Cash for Junk Cars in Hawaii | Free Towing Statewide

How Selling Your Junk Car Works in Hawaii

What Is Your Hawaii Junk Car Worth?

Hawaii’s island location creates unique pricing for junk vehicles. Most junk cars here sell for $150 to $750, though complete vehicles with working drivetrains can bring $800 to $2,500 or more. The tropical climate speeds up rust and corrosion, especially near the coast, which affects body panel value. But Hawaii’s isolation also creates strong demand for used parts, particularly for Toyota Tacomas, Honda Civics, and Subaru Outbacks that are common on the islands. Vehicles with intact mechanical components typically bring premium prices because shipping replacement parts costs so much.

Scrap steel prices set the baseline value for any junk vehicle. When your car’s parts aren’t salvageable, the weight of recyclable metal determines your payout. Hawaii’s scrap market follows mainland prices plus shipping costs. The live price tracker below shows today’s rates so you can estimate your car’s floor value before calling.

Hawaii Junk Car Laws and Title Requirements

Last reviewed 2026-10-05 against Hawaii state sources. Fees and forms change; the official links below are authoritative.

Four County Title Offices, and No State Titling Agency

Under HRS §286-47 the county director of finance issues the certificate of ownership — the document the mainland calls a title — and the certificate of registration; §286-42 makes that official test whether the ownership chain is genuine. HDOT’s Motor Vehicle Safety Office handles statewide safety programs, not titles. Three of the four counters are branded DMV: the Division of Motor Vehicles inside Honolulu’s Department of Customer Services, Maui’s Division of Motor Vehicles & Licensing, and Kauai’s Division of Motor Vehicles under Finance. Hawaii County calls its office Vehicle Registration & Licensing.

A Replacement Title Costs a Different Amount on Each Island

HRS §286-55 sets no statewide price for a duplicate certificate of ownership. It hands the amount to each county’s legislative body, so four islands quote four prices. Honolulu charges $10 on form CS-L(MVR)10. Hawaii County charges $5 on form VRL-MVR503, or $10 if a lienholder comes off at the same time. Maui charges $10 on DMVL580 and Kauai charges $10. Neighbor islands want every registered owner at the counter with photo ID or notarized signatures.

Junking a Vehicle Is a Separate Filing, and It Is Permanent

HRS §286-51.5 lets you junk a car whether its registration is current or expired. Hand the county a signed statement of fact and the endorsed title, and the vehicle may never be registered again. Each county uses its own paper: Honolulu’s is CS-L(MVR)202, Hawaii County’s is the Application for JUNK Status, VRL-MVR506, and Kauai’s is the Statement of Facts Relating to Junking of Vehicles. Every county wants both plates, and none charges a fee. If an insurer or dismantler buys the wreck instead, §286-48 gives that buyer ten days to file the title, registration, plates and a salvage certificate application.

The Ten-Day Notice of Transfer

HRS §286-52(j) gives a private seller ten days to tell the county director of finance who took the vehicle; the fine for skipping it reaches $100. In every county that notice starts out printed across the top of the certificate of title. If yours is already torn off, Honolulu publishes form CS-L(MVR)53 and Maui its own. Until it is recorded, parking citations written against the car keep returning to your name. Subsection (b) gives the buyer thirty days to file, after which Honolulu’s transfer fee goes from $10 to $60. The Kapolei page covers West Oahu.

Abandoned, Derelict and Unpaid-Fee Vehicles

HRS §290-1 treats a vehicle as abandoned after twenty-four continuous hours unlawfully parked on a public highway, unless county ordinance sets its own distance and timeframe; the county then has ten business days to take custody. Section 290-8 is the faster track: a removed part or material damage leaving the car inoperable, plus any one of five conditions — owners gone from the address on record, ownership disclaimed or the transfer unfinished, VIN and plates stripped, twelve months unregistered, or never registered locally — makes it derelict, and §290-9 lets the county sell it as junk at once, skipping the notice and sale steps in §§290-2 and 290-5. Fines reach $1,000 under §290-12; §290-46 adds $750 for a third offense and $1,000 for a fourth. Since 2022, §290-13 also lets the county block any transfer and suspend your license while those charges go unpaid. Private-property tows follow §290-11: $75, or $85 with a dolly, plus $7.50 a mile and $25 a day storage for the first week, in counties without their own towing ordinance.

Selling a Catalytic Converter on Its Own

HRS §289-9, added in 2022, makes a loose converter hard to move. The licensed buyer must photograph the part and you, keep your signed statement and a receipt or notarized declaration three years, tag it with the donor car’s VIN and plate, report it to county police, and hold it sixty days. Under §289-10 you are paid by check.

Cities We Buy Junk Cars in Hawaii

Hawaii is four county motor vehicle jurisdictions scattered across separate islands, and almost everything about scrapping a car changes when you cross a channel. On Oahu we cover the H-1 corridor from Honolulu out to Kapolei and the Ewa plain, plus the Windward side through Kaneohe by way of the Pali and Likelike. On Hawaii Island we work both coasts, Hilo on the wet side and Kailua-Kona on the dry side. Central Maui runs through Kahului, and Kauai through Lihue.

The county decides what the free option looks like. Honolulu’s Junk Vehicle Program tows a car, motorcycle or moped away at no charge once you surrender form CS-L(MVR)202, the plates and the endorsed title at an AlohaQ appointment at a satellite city hall; the vehicle must be debris-free, reachable by a tow truck and on at least two inflated tires, and the city publishes no turnaround. Hawaii County’s Vehicle Disposal Assistance Program covers two permanently junked or derelict vehicles per resident per fiscal year. Maui’s Tow and Scrap program wants the title stamped Permanently Junked before you book the tow, caps it at two vehicles a calendar year, takes passenger vehicles up to three tons, and no longer accepts hybrids or EVs; Lanai residents book the same program through Pulama Lanai. Kauai takes vehicles free at the Puhi Metals Recycling Facility with a junking affidavit signed and sealed by the DMV; the waiver route costs $62.83. Salt air is the other constant: coastal cars lose rockers and frame rails early.

Don’t see your city? We serve all of Hawaii. Call 1-800-935-8652 to confirm pickup at your location.

Frequently Asked Questions — Selling a Junk Car in Hawaii