What your car is worth

Every seller asks the same first question: what is my car worth? The honest answer is that nobody can tell you without knowing the car. The year, make, model and trim matter, but so does what is underneath: whether the engine turns over, whether it drives, and whether parts like the catalytic converter are still in place.

A car's value comes from three places at once. If it still runs, it may be worth most as a car someone can drive again. If it doesn't, its engine, transmission, doors and wheels have value to people rebuilding other cars. What is left after that is metal, priced by weight against markets that move from week to week. That is why real offers expire instead of lasting forever, and why a firm number needs your answers first.

The articles and guides here explain what genuinely moves the number and what doesn't, so you can tell a fair offer from one designed to be cut at pickup. If the car matches what you described, the price we quote is the price you are paid. The short list of things that can change it is published, and nothing else is on it.