As a car-selling website, we aren’t here to discuss why or how you plan to go about selling your used car. You may believe it’s time for an upgrade, looking for a vehicle to better navigate those Colorado winters. You may be in need of quick cash, finding that you no longer have the need for your extra car sitting in the driveway. The used vehicle may be rusting away in the brutal sun, wasting both time and space. Regardless, you are snooping around this site because you are thinking about selling your car. Furthermore, you may have missing car parts, putting a halt on your car-selling plans.
What you do and do not need in order to sell your vehicle is a topic that could fill a book. Like most things, the answer is more gray than pitch black. It all depends on the circumstances, vehicle condition, and desire for said vehicle. But, there are some hard-and-fast rules for what car parts need to be present for an honorable and moral sale (mechanics and aesthetics both).
Consequently, there are millions of minuscule and crucial parts of a vehicle, so discussing the need for every single one would be daunting. What we will do is break down the most common missing components and what it means to your potential sale.
Let’s begin!
Missing Hubcaps and Other Aesthetics
Next time you are driving through the city, pay attention. There a significant amount of cars will be missing their hubcaps. This is no coincidence or serendipitous realization. Hubcaps are usually the first aesthetic piece to leave a moderately-used vehicle.
Why hubcaps are easily lost is more so the nature of the part than the fault of the user. Hubcaps on lower-priced vehicles are often made of plastic, and with being the first point of contact between the wheels and the curb, they are often broken are rubbed off. Once damaged, owners have the tendency to pop them off. Sometimes no hub caps looks better than damaged ones.
Regardless, the point still stands. Used cars with moderate wear and tear will often have hub cap issues. Your vehicle may also have missing outside pieces like emblems, manufacturer tint, and extra lights.
Can You Sell Without Them?
Unless your vehicle is high-end and built with fancy wheels in place, your hubcaps don’t mean much. At the end of the day, plastic hub caps can often be bought for under $100.
Other aesthetic pieces (like make emblems) are also cheap to replace. Therefore, the absence of them doesn’t crush your car’s value.
The question becomes: will a private buyer purchase the car with the visuals missing? Will the lack of hubcaps be enough of a turnoff that no one will offer a bid?
If the car is old enough or a good bargain, you shouldn’t see much of a drop. Oftentimes, used buyers know they are getting a vehicle with previous wear. They are often fine handling the hub caps themselves. Therefore, you shouldn’t waste your money replacing them.
Missing Keys and Fobs
Let’s get this out of the way: if you don’t have a single key to your car, you can’t sell it. How would you?
Jokes aside, we often think of a car sale including two keys. One normal and one spare (or valet). One of these may contain a fob and the other just a key. That’s the norm, after all.
Keys and fobs are easy to lose and break, though. It’s possible that you lost your spare key years ago or your fob was damaged beyond repair in a rainstorm.
Can You Sell Without Them?
Once again, this is a matter of aesthetics. Theoretically, you want to give the buyer two keys to make their lives easier, but it’s not a necessity. Due to the bonus-nature of the two keys, it isn’t crucial to supply them. It wouldn’t drop your price without them.
Fobs, on the other hand, depend on the car. If your fob is crucial to the car itself (think newer vehicles), then it may be critical to have them in the sale. If a buyer loses out on vehicle benefits due to the lack of a fob, they may offer a lower price. It truly depends on how important the fob is.
If you have an older car that only uses a fob for unlocking, you shouldn’t waste money buying a new one before selling. If the car has a remote start feature, for example, you may lose some profit without it.
Missing Mechanical Car Parts
Let’s say you have lost car parts that are completely mechanical, whether through age and wear or theft. Let’s say your catalytic converter was stolen but the vehicle still operates. Overall, most private buyers wouldn’t even notice it was missing until they failed their emissions test.
Can you sell your vehicle without them? The car still runs, after all.
Can You Sell Without Them?
Theoretically, yes. You can sell a car without important mechanical parts. In fact, you can sell cars that don’t work. You can sell anything online.
This is when profit margins start dipping, though. For example, if you don’t have a catalytic converter, the buyer would have to dump somewhere between $300-$1500 to get it fixed. Therefore, they may not be willing to offer you the full price that you are asking for.
Who can blame them?
Though the vehicle operates fine (though probably loudly), they still have to pay to fix it. You can’t expect them to offer full price. Therefore, we recommend getting the repair quoted. For example, if your mechanic offers to do it for $400 and online buyers were offering you $600 less because of it, take the bite and fix it.
It all depends on the profit margin and cost of repair.
A Title?!
We won’t even go far on this.
No, you cannot sell a car without a title. You need a title to prove sale and transfer registration. Therefore, if you have lost yours, you need to go to the DMV to replace it before selling.
If your car is junked and you are selling it to a scrap yard, you do not need a title. Sometimes you may need the registration, but you don’t need a transferable proof of sale. If the car isn’t going back out on the road (or can’t), then you don’t need a title.
Honesty Above All
Theoretically, you can sell a car without any parts. You can sell a car with no windows, no tires, or no engine. If someone is willing to buy, then someone is willing to buy. It’s that simple.
At the end of the day, honesty is an important factor. You do not want to waste the time of another. You do not want to waste your time. If there are significant car parts missing, mention them in your private selling posts. Let the buyers know there is no catalytic converter or key fobs in the description, speeding along the process.
Never attempt to pull the wool over the eyes of a buyer.
A New Alternative: Sell My Car Colorado
Time to talk about ourselves (my favorite thing to do).
Looking for an alternative for where to sell your used car? Tired of dealing with private messages and seedy dealerships? Don’t want to deal with the hassle of selling a car with missing parts? Well, you’ve come to the right place.
Sell My Car Colorado will buy your used or junk car immediately. One of our qualified dealers will give you an offer. If you accept, we will come to pick the vehicle up from you. Even if it is inoperable, we will tow it free of charge. You don’t have to leave your home or office.
Furthermore, we will offer you valid and fair prices for your vehicles. We also guarantee $100 more than the competition. Plus, we sell cars, too. Regardless of your windshield status, we will buy your vehicle!
Contact us today for a free quote!