Junk Car Removal: Free Pickup, and You Get Paid

Junk car removal is free from the main online junk car buyers, and they usually pay you for the car on top of the tow. Peddle, CarBrain, Wheelzy and Junk Car Medics each say towing costs the seller nothing. CarBrain says the average junk car brings $250 to $750, though it does not date that figure.

Who does free junk car removal, and why they pay you

You will mostly deal with two kinds of companies for the removal of junk cars: online buyers that send a local tow partner, and local yards that pay by weight. Reviews of these buyers mention two complaints, drivers who run late and offers that drop at the curb, so each section below says how to protect your number.

Online buyers with local tow partners

Peddle says towing is free with no additional fees, and a partner carrier does the pickup. CarBrain’s provider terms describe a marketplace where providers make offers, then arrange inspection, closing and towing within 48 hours or as agreed. Wheelzy and Junk Car Medics both list free towing on every offer. Junk Car Medics adds that the person at your door is a local carrier, not its staff.

Local yards and scrap dealers

A yard pays by weight. iScrap’s crowd-sourced price for a complete car was $183.63 per ton on October 23, 2026, and yard reports from June to mid-September ran from $150 to $250. Towing varies. iScrap mentions free towing only where available, and Pick Your Part says it arranges towing without calling it free. Ask every yard before you book, and see how much junkyards pay for cars for what moves a yard’s quote.

City, county and charity removal programs

Some local governments run a free junk car removal program. The Matanuska-Susitna Borough in Alaska is one that ranks for this search. Its program page says it pays a contractor to tow junk passenger cars and pickups up to 15,000 lb off residents’ private property, up to three per parcel per fiscal year, through June 30, 2027 or until the money runs out. Cars must be free of debris and garbage, and free drop-offs are taken on Saturdays. The page says nothing about paying you for the car. Rules are local, so search your city or county site for a junk or abandoned vehicle program.

Charities are the other free route. Kars4Kids says it charges nothing for pickup and that a local tow company contacts you within 24 hours, but you get a tax receipt instead of cash. Junk car buyers covers the donation tax rules and the charity’s 2026 court ruling.

Why removal is free and you still get paid

The buyer sells the car on. Peddle says its cars go to used parts, scrap through recyclers, or reconditioned resale, and CarBrain’s provider terms say towing is built into the provider’s offer price. So the tow is priced into the offer instead of billed to you. A 3,000 lb sedan is 1.5 tons, about $275 gross in scrap at iScrap’s rate (our arithmetic, not a quote). The scrap car prices page has the weight math.

How junk car removal works, step by step

Peddle and CarBrain both publish their process, so those are the two we can describe. In four lines:

1. Get a free quote. Year, make, model, condition and title status. Peddle says you get about a week to accept.
2. Accept and book the pickup. Peddle says it cannot guarantee same-day pickup; typical is 24 to 48 hours, and CarBrain says the same on average.
3. Hand over the keys and the signed title, plus a bill of sale where your state requires one (Peddle lists 16 such states).
4. Get paid. Peddle’s default is a company check at pickup; cash depends on the carrier.

For the full nine-step walk-through, read how to junk a car. If you have no title, read junk car without a title.

What to do before the tow truck shows up

The driver will not do these jobs for you.

Plates, personal items and phone data

Peddle’s checklist says to remove the plates if your state requires it, so ask the buyer and check your DMV. Empty the glove box, trunk and door pockets, clear paired-phone and navigation data, and have every key ready.

Release of liability and insurance

The car can stay tied to your name until the paperwork is filed. California requires you to notify DMV within 5 calendar days of a sale, online or with form REG 138. Once DMV processes it, DMV says liability for later parking violations, traffic violations and civil litigation moves to the buyer. Other states use different forms and deadlines, so search your DMV site for release of liability. Be wary of a hauler who offers to take the car with no title and no paperwork at all: nothing on file shows you sold it. If the titled owner has died, read junking a deceased owner’s car before anyone signs.

Peddle’s checklist puts insurance cancellation after the sale. Keep coverage until the driver has the car, then cancel it for this vehicle.

Photos and the number in writing

Photograph all four sides, the odometer and the dash. Save the offer page with the final amount. Trustpilot reviews of both companies, and BBB complaints about CarBrain, describe offers cut at pickup. Those are allegations, but photos and a saved offer are what you show if a driver says the car is not what you described.

Selling the part separately is its own decision. Read catalytic converter scrap prices first.

Junk car removal without a title

Junk car removal without a title depends on the buyer and the state. No buyer promises it everywhere.

What the big buyers say

Peddle says it accepts cars without a title, though missing paperwork can change the offer amount. CarBrain’s FAQ says it needs a title in your name, while another CarBrain page allows exceptions in some states. Wheelzy says it may buy without one depending on where the car is. Junk Car Medics says it is possible in many states, wants you to be the titled owner, and tells you to call first.

State carve-outs and duplicate titles

Where state law allows a no-title sale, the exception is built for licensed yards, not tow drivers.

Caps change, so confirm with your DMV and use the no-title guide for more. Otherwise get a duplicate: Texas charges $2 by mail or $5.45 in person, New York charges $20, and California says mailed titles usually take 15 to 30 days. The fees are small, but the mail is slow.

A lien has to be cleared first. Peddle says liens must be resolved with the lienholder before the sale, and Junk Car Medics requires the loan paid off.

When junk car removal costs money

Free towing is common, but no rule makes it universal.

Fees and buyers that do not cover the tow

Peddle does not cover impound, storage or tow-yard fees, notary fees, or third-party check-cashing fees. CarBrain says storage fees and repairs before the sale are yours, and one 2025 BBB complaint alleges $30 a day in tow-yard storage while a pickup slipped four days. WeBuyAnyCar USA says it does not pay for towing and is not a junk car removal service. Carvana charges extra for pickup in some places, and CarMax says home pickup may carry a fee.

What to ask before you agree to a fee

Before any junk car removal company bills you, get one flat number in writing that covers the tow, any admin charge and any deduction. Ask whether the price changes at pickup and what happens if you say no. Peddle says you can cancel at any time with no fees, so ask every other buyer whether it matches that.

Local junk car removal vs online buyers

Here is how the main options compare, from each company’s own pages as of September 2026.

When a local yard wins

Call a yard when you can drop the car off yourself, want a weight-based quote to compare, or live where online buyers skip you. CarBrain’s service list leaves out Alaska and Hawaii. Ask whether the tow costs anything, whether you need the title, and whether the price can change once the car is weighed.

When an online buyer wins

Online buyers give you a number in minutes, so they are a quick way to see what the car is worth. As of October 23, 2026, Peddle shows a 4.7 Trustpilot score from 213,198 reviews and a BBB A+ rating. CarBrain shows 4.8 from 7,834 reviews and a BBB A rating. Both companies invite reviews and pay for a Trustpilot subscription, so read our Peddle review and CarBrain review for the complaints.

Your next step: two quotes, one pickup window

Get two offers today, one online and one from a local yard, and run the junk car value calculator so you know the floor. Take the higher one that includes the tow, then book a window you can wait through. If the paperwork is the sticking point, read how to junk a car. To compare more buyers, see cash for junk cars or sell my junk car.

Written and fact-checked by the Junk Car Worth team. Prices and buyer policies checked October 2026. How we estimate value.