About Us

About 816 Junk Car — Kansas City's Best Junk Car Buyer

For more than a decade, Kansas City drivers have trusted 816 Junk Car to turn their unwanted vehicles into fast, fair cash. We’re not a national call-center passing your details down a phone chain — we’re a locally owned junk car buying company based right here in the KC metro, with our own drivers, our own tow trucks, and our own word on every offer we make.

If you’ve got a car sitting in the driveway, rusting in the backyard, or leaking fluids in the garage, we’ll take it off your hands today. No haggling. No hidden fees. No runaround.

Our Story

816 Junk Car started over 10 years ago with a simple idea: selling a junk car in Kansas City shouldn’t feel harder than owning one.

Back then, most people trying to get rid of an old vehicle had two bad options. They could list it on Craigslist and spend weeks fielding lowball offers, no-shows, and questionable buyers. Or they could call a “cash for cars” hotline and get a rock-bottom quote from someone three states away who’d never actually seen their car.

We built a better option. A local number answered by a local team. Honest quotes based on real-time scrap and catalytic converter values — not random guesses. Same-day pickup by drivers who live in the communities we serve. And the exact amount we quote, paid in cash, the moment we hook up your car.

Over the last decade, we’ve helped thousands of Kansas City residents clear their driveways, settle estates, handle insurance totals, and walk away from vehicles that just weren’t worth fixing anymore. That reputation is the reason we’re still here — and why most of our business comes from referrals.

What We Stand For

Our process is built around three promises we’ve kept since day one:

Honest offers, every time.

Our quotes are based on the current scrap metal market and the value of the catalytic converter on your specific vehicle. We explain the math. We don't invent "deductions" when our driver arrives. The number we quote is the number you get paid.

Free towing, always.

Our towing service is 100% free with every purchase we make. Whether your car is parked on a flat driveway or stuck behind a shed with four flat tires, we handle it at no cost to you.

Same-day service in most of the KC metro.

Call us in the morning, and in most cases your car is gone and cash is in your hand before dinner. We serve a 50-mile radius around Kansas City with our own fleet — no third-party dispatch, no waiting on a tow company we don't control.

What We Buy

We purchase all makes and models from 1980 and newer across the Kansas City metro, including:

  • Junk and scrap cars — rusted, non-running, missing parts, or totally dead
  • Wrecked or totaled vehicles — we regularly pay more than insurance settlements
  • Gently used cars — late-model vehicles where you want a fast, private-sale-free exit
  • Flood-damaged cars
  • Cars with blown engines or transmissions
  • Vehicles without titles (in many cases) — ask us about your specific situation

If your car doesn’t fall into one of these categories, call us anyway. In ten years, we’ve seen almost everything.

Why Kansas City Trusts 816 Junk Car

We’re not the biggest junk car buyer in the country, and we don’t want to be. We’re focused on one thing: being the best in our city.

01

Faster pickups

Because our team and tow trucks are based in KC, we're not waiting on a contractor to show up from Topeka or St. Joseph.

02

Better offers on certain vehicles

We know the local scrap yards, the local converter buyers, and the local market. That local knowledge often means a higher quote than you'd get from a 1-800 number.

03

Real people, real accountability

When you call 816-419-8233, you reach someone who actually works here. If anything goes wrong, you talk to the same team that made the offer.

04

No pressure, no games.

If you don't like our offer, don't take it. There's no fee to get a quote, and we'd rather lose a deal than push someone into one they regret.

Built in Kansas City, for Kansas City

Our headquarters sits in the heart of Kansas City, just minutes from the Truman Sports Complex. We grew up driving these roads, hauling cars down 435, and getting calls from folks in Overland Park, Independence, Lee’s Summit, Olathe, and everywhere in between.

Being local isn’t a marketing bullet point for us — it’s why we exist. When you sell your car to 816 Junk Car, you’re keeping your money in the local economy, working with a team you can look in the eye, and backing a small business that’s been answering its own phone for a decade.