Cash for junk and scrap cars in Northwest Indiana
Sell your junk car for an offer built on its scrap weight. Free tow, Hammond to Gary, paid at pickup.
Get an offer on your junk car
Free towing. Paid at pickup. No title? Whatever the car's model year, it needs a BMV duplicate title or a BMV certificate of authority before it goes on our truck. Tell us on the call what papers you have (bill of sale, registration, insurance card) and we'll say which route your car takes.
How do you sell a junk car for cash in Northwest Indiana?
Send the junk car's year, make, model and title status, then your name, phone and pickup address. We call back with an offer built on the car's scrap weight. Accept it and a truck collects the car at no cost to you, often the same day, and you're paid right there at pickup.
That's the whole sale. As a junk car buyer that also explains the scrap math, we'd rather show you how the number is reached than ask you to take it on trust. Whether you call it cash for scrap cars or selling a junk car, the offer starts from the same arithmetic below.
What your junk car brings as scrap
A junk car's scrap value is set by weight. A buyer takes the car's curb weight in tons, multiplies it by the current per-ton rate for whole cars, then subtracts for missing parts and any towing fee. The rate follows what steel mills pay for scrap, so it changes from month to month.
That's the whole method, and it's why Cash for Scrap Junk Cars NWI doesn't post a price list. The rate follows the steel market, and old cars are the primary source of obsolete steel scrap in the US, per the USGS iron and steel scrap overview. A number on a sign can't know your car's weight, what's missing from it, or which ton it's counted in. The work order on this page is the arithmetic every offer we make starts from. The long version is in junk car price per ton, explained.
- Curb weight
- From the owner's manual or spec sheet. Not the GVWR.
- 2,000 or 2,240 lb
- Net tons or gross tons. Ask which one a quote uses.
- Per-ton rate
- For whole cars, today. It follows the steel scrap market.
- What's missing
- Engine, transmission, wheels, catalytic converter.
- Your offer
- Towing is free, so nothing comes off for the tow.
Scale ticket
From the owner's manual or the maker's spec sheet. Not the GVWR.
- Net tons
- ÷ 2,000 lb
- Gross tons
- ÷ 2,240 lb
- Tonnes
- 1,000 kg
Per ton: gross or net?
Scrap is counted in two different tons. A net ton is 2,000 pounds. A gross ton, also called a long ton, is 2,240 pounds, and steel scrap is often priced that way. Same headline rate, same car, and a per-net-ton quote pays 12% more than a per-gross-ton one.
Type your car's curb weight into the ticket to see both. It only does the division; it never shows a price. Not sure of the weight? Find your car's curb weight.
What raises or lowers a junk car offer
Adds to it
- More weight. A pickup, SUV or van has more steel than a compact car. See scrapping a truck, SUV or van.
- A complete car. Engine, transmission, wheels and catalytic converter all still on it.
- An honest description. The offer you hear on the phone is the one you're paid at pickup.
Takes away
- Missing parts. Less weight, fewer tons. See scrapping an incomplete car.
- A towing fee. Some buyers take one out of the price. We don't.
- An old price list. Rates move with the steel market, so a number from last month may be out of date. Ours, once given, doesn't expire.
Junk cars we buy
Any junk vehicle in any condition: cars, pickups, vans and SUVs that are wrecked, fire-damaged, flooded, stripped or simply won't start. Two or three on the same property? One visit can take several.
The pickup map, in words
North Lake County, Indiana: from the Illinois state line east to Gary and the towns touching it. The tow is free in every one of them.
Plus Whiting, Munster, Highland, Griffith, Hobart, Lake Station and New Chicago.
We don't pick up in Porter or LaPorte County, or south of Merrillville and Griffith. See the whole pickup area or read junk car prices in north Lake County.
Before the tow
- Take your belongings out of the cab, trunk and glove box.
- Have the title ready. No title? Whatever the car's model year, it needs a BMV duplicate title or a BMV certificate of authority before it goes on our truck. Tell us on the call what papers you have (bill of sale, registration, insurance card) and we'll say which route your car takes.
- Tell us where the car sits: street, driveway, garage or lot, and whether it rolls.
- Mention anything missing, so the offer holds at pickup.
Selling a junk car here, start to finish
Send the car
Year, make, model and title status. Then your name, phone and pickup address.
Hear the offer
We call back with a number for the whole car, before anything is booked.
Free tow
Same-day pickup is often possible, and nothing is taken off the offer for the tow.
Paid at pickup
Settle up as the truck loads the car: Cash App, Zelle or another digital transfer, or cash. Have the title, or the BMV paper that replaces it, in hand.
The details, including the paperwork, are in how to scrap a car in Indiana.
Scrap or sell? Read up before you decide
If your car still runs well, it may be worth more whole than as scrap. Our guide to scrapping a car or selling it whole says so plainly. The rest of the price guides are here.
Junk car price questions
What are the average junk car prices in Indiana?
There isn't one average worth trusting. Each buyer sets its own per-ton rate for whole cars and changes it as steel prices move, and cars differ in weight and completeness. We don't publish a figure; we give you an offer on your car.
How much will a scrapyard pay you for a car?
Roughly the car's weight in tons times the yard's rate for whole cars, less anything missing and any towing it charges. Ask whether the rate is per gross ton (2,240 lb) or per net ton (2,000 lb), and ask for the total.
What are the current scrap prices per pound?
Per-pound prices you see online are usually for sorted metal like copper or aluminum, not whole cars. A junk car is mostly steel and is priced by the ton. Compare per-ton quotes for whole cars, on the same unit and the same day.
Will scrap prices go up in 2026?
Nobody can promise that, and we won't forecast it. Junk car prices follow what steel mills pay for scrap. If you want the official trend, the US Geological Survey publishes iron and steel scrap statistics. For your car, a same-day offer is what counts.
Can I scrap a car without a title?
No title? Then you'll need paper from the BMV before the car goes on our truck, whatever its age: either a duplicate title, which costs $15, or a BMV certificate of authority, a $4 application backed by proof you own the car, such as the current registration. The car's age changes only how much room the buyer has. A car 15 or more model years old can be bought without the title if you bring the certificate of authority, and a buyer who takes a younger car with neither paper commits a felony. Send us what you do have (a bill of sale, the registration, an insurance card) and we'll work out on the call which document fits your car.
Which towns do you pick up in?
Gary plus Hammond, Whiting, East Chicago, Munster, Highland, Griffith, Merrillville, Hobart, Lake Station and New Chicago. Porter County, LaPorte County and south Lake County are outside our pickup area.
More in the junk car FAQ.
Ready for a real number?
Two short steps: the car, then where to collect it. The offer comes first, the tow is free, and you're paid at pickup.
Get offer