week. It applies to a car whose only remaining value is the material it is made of. Plenty of cars that feel like junk to their owner are nowhere near that floor:
Send us photos before you accept anyone's quote, including ours. If your car is worth more than scrap we will tell you, and if we are not the right buyer for it we will say that too. The thing we are trying to prevent is you taking a few hundred dollars for a car worth several thousand because it would not start on the day you got fed up with it.
| Factor | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Does it run and drive | The single biggest fork. Running cars leave the scrap pricing band entirely. |
| Weight and body style | At true scrap value you are paid for material. A full-size truck outweighs a compact sedan substantially. |
| Catalytic converter present | Significant standalone value. Missing converters are common in California and reduce the offer. |
| Engine and transmission condition | A rebuildable drivetrain is worth more as parts than as metal. |
| Title status | Clean title pays most. Salvage and non-repairable brands pay less. No title at all is the hardest case. |
| Completeness | A car missing wheels, doors, seats or its battery is worth less than the same car intact. |
| Where it is | Affects our towing cost, not your offer. We absorb it. |
We do not publish a flat price per car, because any site that does is either quoting you the worst case or planning to revise the number when the truck arrives. The photo set exists so the figure we write down is the figure you are paid.
We are upfront about this because it affects what you get paid. Vorlex buys vehicles across a wide range of condition, but for some cars — non-runners, branded titles, heavy damage, very high mileage — there are dismantler and salvage networks that compete specifically on that type of vehicle and consistently pay more than we could.
When your car is one of those, we route you to a buy partner rather than lowballing you. You get an instant online offer, free towing and payment on collection. They are an independent company and we say so clearly at the point it happens. We would rather send you somewhere that pays more than keep a deal we are not the best home for.
Release of Liability (REG 138) — file within five days of handing over the car. This is what protects you from tickets and tolls incurred by whoever has it next. Filing it does not transfer the title; it records that the car left your hands.
Title — sign it over to the buyer. Lost it? Form REG 227 gets you a duplicate, and it is worth doing before you sell.
Smog — a gas vehicle 8 or less model years old needs no certificate on transfer, and EVs are exempt at any age. A vehicle sold to a licensed dismantler for dismantling does not need one either.
Lien — if money is still owed, the lender has to release their interest. We contact them for the payoff figure and pay them directly at closing.
Our California selling guide covers all of this in full, and if the title is missing, this page walks through the duplicate and bond routes. Choosing between scrap buyers? Read this first. with the DMV sources.
One written number within 24 hours. Free collection anywhere in California, nothing deducted, and an honest answer if your car is worth more than you think.
Get My Offer →For a car that is only worth its materials, the number is driven by weight and the scrap metal price that week, which moves. A typical sedan is in the low hundreds; a full-size truck or SUV is more because there is more steel in it. The figure jumps the moment the car is worth more than scrap — if it runs, if the catalytic converter is intact, or if the engine and transmission are rebuildable, it is worth considerably more than a crusher will pay. That is exactly why we ask before quoting rather than publishing a flat price.
Sometimes, but it is harder and it pays less. The clean route is to replace the title first: the California DMV issues a duplicate with form REG 227, and it is worth the wait. If the vehicle is genuinely beyond that — abandoned, inherited, or decades out of registration — a licensed dismantler can sometimes work from a junk slip or a Certificate of Non-Repairable Vehicle, but expect to prove you own it. Be wary of anyone who says the paperwork does not matter. It matters to you, because until the transfer is recorded the car is still yours on paper.
Yes, and we do not charge you to take it away. A non-runner is a towing job rather than a driving job, and we price the tow into our side of the deal, not yours. Tell us up front that it does not start — it changes how we collect, not whether we want it.
If the car still drives and passes smog, almost always sell it — a running car is worth several times its scrap value, and junking it is the most expensive form of convenience there is. Junking makes sense when the repair bill exceeds what the car would be worth fixed, when it cannot pass smog and the fix is a catalytic converter, or when it has been sitting so long that the brakes, tyres and fuel system all need work. If you are unsure which side of that line you are on, send us photos and we will tell you honestly, including when the answer is that you should keep it.
Yes, and it is the step people skip. File a Release of Liability (REG 138) within five days of handing the car over. Until that is in, the DMV still associates the vehicle with you, which means parking tickets and toll violations follow you rather than the new owner. It takes two minutes online and it is the single most important thing you do in this transaction.
Your photo ID, the title if you have it, and the current odometer reading. If there is still a loan on the car we handle the lender payoff directly. Remove your plates and your belongings before collection, and check the glovebox and boot — people forget garage remotes and toll transponders constantly.
No fees and no towing charge. The number we put in writing is the number you are paid on collection. If a buyer quotes you a price and then deducts a towing fee at the kerb, that was not really the price.
Anywhere in California, at no cost. Our local pages cover what we see in each market:
San Jose & the Bay Area · Sacramento · Bakersfield & Kern County