The average car battery can last about five years in general. Still, eventually, there comes a time where the voltage of the battery is depleted completely and cannot be recharged.
This is where the battery is dead, and there is no point in using it. Customers can easily buy a new car battery, but storing the old one is pointless and takes space.
So what should you do?
The obvious answer is to sell your old battery, making a nice sum of cash to invest and buy a new car battery.
But the question arises; who buys used car batteries near me?
The answer is simple:
- Auto Repair Stores
- Junkyards
- Recycling Plants
- Pawnshops
- Auto Part Stores
- Yard Sales
- Pull-A-Part
- Newspaper Classifieds
- United Batteries
- eBay
- The Facebook Marketplace
- Craigslist
- The iScrap App
These are but a few potential areas to have the opportunity to sell old car batteries. Read the rest to figure out how they buy their batteries and which is the best place on this list.
Table of Contents
Who Is More Likely To Buy Your Car Battery?
The selling price potential of your used battery can depend on several factors, which all join together to form the final outlook of your used battery.
The factors can range from the battery itself to the use you have inflicted to the battery to finally the place where you decide to sell the battery.
Depending on the battery’s state, certain places may not even buy it at all, so make sure that you know the value of your battery, its health, and the demographic you are targeting.
Does The Battery Have A Charge, Or Is It Dead?
Dead batteries offer little to no worth to customers looking for a cheap replacement for their car battery.
This means that selling your used car battery which is no longer functioning when browsing online sites such as the Facebook marketplace, eBay, will significantly reduce the chance of your battery being sold and the selling price.
Likewise, if your battery is only slightly used, it is more likely to be sold on these platforms and for a price closer to the originals.
Other physical stores will buy your battery regardless of charge, but the price may differ extremely.
The Brand And Original Cost
Repair stores and recycling plants will accept batteries of all brands; however, some people are looking for car batteries of a specific brand.
These people are willing to pay good money to get the battery, especially if they are slightly used.
Premium battery brands such as Optima or ExpertPower can fetch you a pretty penny regardless of who you sell them to.
For instance:
- The better the condition, the more the price.
- The original cost will also represent this as premium batteries will have a higher original cost, so the reselling price will also be high.
13 Places That Buy Used Car Batteries For Cash
As discussed above, there are a lot of different shops and places where you can potentially sell your used car batteries.
We will now be going more in-depth about how they buy your used batteries and what they require to purchase your used goods.
It is good to mention that some of these places, specifically the online shop sites, will require you to mention the proper specifications of your used battery, so make sure to understand all the specifics of your battery and mention them to the buyer.
1. Auto Repair Stores
Auto repair stores are shops and marketplaces where people can buy all manner of products related to automobiles. These include both car and motorcycle products.
Coincidentally, many of them also engage in purchasing used products such as headlights, tires, and, for the sake of our list, used car batteries.
Different auto repair stores will offer you different prices as the price of a used car battery is not fixed.
Simply head over to your nearest auto repair store and present them with your battery.
If your battery is in good condition, they will conduct an efficiency test. Once the battery passes this test, they will offer you a price.
Depending on your battery’s state:
- They will undoubtedly offer you a good price.
- Dead batteries can be bought for anything starting from $12, and as the condition and charge of the battery rises, so does the price.
- Different buys can have a different idea of reasonable, so check out a few auto repair stores before setting a deal with one.
Auto repair stores can easily fix up the dead battery by replacing their cores with new ones and selling them for a better price.
These batteries are also reconditioned, bringing them back to their original glory. (You can also buy these refurbished automotive batteries).
2. Junkyards
Your local junkyard is the perfect place to sell your used car battery if it is dead. The people at the junkyard will buy anything if you sell them for a cheap enough price.
They can purchase the battery from you in cash and then strip out the lead core, which is the primary factor in deciding the price of the battery.
Different junkyards and scrapyards can pay different amounts of cash for the same battery.
This is because they do their business in salvaging plastic and lead from the batteries, so if a particular junkyard has an excess of lead cores and plastic, they will offer to buy your used car battery for a very low price as compared to the scrapyard, which is low on lead cores.
Hence it is good to make sure that you call up a few scrapyards and find out how far up the price range is to buy your battery.
Junkyards will scavenge your batteries, strip them and sell them for parts. Keep this in mind when selling your battery as if your battery is in relatively good condition.
You can easily sell it to a proper store or individual buyer for an even greater price, as the starting price of a typical scrapyard is around $7.
3. Recycling Plants
Recycling plants tend to do the same thing as scrapyards do to your used car batteries; however, they are more diverse and specific in what they obtain and have fixed rates set on each product they are willing to buy.
This rate is set according to the metal weight present in the product, and they charge per pound.
They are interested in the lead and the metals present in the battery and, as such, will disassemble the battery and strip them for parts.
The average weight of a normal car battery is around 40 pounds. Usually, it is the same as a junkyard at $7.
Their purchase rate is also not stagnant and changes quite a lot, so make sure if the rate they have set up is worth disassembling your battery.
If not, you can always visit the scrapyard to get a potentially better price.
Recycling plants also love to buy in bulk, so it will benefit you to sell multiple items together and your used car battery to get an extra bit of cash and, at the same time, get rid of all the junk you have in your house.
4. Pawnshops
Pawnshops are stores that purchase used items and attempt to resell them for more profits. This option is not the most profit intensive as most of the time.
The owner will try to make a profit himself, so he will not purchase the used car battery at your requested price.
This option is more suitable for people looking for a quick sell and fast cash or who simply want to get rid of their used car battery as soon as possible while making a bit of cash.
They are fast as they will pay you on the spot.
With the amount of haggling involved and the low price they purchase, it is better to consider alternatives such as eBay or Craigslist, which we will talk about later in this list.
Do not let all of this dissuade you, as pawnshop owners are sometimes willing to haggle and eventually settle on a mutually beneficial price for both you and them.
5. Auto Part Stores
Unlike auto repair stores, auto part stores usually sell products of all things automobile while repair stores, shockingly, just repair any issues related to the automobile.
Auto part stores such as Napa or AutoZone offer a good price range for used car batteries, and these prices only get better depending on the state of your battery.
The auto parts store will also offer you a credit fee which should cover the core fee on any new battery you purchase.
This core fee could be anything, starting from $5 to more than double at $12.
The fee is charged according to state laws and depends on the state too, but all of this can be avoided by providing the store with your old used car battery, for which they will waive the fee and take it upon themselves.
This, however, must be done in around 30 days before you are forced to pay the fee in full. They accept all manner of batteries; used and dead.
6. Yard Sales
Everyone loves a good yard sale. It is an easy and perfect way to sell your old car battery without much effort.
You have to set up a sign telling the world you are having a yard, place all the items you wish to sell, including your used car battery, and wait for the right customer to appear.
Once your battery catches the eye of a customer, you can inform them about the status of the battery along with all of its specifications.
Once the customer is hooked, you can discuss the price of selling the battery.
7. Pull-A-Part
Sometimes selling your old car battery just isn’t enough. Sometimes you want to sell your entire car as well.
This is easier said than done, as selling an entire car requires effort and work. Pull-A-Part aims to alleviate the work by allowing their customers to fill a simple form.
Once the form is filled, it enters processing, and experts from the company call you back, fixing an appointment with you.
Once all of it is said and done, they hand you your cash and take away your car—what a wild way of selling your used car battery.
8. Newspaper Classifieds
Our previous areas of selling your used car batteries relied on you pro-actively finding people interested in buying your used car battery, going to different stores and shops, setting up sales, and filling forms.
Though very old school and even a bit of a long shot, this method is also a viable method of contacting people interested in buying used car batteries.
This method involves you placing an ad in your local newspaper and hoping that someone is still reading newspapers in this digital age, finds your ad, and contacts you.
Placing the ad itself costs money, and the whole chance of these events happening is relatively low, but it is still a possibility.
9. United Batteries
United Batteries is a business that has thrived off on buying used batteries of all types.
This option is more catered towards people living near Longview or Portland. They could still have a charge, or they could be dead. It doesn’t matter to them.
This buyer has the added benefit of purchasing lead-acid batteries at more than standard rates. If you are selling a lead-acid battery, this buyer will accept it and offer premium rates.
10. eBay
Starting with our online section of this article, I will list a few more than adequate sites to help you broadcast your used car battery and have people contact you.
eBay is one of the most popular online marketplaces on the world wide web and is a great place for you to place your products for selling.
The people on eBay have no reason to buy dead batteries as they are not salvaging them.
They are mostly people who just want a working car battery for a low price and do not mind purchasing a used one.
To sell your products on eBay, simply create an account on the site and create a new post where you mention all the specifications of your product and the price you are willing to sell it for.
Then simply add pictures to showcase your product and publish the post. Now wait and watch the offers start rolling in.
11. The Facebook Marketplace
Facebook has evolved a lot from being a simple social media site to a goliath of a website for both businesses and products alike.
The Facebook marketplace is home to many products and people willing to buy anything, so it is a great place to post an ad for your used car battery.
Just make sure that it still has some juice in it. Multiple Facebook groups also exist, solely selling car batteries, so make sure you are part of these groups.
Then all you have to do is simply create a post where you advertise your product and watch as people who want to buy your product contact you via comments or direct messages.
12. Craigslist
Dead batteries are better sold to recyclers and scrapyards. Like eBay and Facebook, the people on Craigslist are not looking to buy worthless, dead batteries.
They need proper working batteries and will only consider such for purchase, so make sure that you are listing suitable car batteries on these types of sites.
Craigslist is a site you should consider when you have no time to look around for a good price and are willing to take a small loss on profits.
The process is similar for Craigslist; however, you must take care in applying the right keywords to reach the right audience.
13. The iScrap App
iScrap is a handy app that will undoubtedly have buyers waiting for you when you place your product on it.
The app maintains an entire list of potential buyers who might purchase your used battery. It also helps in locating scrapyards and buyers.
The app itself is easy to navigate and has the feature of having you set up pickups directly from scrapyards to your own home, alleviating the need to take your car battery to the scrapyard.
Instead, they will come and take it themselves.
What Type Of Buyers Buy Used Car Batteries?
To be able to sell your used batteries, you need to know your target demographic.
What kind of person would want to buy a used battery?
Let’s find out:
- Recyclers: Most car batteries are made from 60% recycled materials. Often the material is gathered from used batteries themselves. This is why recyclers and junkers tend to buy used car batteries; so that they may sell them to people who can make new ones.
- People Under Financial Strain: People in debt or under financial strain will want to buy used car batteries as they can be a cheaper alternative to a brand new one.
Keeping this in mind, make sure to set a reasonable price for them. Otherwise, they may not buy your battery.
Conclusion
Many people do not realize what to do with their used and dead car batteries. They take loads of space inside their garage or just wind up in the trash.
I hope that this article helped you find out the right answer to your question “who buys used car batteries near me” and gave you insight into how you should go about looking for these buyers.
Rather than keeping them for no reason, it is better to sell off your used car batteries and make a quick buck.
Who knows?
Maybe your used battery will end up in someone’s use for years to come.
I am Tahir Azam, and I have been writing amazing articles for TaxiHack for as long as I can remember. I know everything that is to know when it comes to automobiles and is always on top of industry news and developments. While I am not an expert by any means, I pride myself on knowing the ins and outs of many different problems and, of course, their solutions. The articles on our website are some of the best and well-researched content that you will find, and I spend countless hours making sure this remains to be true. This is why I ask you to take your time out and read some of my articles, especially if you find a topic that resonates with you or is something you are looking into. This way, you will find the perfect mix of information and tips on your desired topic. Learn more about Tahir.
