For the most part, auto junkyards are fairly reputable as well as honest all across the board. However, in the past few years, it is hard to argue that the reputation of car wrecker services in Auckland, on the whole, has taken quite a beating. That is a fact, whether you are referring to services that deal with car removal in Auckland or anywhere else. This is unsurprisingly due to the emergence of a large number of scam scrap yard services across the board. Having said that, how does one go about identifying the legitimate services from the scam ones? For a person who has no idea which key aspects to look out for in this regard, it can turn out to be an extremely difficult and frustrating endeavor. No two ways about that, really. In any case, nowadays, people across the board seem to think that most auto junk dealers are shady even when that is not the case. At least not always.
Having said that, let us take a good look at some of the main scams that a few auto junkyards are associated with :-
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The Fly-By-Night haulers:
Certain tow operators will give you a check for your scrap car, but will sneakily demand that you pay them in cash. That either means that the value of your car is less than estimated or that they’re almost certainly trying to scam you. In both instances, you need to be wary and ask for the necessary paperwork.
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The absence of transfer of title:
When you sell your car to an auto junkyard, one of the first things that you need to do is sign over the title for the car. Some services will avoid this aspect completely and send you a bill for storing your car at their yard. Hence, in this regard, it is always much better to take care of the paperwork yourself.
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The bait and switch method:
This is when certain scam services agree to one price only to offer you a substantially lower price when they come to take your car away. At this point, you should decline the offer immediately and be extremely careful to avoid signing any paperwork for the service at hand.
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The problem of delayed payment:
This is probably the most common form of scamming. This can lead to them showing up and taking the car away without giving you the payment then and there, stating that the money will come to you in a few days. This is a huge red flag and will most likely lead to them pocketing your money and simply disappearing without a trace. So be careful.
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Counting the cost of towing your car:
This is one of the first signs that you are not dealing with a professional service. Your quoted price should certainly not include towing. If you have to pay towing charges directly to the tow driver, you should end the deal immediately.
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Vague services that sound confusing:
In most cases, the scam services will quote a price that is far above the actual going rate of your car. So make sure that you do your homework and figure out the approximate cost of your car.
It pretty much goes without saying that the large majority of people that end up getting scammed by such services are those that have had little to no prior experience with car removal services. If you are one of those people who always traded their cars in the past, the likelihood of you having never visited a scrap yard is quite high. Hence, make sure that you become familiar with the process as soon as possible as well as keep the above points in mind at all times. That is the key and the only way that you can avoid scam scrap yards that are only looking to make a quick buck at your expense.
