Cash for Junk Cars in Kansas | Free Towing Statewide
1-800-We-Junk-Cars buys junk, damaged, and non-running vehicles throughout Kansas. We serve Wichita, Olathe, Kansas City, Topeka, Lawrence, and all communities from the Flint Hills to the High Plains. Every sale includes free towing with same-day or next-day pickup available. We pay cash on the spot when we collect your vehicle. No hidden fees and no waiting for payment.
How Selling Your Junk Car Works in Kansas
Get Your Quote
Call us at 1-800-935-8652 or use our online form for an instant cash offer. Tell us your vehicle’s year, make, model, and condition. We give Kansas residents honest quotes based on current scrap metal values and local salvage demand. Most quotes take about two minutes.
Schedule Free Pickup
Accept your offer, and we schedule pickup when it works for you. Our drivers serve all 105 Kansas counties, from Johnson County suburbs to rural western Kansas. Same-day pickup is available in Wichita and the Kansas City metro area. We come to your home, workplace, or wherever the vehicle sits.
Get Paid Cash
Our driver verifies your vehicle matches the description and pays you cash on the spot. You sign the title over, and we handle all the towing. The whole pickup takes about fifteen minutes. No bank holds, no checks to deposit—just cash in hand before we leave your property.
What Is Your Kansas Junk Car Worth?
Kansas junk car prices typically range from $150 to $650 for standard sedans and $250 to $900 for trucks and SUVs. Several factors affect your vehicle’s value: weight determines the scrap metal payment, while running condition, complete catalytic converters, and salvageable parts increase offers. Kansas vehicles generally show less rust damage than those from salt-heavy northern states, which can preserve body panels and mechanical components. High-demand parts for common models like Ford F-150s, Chevrolet Silverados, and Honda Accords boost values. Location matters too—vehicles near Wichita and Kansas City often get higher offers because they’re closer to major salvage yards.
Scrap steel prices set the baseline value for any junk car. When metal prices rise, so do offers for end-of-life vehicles. Current national scrap steel averages between $180 and $220 per ton, though Kansas rates vary based on local recycler demand. The live tracker below shows real-time scrap metal pricing. Even vehicles with no working parts or missing engines have value based purely on their recyclable steel, aluminum, and copper content.
Kansas Junk Car Laws and Title Requirements
Last reviewed 2026-10-05 against Kansas state sources. Fees and forms change; the official links below are authoritative.
| Who issues titles | The Division of Vehicles issues them; you apply for an original title at the county treasurer where the vehicle is garaged. source |
|---|---|
| Duplicate title form and fee | Form TR-720B, Application for Secured/Duplicate/Reissue Title. $10, the same as an original Kansas title. source |
| Can you sell without a title? | Two routes: a nonrepairable vehicle certificate at ten or more model years (8-135c(e)(4)), or an antique bill of sale over 35 years (8-170(c)(1)). source |
| Notary required? | Generally no on assignments, applications and Kansas bills of sale; the Division may require one. Yes on lien release, lienholder consent, TR-42. source |
| Odometer disclosure required | In the title assignment with price and sale date, unless federally exempt. Model year 2010 and older are exempt. source |
| Who keeps the license plates | The seller. Registration expires at transfer and only the original holder may possess the plate. K.S.A. 8-135(a). source |
| Deadline to report the sale | None. The Seller's Notification of Sale, form TR-216, is optional and costs $10 under K.S.A. 8-135(c)(12). source |
| Abandoned / inoperable vehicle statute | K.S.A. 8-1102: 48 hours on a public highway. On private property there is no waiting period and it is criminal trespass. source |
| Salvage or junk title trigger | K.S.A. 8-197(b)(2)(A): an older car wrecked or inoperable enough to need substantial repairs to register. Late models use a 75%-of-value test. source |
| Catalytic converter sale limits | Converters are regulated scrap metal (50-6,109(2)(B)): photo ID, signed not-stolen statement, dealer photograph. Defaced marks bar purchase (50-6,111(d)(22)). source |
Who Issues a Kansas Title, and Who Takes the Paperwork
The Division of Vehicles issues every Kansas certificate of title, but no Topeka counter takes an application for an original title and registration. That goes to the county treasurer where the vehicle is garaged, and K.S.A. 8-135(c)(1) makes the treasurer verify you are the lawful owner. Buyers have 60 days from the assignment to apply, with a $2 penalty after that. Under K.S.A. 8-135d a recorded lien keeps the certificate electronic, and no paper copy is mailed.
Kansas Has Two No-Title Routes, and Neither Is a Plain Bill of Sale
The first is K.S.A. 8-135c(e)(4): a nonrepairable vehicle certificate can carry ownership of a motor vehicle ten or more model years old when the owner no longer has the title. Subsection (d)(3) charges the ordinary $10 original-title fee, plus $2 if you file late. It is permanent: one transfer, then dismantling or recycling, and no registration again anywhere. Kansas publishes no procedure for an (e)(4) transfer, and the notice on form TR-13 assumes you attach the title you do not have, so call the treasurer first. The second route is the antique title: K.S.A. 8-166(a) makes anything more than 35 years old an antique, and K.S.A. 8-170(c)(1) takes an application plus a bill of sale as prima facie proof of ownership. At 60 model years or older that is the whole file; newer than that needs a Kansas Highway Patrol MVE-1 under K.S.A. 8-116a, as form TR-90 spells out.
Replacing a Lost Title: $10, or $20 With a Lien on It
TR-720B, the Application for Secured/Duplicate/Reissue Title (Rev. 04/22), can be mailed to the Titles and Registrations Bureau. Read its fee table before writing the check. A straight replacement is $10, but the division will not print a duplicate while a lienholder sits on the vehicle record, and clearing that is a Replace and Remove Lien transaction at $20 with a notarized form TR-150 attached. The division says a lien-free title normally arrives 10 to 40 days after the application date, and to call the bureau by the end of the sixth week. The 35-day hold you may read about is separate: it runs from the purchase date on a sale.
Abandoned and Inoperable Vehicles
K.S.A. 8-1102 lets a public agency impound a car left 48 hours on a public highway. Its private-property clause reaches only a vehicle abandoned on land the person neither owns nor leases, where it is criminal trespass and the agency may tow at the owner’s request. A car in your own driveway falls outside the statute; the authority there is municipal, which is why a screened license plate matters in Olathe and an unenclosed inoperable vehicle is already a nuisance in Wichita. After 30 days impounded the agency verifies the owner, mails a 15-day certified notice and publishes twice before auction. K.S.A. 8-1103 gives the wrecker a lien for the full value of the service; maximum rates are left to city ordinance.
Odometer, Plates, Inspections, and Telling the State
K.S.A. 8-135(c)(2)(A) makes the seller insert and certify the mileage and the purchase price in the title assignment, with the buyer signing to acknowledge both, except where federal law exempts the vehicle — and 49 C.F.R. 580.17 exempts model year 2010 and older cars outright. Kansas runs no safety or emissions inspection program; the MVE-1 is the only inspection in the process. Notarization is required on a lien release and lienholder’s consent, not on most assignments or Kansas bills of sale. Pull your plate: K.S.A. 8-135(a) ends the registration at transfer. Reporting the sale is optional; form TR-216 costs $10 under K.S.A. 8-135(c)(12). At the yard, K.S.A. 50-6,111(b) requires the dealer to record the VIN, and K.S.A. 50-6,110 makes them copy your ID, photograph the load and transmit what the Kansas Bureau of Investigation prescribes within 72 hours.
Official Kansas sources
- Kansas Department of Revenue — Vehicle Tags, Titles and Registration
- Kansas Department of Revenue — Frequently Asked Questions: Titling a Vehicle
- Vehicle/Motor Ownership Affidavit (TR-90)
- Application for Secured/Duplicate/Reissue Title (TR-720B)
- Salvage, Nonhighway or Non-Repairable Vehicle Affidavit (TR-13)
- K.S.A. 8-1102 — Motor vehicle abandoned on public highway or property open to use by public
Cities We Buy Junk Cars in Kansas
Kansas is 105 counties and we quote in all of them, but the state does not hand a car over the same way from one end to the other. The weight of the work sits in the eastern quarter: the Kansas City metro across Wyandotte and Johnson counties, where Olathe and Shawnee sit, plus Kansas City, Lawrence in Douglas County and Topeka upriver on the Kansas. Wichita anchors the second market where the Arkansas River valley bends through Sedgwick County toward Hutchinson and Newton. Manhattan and the Flint Hills fall between the two along I-70 and K-177. West of Salina the map thins through the Smoky Hills into the High Plains, and Garden City, Dodge City, Liberal and Goodland are each a long haul from either buyer network, so those pickups get routed into a loop rather than promised same day.
Kansas puts an unusual share of its old cars behind a paper problem rather than a mechanical one. Under K.S.A. 8-135d the state stops printing a certificate the moment a lien is recorded and holds it electronically instead, so an owner who paid a car off in 2014 frequently has nothing in the drawer and finds out when the truck is booked. Clearing that lien, not the condition of the car, is what sets the date. The counter is the other variable: title work belongs to the county treasurers, and even a lien-free replacement prints 10 to 40 days after application. Start that errand first and call us second.
Don’t see your city? We serve all of Kansas—call 1-800-935-8652 to confirm pickup at your location.
Frequently Asked Questions — Selling a Junk Car in Kansas
Can I sell a junk car in Kansas without a title?
Sometimes, by one of two narrow routes. K.S.A. 8-135c(e)(4) lets a nonrepairable vehicle certificate transfer a motor vehicle ten or more model years old when the owner no longer has the title, for the ordinary $10 title fee. Kansas publishes no step-by-step for it, so confirm the paperwork with your county treasurer first. Separately, K.S.A. 8-170(c)(1) titles an antique, meaning anything over 35 years old, on an application plus a bill of sale. Call 1-800-935-8652 and we will work out which one fits.
What does a replacement Kansas title cost, and how long does it take?
Ten dollars for a straight replacement, and normally 10 to 40 days. The Division of Vehicles publishes that range for a lien-free title measured from the date of application, and tells owners to contact the Titles and Registrations Bureau if nothing has arrived by the end of the sixth week. The 35-day hold you may read about is a different thing: it runs from the date of purchase on a sale, so it does not apply to replacing the title on a car you have owned for years.
There is an old lien printed on my Kansas title. Can I still get a duplicate?
Not until the lien is released, and then it costs twice as much. Kansas holds titles electronically whenever a lienholder is on the record, and the division will not issue a duplicate while that lienholder remains. You need the release on the title, a lender letter, or a notarized form TR-150. The TR-720B fee table charges $20 for Replace and Remove Lien, not the $10 plain replacement, and what comes back is a reissued title. Stale liens are the most common delay on these sales.
Does my old Kansas car need an odometer reading to be sold?
Probably not. K.S.A. 8-135(c)(2)(A) makes the seller certify the mileage and the purchase price in the title assignment and the buyer sign to acknowledge both, but it exempts any vehicle that federal law exempts. Under 49 C.F.R. 580.17 every vehicle from model year 2010 or earlier is exempt, as is anything rated above 16,000 pounds gross. Model year 2011 and newer still need the reading. Kansas has no safety or emissions inspection to clear either.
Who keeps the license plate, and do I have to report the sale to Kansas?
You keep the plate, and reporting is optional. K.S.A. 8-135(a) ends the registration the moment ownership transfers and makes it unlawful for anyone but the original holder to possess the plate, so pull it before the truck leaves. Kansas sets no deadline for a seller to notify the state. Filing the Seller's Notification of Sale, form TR-216, costs $10 and creates a rebuttable presumption that you assigned the title.
My city tagged the car in my own driveway. Can Kansas really make me move it?
Your city can; Kansas cannot. K.S.A. 8-1102(b) only reaches a vehicle abandoned on real property the person does not own or lease, so it does not touch a car sitting in your own driveway. The authority there is the municipal nuisance code. Olathe treats a license plate screened by a cover or vegetation on a residential lot visible from the street as proof the car is inoperable, and Wichita prohibits inoperable vehicles on private property unless they are enclosed in a building.