Where Can You Sell Old Car Batteries for Cash?
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If you have driven a car for several years or have other motorized vehicles in your garage, including a motorcycle, boat, or ATV, you might have a few old car batteries. Here’s a look at where you can sell old car batteries for cash.
When you are ready to clean your house, you might think nothing of tossing your old car batteries into the trash dumpster. You can sell your old car batteries for cash if you didn’t know it.
15 Ways to Sell Old Car Batteries for Cash
Whether you have a dead battery or one purchased only a few months ago, you can sell it for cash.
While some vendors will pay you a flat rate, you may consider selling your newer batteries for top dollar to buyers who are looking for a good battery without having to pay the core charge or brand-new retail price commanded by an auto parts store.
1. Your Local Auto Parts Store
One of the easiest places to start selling is your local auto parts store. This might be a national brand like AutoZone, Advance Auto Parts, Napa, or O’Reilly. Locally-owned parts stores will also accept used batteries. If you are buying a new battery at the same time, the auto parts store will usually offer you a credit to offset the core charge, which ranges from $5 to $12 in most localities.
States charge a core fee that will be added to your new battery purchase to pay for recycling old batteries. Stores will pay the cost if you turn in your old battery at any location within the next 30 days.
If you are not buying a new battery, you might be able to receive store credit comparable to the core charge. If they do, that’s $12 to spend on your future auto parts needs. Stores are not required to offer store credit, but they should recycle it for free.
2. Scrap Yards
You can always take it to a scrap yard when the local auto parts store won’t pay you cash. You might think that scrap yards are only for selling old refrigerators and recycling old glass jars and bottles. Used car batteries are purchased for their lead cores, which can be remanufactured and used again. How much you earn will depend on the current market price for lead scrap.
Since a car battery usually contains 21 pounds of lead, you can potentially earn about $7 per battery when the lead scrap rate is 0.33 cents per pound. You can find your closest scrap yard by checking online for “local scrap yards.”
If you have several scrap yards nearby, try calling each one to find out their current buying price. Not every yard has the exact purchase price, and many yards will pay more per pound if you sell several batteries simultaneously.
3. Metal Recycling Centers
Metal recycling centers and scrap yards are very similar, but some differences exist. For example, typing in “metal recycling centers near me” can generate an entirely different set of search results than looking for scrap yards. Other search results mean additional opportunities to find the absolute top dollar you can receive for each car battery.
These recycling centers might have their current rates listed on their websites. Otherwise, it doesn’t hurt to call their office before you leave your house to see if they do battery recycling and what the best price is. Like scrap salvage yards, you will usually earn more per battery if you have several to sell.
4. Craigslist
You might be able to sell on Craigslist, too. This might be a better option if you have a newer car battery with a serviceable life. If your car were totaled and needed to be scrapped, you might decide to remove any valuable items, such as tires, custom stereo systems, and car batteries.
How much you will earn depends on the battery’s cost and demand. Buyers looking for a spare car, motorcycle, or marine battery will be willing to pay less than the retail value for a brand-new battery. That’s true even if there are only a few years left.
If you don’t live near a scrapyard or do not have the time to visit one, this can also be a more time-effective option. And, you can earn more than scrap value, too. Create your ad with keywords such as auto batteries, car parts, and car batteries for sale. And with any local sales, make sure your buyer is reputable.
5. Auto Repair Shops
You can also consider selling your used, working batteries to a local repair shop. These shops might have the tools to recondition the batteries and sell them at a discount to customers who don’t want a brand-new battery.
Your battery must be defect-free to be sold to a repair shop. The shop will test it to ensure it is working correctly. This option can be a good way to make more than the going scrap metal rate and avoid haggling with potential Craigslist buyers.
6. Pull-A-Part
If you want to sell your entire automobile, including your car battery, Pull-A-Part will tow your car away from your driveway. You will receive a quote for the whole car and instantly get paid in cash.
If you have an old clunker or you want to simply get rid of a “lawn ornament” this option will solve several issues at once as you will also get paid for your scrap metal too.
7. Pawn Shops
Useable batteries can be sold to your local pawn shop for extra cash. Since a “middleman” is involved and needs to earn a profit, this method might not be as lucrative as expected. You can still earn more money by selling lightly used batteries on Craigslist.
Of course, if you need money in a hurry, a pawn shop will give you the cash you need to today while they work on finding the right buyer.
8. eBay
Just as you can sell (almost) anything on eBay, you can also sell your car batteries. It doesn’t matter if it’s new, used, or dead.
If someone cannot find their battery at a local store for a similar price, they might be willing to buy it. This can be a good tactic for car, motorcycle, ATV, and marine batteries.
If you are selling a lot of batteries, you can also list your auction as local pickup only to prevent shipping costs from absorbing your entire profit.
9. Global Tech Environmental
If you have over 500 pounds of batteries and electronic scrap to sell, you can sell them to Global Tech Environmental. They will buy your automobile batteries and many other industrial batteries.
It’s important to know that only businesses can sell to Global Tech Environment. If your business qualifies, they will pick up your batteries anywhere in the U.S.
10. Peddle
Peddle is another car resale website that lets you junk your entire car and receive a single quote for everything under the hood.
To receive an instant quote, enter your vehicle’s make and model information on Peddle’s website. If you accept, you will be paid after they tow away your vehicle.
11. iScrap App
The iScrap App can help you find the best battery buyers in your area. It maintains a list of vendors that only accept bulk shipments and businesses that will buy a single battery from individual buyers.
You can also use the app to schedule a local pickup.
12. Newspaper Classifieds
There are two different money-making options regarding the newspaper classified section. The first option is where you can list your batteries for sale. People who collect batteries as a side hustle usually look in the newspaper for good deals that are not listed online.
A second option is to see if scrap buyers have placed an advertisement. If so, call them and see how much they will pay. They might be your local metal recycling center or scrap yard, but you never know. Each business has a different marketing strategy and uses other media channels to earn a profit.
13. Have a Yard Sale
If you have ever tried picking up a car battery, you have probably noticed one characteristic immediately. They’re heavy and bulky. Loading them into your car and taking them to the nearest store or scrap yard can be a chore.
To save the hard labor, have a yard sale instead. People visit yard sales all the time, looking to flip items for a profit. You might not make as much money as selling it to a vendor yourself, but it can be a more efficient use of your time. Plus, you can sell many other unwanted possessions that net you more cash.
14. Battery Reconditioning
A somewhat unconventional approach is to recondition old car batteries. Several different devices and methods are used to recondition old batteries so they can continue to recharge and have an extended service life.
If you currently have a few dead batteries, you might be able to recondition them to continue working for your vehicles, to prevent you from spending the money you just earned from selling a battery. Or, selling reconditioned batteries could be a potential side hustle if they are reliable enough for others to use regularly.
15. Your Local Recycling Center
Some localities might not allow used batteries to be sold for cash. If that’s the case for you, your local community recycling center or landfill should accept your batteries free of charge.
Doing so will still help protect the environment and allow the battery makers to pass the savings onto future customers, as they don’t have to mine as much new lead.
Where To Sell Your Old Car Batteries – Summary
As long as people use vehicles to travel, there will be a demand for car batteries. Manufacturers recycle the lead core of old batteries to keep costs as low as possible.
Knowing the market price for your battery, you can get paid to sell your used batteries for scrap or to another individual who might need a spare battery.
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