Sell a Car With Transmission Problems

A transmission quote is often the moment an older car stops being worth fixing. Cash for Junk Cars Gary Indiana buys the car at that point, as it sits, so the repair bill never has to be paid.

Signs people describe to us

Nobody needs to know the part names. These are the kind of symptoms sellers mention on the call:

• It slips: the engine revs up but the car doesn’t pick up speed.
• There’s a long pause after you shift into drive or reverse before anything happens.
• It grinds, clunks or whines when it changes gear.
• It won’t go into reverse, or won’t come out of park.
• A warning light came on and the car went into a low-power mode it won’t leave.
• There’s red fluid under the front half of the car.

Any of these is enough to ask for an offer. So is “it just stopped going.”

Repair or sell: a simple way to decide

A rebuilt or replacement transmission is one of the bigger repair bills an older car can throw at you. Get a quote if you want a number to compare. Then weigh it against what the car would be worth running. If fixing it costs close to what it’s worth once fixed, you’re paying to break even.

There’s a second cost people forget. While you save up for the repair, the car sits. Tags lapse (here’s what happens with plates that ran out while it sat), batteries die and tires go flat. None of that stops a sale to us, but it’s one more reason to decide sooner rather than later.

Still drives vs doesn’t

If it still drives in some gears, don’t push it. A slipping transmission can quit completely on a busy road like Broadway or US 30. Leave it parked and let the truck come to it.

If it doesn’t move at all, tell us two things: whether it rolls when you release the brake in neutral, and whether it’s in a garage, driveway or street spot. Those decide which equipment the tow needs.

From the form to pickup

1. You enter the year, make, model and whether you have the title.
2. We call you back with an offer. That’s when you describe the symptoms.
3. If you accept, we set a pickup time. Same-day pickup is often possible.
4. The truck tows it for free, and you’re paid at pickup.

Before the truck arrives, take off your plate, empty the car, and have the title ready. No title? We can still help. In Indiana a junk car sale runs on one of two papers: the title (lost it? the BMV issues a duplicate for $15) or a BMV certificate of authority, which costs $4 and is applied for with something showing the car is yours, like your current registration. If the car is under 15 model years old, state law requires one of the two. Let us know what you do have, such as a bill of sale, a registration or an insurance card, and on the call we’ll work out which route fits your car.

If the car has more than one problem, like a bad transmission and a branded salvage title, tell us both. It’s still a car we buy.