Fire-damaged cars we buy in NWI

Fire damage comes in two kinds

The engine fire. Something let go under the hood: a fuel line, a wiring fault, oil on a hot manifold. The fire stayed up front, the cabin smells of smoke, and the car doesn’t start. From the curb it can look almost normal.

The full burn. The car is a grey shell. Tires gone, glass gone, seats down to their springs. Maybe it burned in a garage, maybe on the street.

We buy both. The offer depends on the car and on how much the fire took, which is why we ask on the call what burned and what didn’t.

Before you do anything with it

Let the fire department finish. Don’t try to start the car, and don’t push it anywhere while it’s still warm. Burned cars can leak fluids, so if it’s parked on your driveway or in a garage, keep people and pets away from it until it’s gone.

Take photos for yourself if there’s an insurance claim. Then get what’s left of your belongings out if it’s safe to reach them. Take the license plate off too; the Indiana BMV says the seller removes the plate at the time of sale.

What happens when you send the form

We call back, ask what burned, and make an offer. If you accept, we book the pickup, and the truck comes to wherever the car sits in North, Calumet, Ross or Hobart township. The tow is free. You sign the car over and you’re paid at pickup.

A burned car may not roll or steer. Tell us that on the call, along with anything about the spot it’s in: a garage, a narrow drive, a car that’s half on the lawn.

When the title burned too

It happens. The title was in the glovebox, or in the house fire that took the car. That doesn’t end the sale. In Indiana a junk car changes hands on one of two papers. One is the title; if yours is lost, the BMV issues a duplicate for $15. The other is a BMV certificate of authority, which costs $4 and is applied for with proof the car belongs to you, your current registration for example. If the car is less than 15 model years old, Indiana law requires one of the two. Let us know which papers you do have, whether that’s a bill of sale, a registration or an insurance card, and on the call we’ll work out which route suits your car. Our how to junk a car in Indiana guide covers both routes.

Other damage

Fire is one kind of damage. Crash damage is the more common one, and it’s covered on our page for wrecked and crash-damaged cars. Whatever happened to yours, Cash for Junk Cars NWI makes the offer on the car as it is.