What to remove before junking your car: the complete pre-pickup checklist.
Once the flatbed tow truck winches your vehicle and drives away, recovering forgotten personal belongings or paperwork is nearly impossible. Follow this 10-minute pre-pickup checklist to protect your legal identity, avoid phantom toll charges, and ensure your payment check is handed to you without delay.
10-minute step-by-step checklist License plate & toll tag rules Paid by check before loading
Quick Answer: Before the tow truck arrives, you must remove license plates, electronic toll passes (E-ZPass/SunPass), insurance/registration cards, and all personal belongings. You should also wipe paired Bluetooth phones and navigation addresses from the dashboard screen.
What NOT to Remove: Do not remove the catalytic converter, starter battery, or wheels. Taking off core mechanical components devalues the vehicle to a stripped shell, causing buyers to lower their payout or charge specialized extraction towing fees. JunkStar pays you by corporate check directly at pickup with 100% free towing.
- Remove license plates immediately; leaving them attached risks toll citations and DMV registration lapse penalties.
- Peel off windshield toll transponders so highway gantry cameras don't bill you while your car is transported on the flatbed.
- Never saw off the catalytic converter or strip wheels; keeping factory parts intact guarantees your full buyout quote.
- You do NOT need to siphon gasoline or drain motor oil/coolant; certified recyclers handle EPA fluids at the processing facility.
- JunkStar hands you an official corporate business check upon arrival before your car is loaded onto the tow truck.
Must-remove checklist
Essential items to remove before the flatbed arrives.
- Unscrew front and rear license plates: In almost all states (NY, FL, CA, TX, IL), plates belong to the registered owner. You must surrender them to the DMV or transfer them to a new vehicle to legally cancel your auto insurance.
- Peel off toll passes & transponders: Remove E-ZPass, SunPass, FasTrak, TxTag, and parking gate RFID barcodes. If left on the windshield, gantry sensors will charge your credit card as the tow truck drives on toll highways.
- Clear all paperwork from glovebox & console: Shred old repair receipts, remove insurance cards, and pull your vehicle registration. Have your clear vehicle title ready in hand for the transfer signature.
- Check hidden storage compartments: Inspect under both front seats, inside the center console, sunglasses overhead holder, door pockets, and the spare tire well in the trunk for sunglasses, chargers, coins, and emergency tools.
- Wipe digital data & Bluetooth pairings: If your car's digital screen turns on, delete paired cell phone contacts, clear call history, and reset saved GPS 'Home' and 'Work' addresses to protect your personal privacy.
- Gather all keys & remotes: Have keys and fobs ready. If keys are missing, that is completely fine—see our guide on [selling a car without keys](/guides/can-i-sell-a-car-without-the-keys).
Keep or strip?
What parts can you safely pull vs. what must stay on?
LEAVE: Original catalytic converter
Catalytic converters contain rare platinum, palladium, and rhodium. Removing it strips hundreds of dollars from your car's recyclability, causing your buyout offer to drop significantly. Always leave it intact.
LEAVE: Wheels & tires
Tires and wheels allow our flatbed operators to roll your vehicle smoothly. Stripping wheels turns your vehicle into an immobile chassis, which requires specialized dollies and may trigger towing extraction charges.
CAN PULL: Aftermarket audio gear
High-end aftermarket touchscreen displays, subwoofers, and trunk amplifiers carry high resale value on local classifieds. Salvage recyclers do not pay extra for aftermarket audio, so you can safely unbolt them.
CAN PULL: Exterior cargo racks
Roof-mounted bike racks, kayak carriers, and detachable hitch cargo boxes do not affect vehicle curb weight or scrap pricing. Unbolt them before pickup to reuse or resell.
Fluids & fuel myths
Do you need to drain oil or siphon gas before pickup?
One of the most persistent myths about junking a car is that the seller must drain the motor oil, empty the radiator coolant, or siphon the gas tank before the tow truck arrives. The answer is an absolute no.
Draining toxic automotive fluids in a residential driveway or garage is messy, dangerous, and violates local environmental ordinances. Licensed auto recycling centers are outfitted with commercial EPA-compliant fluid evacuation stations that vacuum oil, transmission fluid, Freon refrigerant, and fuel safely into bulk storage containers for industrial recycling.
If your vehicle has half a tank of fresh fuel and you have an approved siphon pump, you are welcome to siphon it for your lawnmower or daily driver. Otherwise, leave it alone—our tow drivers handle the entire process without any prep labor on your end.
To learn more about how scrap yards value vehicles by weight, check our scrap car prices per ton guide, or review the financial math in our parting out vs. selling whole breakdown.
Common questions