Can you sell a car with electrical problems?
Yes. You can sell a car with electrical problems as-is, without tracing the fault or replacing parts first. A junk car buyer makes an offer on the car as it stands and tows it away, so it doesn’t matter if it won’t start. Around Hammond, Indiana, we tow it free and pay you when it’s collected.
The fault nobody can find
Electrical problems are the most maddening kind of car trouble, because they come and go. The car starts fine on Tuesday and clicks on Wednesday. The dash goes dark on the way home, then comes back after a stop at the gas station. A shop replaces the battery, then the alternator, and the problem is still there.
Every new part is a guess. After two or three of them, you’ve spent real money and the car still can’t be trusted to start on a January morning. That’s when selling it looks better than paying for a fourth guess.
Symptoms we buy cars with
Any of these, alone or together:
- The battery dies overnight or after a day or two parked, even after it’s been replaced.
- Clicking, no crank. You turn the key or press the button and nothing happens but a click.
- Gauges or the dash going dark, flickering, or showing warnings that come and go.
- Lights failing, especially headlights that cut out while you drive.
- Windows, locks or the radio acting on their own or not working at all.
- A burning smell from under the dash or the hood. If you smell that, stop using the car.
- A car that shuts off while driving. That’s also a safety problem; see cars that are unsafe to drive.
You don’t have to know which one it is. Describe what happens and when, and that’s enough for an offer.
Water and wiring
Water is hard on electrics. If the car sat in a flooded street or a low spot after heavy rain, the trouble can show up later as connectors corrode. In Highland, the lower ground near the Little Calumet River has a history of flooding, and the Highland page covers what to tell us after a storm.
If that’s how your car’s problems began, read how to sell a flood-damaged car before you call. Indiana law defines a flood damaged vehicle, and for newer cars it can affect the title, so it’s worth knowing where you stand.
When the electrical fault is the last straw
Sometimes the electrics are just the latest thing. The car also overheats, the brakes are due, the emissions test is coming up. If you’re adding up repairs in your head, our guide on when to junk a car is a plain list of the signs that a daily driver is done. And if the car is also running hot, the page on cars that overheat or have a failed head gasket covers that side.
How it works
- Send the car details with the form on this page: year, make, model and the title question, then your name, phone and pickup address.
- We call you. Tell us the symptoms and where the car is. You hear an offer.
- We tow it free. It doesn’t need to start.
- You’re paid at pickup when you sign the car over. Same-day pickup is often possible.
We buy in Whiting, East Chicago, Munster and Highland, the four towns that ring the Hammond, Indiana area.
Title, certificate, or a call to sort it
Bring the title if you have it. No title? We can still help. Indiana wants either the title (a BMV duplicate is $15) or a BMV certificate of authority ($4), and a car under 15 model years old legally needs one of the two. Say what papers you have and we’ll confirm the route on the call. If the car has a keyless fob with a dead battery, leave the fob with the car anyway.