Moving? Why it’s best not to take that old junker with you

You’ve packed the boxes. You’ve cleared the garage. You’ve had a blazing fight over whether to keep grandad’s golf clubs. That’s right: moving day is looming. And next on the checklist is what to do with that old car taking up space in the yard.

A house move is a great chance to figure out what stuff you really need and what stuff is just junk you can’t be bothered to deal with. And we hear you: moving or selling an old car is a real pain—especially if it’s broken down—so no wonder you’ve left it to the last minute.

but is it worth keeping your junk car?

You’ve got to weigh the cost of keeping it, versus the cost of getting rid of it. If the car is kaput then it could cost at least a hundred dollars or so, on top of the usual towing rate, to get a pickup to come and collect it for you and take it to the junkyard.

And then there’s repairs. Now that you’re doing some hard sums, how much will you need to spend to get that car back into action? Minor work could cost a couple of hundred bucks, but if there are serious mechanical problems it could run into the thousands. It may even cost more than the car is worth (in which case, it’s a no brainer to sell up, right?).

If the cost of towing your old car to a new home—or the cost of repairs to fix it—outweigh the value of the car, then it’s probably time to leave that car behind.

how can I find out how much my car is worth?

Here at Peddle we’ve created a super simple instant offer tool. Just tell us the basic details about your car—make, model, mileage, condition etc. — and we’ll give you a price. The whole shebang takes a few minutes (so it won’t disrupt vital packing time).

Moving house is stressful enough. If an old car is adding one too many chores to the checklist let Peddle, an awesome company who buys junk cars, take the strain for you. Once you’ve accepted your offer we’ll even send someone to come and pick the car up for you so you won’t need to take any more time out of your day. You can put the cash towards your moving costs or—even better—throw the house warming party of the century.