Cash for Junk Cars in New York | Free Towing Statewide
1-800-We-Junk-Cars buys junk, damaged, and non-running vehicles across New York State. We serve all five NYC boroughs, Long Island, the Hudson Valley, Capital Region, Western New York, and everywhere in between. Every sale includes free towing and same-day or next-day pickup in most areas. We pay cash on the spot when our licensed carrier picks up your vehicle. Call now for a fast quote.
How Selling Your Junk Car Works in New York
Get Your Quote
Call 1-800-935-8652 or fill out our online form with your vehicle’s year, make, model, and condition. We’ll give you a guaranteed cash offer within minutes. Quotes factor in New York market values, parts demand, and current scrap metal prices in your region.
Schedule Free Pickup
Pick a time that works for you. We offer same-day service in most New York cities and next-day pickup statewide. Our licensed towers handle everything from Manhattan apartment garages to rural Adirondack driveways. Towing is always free no matter where you are.
Get Paid Cash
When our carrier arrives, they’ll check that your vehicle matches the description and handle the New York title transfer paperwork. You get cash payment on the spot. The whole pickup takes about fifteen minutes, and you walk away with money in hand.
What Is Your New York Junk Car Worth?
Most junk cars in New York sell for $150 to $850. Complete vehicles in fair condition often bring $500 to $1,500 or more. New York’s harsh winters speed up rust and corrosion, which drops values for older vehicles, especially those stored outdoors Upstate. But the state’s large population creates strong demand for used parts, particularly for popular models like Honda Civics, Toyota Camrys, and Ford F-150s. Vehicles with working catalytic converters, transmissions, and engines bring higher prices. Location matters too. Metro areas like NYC and Buffalo typically offer better quotes because more buyers compete for inventory.
Scrap steel prices set the baseline value for any junk vehicle. When steel markets rise, so do offers for end-of-life cars. Scrap metal prices currently shift based on domestic demand and international trade conditions. New York has many licensed scrap processors competing for inventory, which helps support pricing. The live tracker below shows current scrap rates so you can see what your car’s raw materials are worth before factoring in parts value.
New York Junk Car Laws and Title Requirements
Last reviewed 2026-10-05 against New York state sources. Fees and forms change; the official links below are authoritative.
| Who issues titles | The NYS DMV issues the Certificate of Title (MV-999); county clerks run the DMV counter in 51 of 62 counties. source |
|---|---|
| Duplicate title form and fee | Form MV-902, Application for Duplicate Title (rev. 7/25); $20 per application; the duplicate is mailed, never handed over. source |
| Can you sell without a title? | Pre-1973 sells on a transferable registration; newer needs MV-35 — $1,250 or less, eight-plus model years, licensed dismantler or scrap processor only. source |
| Notary required? | No on a New York title; notarization applies only to titles from fourteen other states and Puerto Rico. source |
| Odometer disclosure required | Only if the vehicle is model year 2011 or later and 20 model years old or newer. source |
| Who keeps the license plates | The seller. Transfer the plate to another car, or surrender it on PD-7 before cancelling insurance ($1 at county offices). source |
| Deadline to report the sale | None for private sellers. MV-50 is a dealer's Retail Certificate of Sale, not a seller's sale report. source |
| Abandoned / inoperable vehicle statute | VTL § 1224(1): six hours unplated, 24 hours where parking is barred, 48 hours after legal parking turns illegal, 96 hours on another's property. source |
| Salvage or junk title trigger | DMV brands only vehicles 8 model years old or newer damaged 75% or more; older cars are generally not branded. source |
| Catalytic converter rules | No state limit on selling one; VTL § 415-a(5)(a) makes it a major component part with sixty-day dismantler intake records. source |
Who Issues a New York Title
The New York State DMV issues the Certificate of Title, form MV-999, but in 51 of the 62 counties the counter belongs to an elected county clerk acting as the commissioner’s agent under VTL § 205. Buffalo sellers use the Erie County Clerk’s Auto Bureau; Yonkers, in Westchester, is one of eleven exceptions and gets a state office.
Signing the Title Over
For a model year 1973 or newer vehicle the proof of ownership is the original New York Certificate of Title, not a certified copy. Record the buyer’s name, sign the transfer section, and sign a Vehicle Bill of Sale, form MV-912 (rev. 11/21); the DMV wants both. The odometer disclosure applies only to vehicles built in or after the 2011 model year that are 20 model years old or newer, while the damage disclosure beside it has no age limit. The only notaries in play are out-of-state titles from fourteen states or Puerto Rico, and a power of attorney on a duplicate title application.
The 1973 Cutoff and No-Title Routes
No New York title exists for a 1972 or older vehicle; those cars move on a transferable registration plus a bill of sale. Form MV-51 (rev. 12/25) is the certification of sale for non-titled vehicles, closed to dealers. Lose the registration too and form MV-51B (rev. 1/25), Statement of Ownership for Non-Titled Vehicles, goes over with the MV-51 or a bill of sale, subject to the office manager’s approval and never for an abandoned car. For a titled car with no paper, form MV-35 (rev. 6/22) is the narrow exit: worth $1,250 or less, at least eight model years old, owner-signed, and sold only to a registered dismantler, itinerant vehicle collector or certified scrap processor — never to be titled again.
Replacing a Lost Title
Form MV-902, the duplicate title application (rev. 7/25), costs a separate $20 per application. An office visit needs original identity documents; by post, send photocopies and a check to the Title Bureau, PO Box 2750, Albany NY 12220-0750. Online works only if your address is unchanged since you last registered the car and shows on that registration; it also shuts if a title went through in the last 15 days or a lien needs removing. DMV processes an accepted application within 72 hours and mails it. No counter pickup.
Plates, Insurance and the Sale Report
Cancel the insurance before the plate goes back and New York charges a lapse penalty: $8 a day for 30 days, $10 through day 60, $12 through day 90, then suspension. The plate is yours, so moving it to a replacement vehicle is cheaper and keeps coverage running. Use form PD-7 only when no other car takes it; county offices charge $1, and by mail the postmark counts. A private seller files nothing else: MV-50 is the dealer’s Retail Certificate of Sale, secure numbered paper ordered in books on form VS-114I, so no copy exists to download.
Abandoned, Inoperable and Salvage Vehicles
VTL § 1224 runs four clocks: six hours unplated, 24 hours where parking is barred, 48 hours once legal parking turns illegal, 96 hours on another’s property. Subdivision 7 fines $250 to $1,000 for causing a vehicle to be abandoned, presuming the registered owner did it, with a matching civil penalty available in New York City; subdivision 9 bills the last owner for towing and storage. Form MV-37 (rev. 9/21) clears one only at $1,250 or less, ten or more model years old and a month in place, and only into a registered dismantler’s hands; that car is never titled again. Salvage branding reaches only vehicles 8 model years old or newer damaged to 75 percent or more of retail value, usually an insurer’s car on Salvage Certificate MV-907A. Older titles are generally not branded, so most junk cars sell on an ordinary one.
Official New York sources
- NYS DMV — Acceptable Proofs of Ownership for Vehicles
- MV-902: Application for Duplicate Certificate of Title (PDF)
- MV-35: Statement of Vehicle Owner Not Possessing a Valid Title (PDF)
- NYS DMV — Surrender (Return or Turn-in) Your Vehicle Plates and Registration
- NYS DMV — Abandoned and Unclaimed Vehicles
- MV-51B: Statement of Ownership for Non-Titled Vehicles, Boats, Snowmobiles and All-Terrain Vehicles (PDF)
Cities We Buy Junk Cars in New York
New York has 62 counties and we take calls in all of them. Western New York begins at the Niagara frontier, where Buffalo and the rest of Erie County sit close to the lake and to the processors that buy by the ton. East of there the Thruway corridor strings together the Finger Lakes, Central New York and the Mohawk Valley before reaching the Capital District. North of the Mohawk the land opens into the Adirondacks and the North Country; south of it the Southern Tier runs along the Pennsylvania line. Down the Hudson, Westchester County holds Yonkers against the Bronx border, and past that are the five boroughs and Long Island.
New York City, Rochester, Syracuse and Albany are served areas on this page rather than pages of their own, and they fall on both sides of the line Vehicle and Traffic Law § 205 draws. That statute keeps the DMV in state hands in Rockland, Albany, Westchester, Suffolk, Nassau, Onondaga and the five boroughs and hands it to the county clerk everywhere else, so a Rochester seller files through the Monroe County Clerk while Albany, Syracuse and anyone in the boroughs walks into a state office. Either way a replacement title arrives by mail rather than over the counter, which is the usual reason a pickup slips a week.
Don’t see your city? We serve all of New York. Call 1-800-935-8652 to confirm pickup at your location.
Frequently Asked Questions — Selling a Junk Car in New York
Can I sell a junk car in New York without a title?
Sometimes. New York stopped titling at model year 1972, so anything older transfers on its transferable registration, or on form MV-51B plus MV-51 if that registration is lost too. For a 1973 or newer car the only no-title route is form MV-35: the owner signs it, the vehicle must be worth $1,250 or less and be at least eight model years old, and the buyer has to be a registered dismantler, itinerant vehicle collector or certified scrap processor.
What does a replacement New York title cost, and how fast does it come?
Twenty dollars per application, and roughly three days before it leaves Albany. DMV processes an accepted MV-902, revision 7/25, within 72 hours and then mails the document, so add delivery time and expect no counter pickup. Apply in an office with original identity documents, by post with photocopies, or online — though the online route needs an unchanged address on your registration and shuts if a title was processed in the last 15 days or you want a lien removed.
Does a New York title have to be notarized when I sell?
No. New York is not a notary state for vehicle transfers. The DMV requires notarization of the transfer section only when the ownership document is a title issued by Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Washington, Wyoming or Puerto Rico. One New York form does need a notary, and that is only when someone signs under a Power of Attorney on a duplicate title application.
Do I have to write an odometer reading on an old car in New York?
Only on fairly recent vehicles. The DMV requires the odometer disclosure on the back of the title if the vehicle was manufactured in or after the 2011 model year and is 20 model years old or newer. A 2004 sedan falls outside that and needs no reading. The damage disclosure on the same side of the title is different: it has no age cutoff and must be completed on every New York title, whatever the car's year.
What do I do with my plates after the car is towed away?
Keep them off the car and surrender them to the DMV on form PD-7 before you cancel the liability insurance. A county motor vehicle office charges a dollar to process the surrender; by mail, the postmark counts as the date. Cancel the policy first and the DMV charges an insurance lapse civil penalty of $8 a day for the first 30 days, $10 a day through day 60, $12 a day through day 90, and can suspend your registration.
How long does a car have to sit on my property in New York before it counts as abandoned?
Ninety-six hours, if it was left without your permission, under Vehicle and Traffic Law section 1224. Disposing of it yourself is a higher bar: form MV-37 only works when the wholesale value is $1,250 or less, the vehicle is ten or more model years old, and it has sat for at least a month. Ask the local police to confirm it is not reported stolen, then call 1-800-935-8652 and we will look at the paperwork with you.
Neighboring States We Serve
Pennsylvania | New Jersey | Connecticut | Massachusetts | Vermont