We buy wrecked cars. If yours has been crashed, written off, badly damaged or has broken down beyond the point of repairing, we are the buyer. You get a cash offer, free pickup anywhere in Christchurch and Canterbury, and payment when we collect.
Send the details through the quote form and we will come back with a figure.
Who buys wrecked cars?
Wreckers do. A wrecked car is worth very little to a private buyer or a dealer, because nobody wants to drive it, but it is worth real money to a wrecker because of what is still inside it. The engine, gearbox, diff, panels, doors, lights, wheels and electronics can be recovered and reused, and the remaining steel, iron and aluminium is recycled.
That is why we can pay cash for a car that nobody else will make an offer on, and why the damage itself matters far less than people expect. A car with a destroyed front end can still have a perfect engine, gearbox and rear end in it.
What makes a wrecked car worth buying
The single biggest factor is that the vehicle is still complete. A crashed or broken down car that is all there has plenty of recoverable value. A car that has already been pulled apart, with the engine, gearbox and wheels sold off separately, is just a shell, and a shell on its own usually does not cover the cost of collecting it.
After that, the things that lift an offer are:
- A sound engine and gearbox, even if the body is wrecked
- Undamaged panels and doors on the side that was not hit
- Size: vans, utes and trucks carry more recoverable metal than small hatchbacks
- A newer vehicle, because more of its components are still in demand
- Detail in your enquiry: year, make, model, kilometres and what actually works
Wrecked cars we buy
- Crashed and accident-damaged vehicles, insurance job or not
- Insurance write-offs and statutory write-offs
- Cars with flood, storm or hail damage
- Vehicles with blown engines, failed gearboxes or seized motors
- Deregistered cars and cars with no warrant of fitness
- Cars that broke down and are not worth the repair bill
Any make or model, Japanese, European, Australian or American. Toyota, Mazda, Subaru, Nissan, Honda, Mitsubishi, Holden, Ford, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Volkswagen and the rest.
Wrecked car buyers across Christchurch and Canterbury
We collect from anywhere in Christchurch and anywhere within about 100km of the city, including Rolleston, Lincoln, Prebbleton, Kaiapoi, Rangiora, Woodend, Leeston, Darfield, Amberley, Oxford, Methven, Ashburton and the Banks Peninsula.
A wrecked car usually cannot be driven, which is the whole point of free pickup. Leave it wherever it ended up, in the driveway, the garage, a paddock or a repair shop, and we will come to it. Collection is included in the offer, never deducted from it.
Selling a written off car
If your insurer has written the vehicle off and you have retained it, you are free to sell it to a wrecker. The registration will need to be cancelled, since the vehicle is coming off the road permanently, and NZTA needs to be told it has been sold or disposed of.
We handle the change-of-ownership notification for you. The full process, including the notice of disposal and surrendering the plates, is set out in our guide to selling your car to a wrecker.
Wrecked car buyer FAQs
Do you buy cars that have been written off by insurance? Yes, including statutory write-offs. Tell us it was written off when you enquire so we can quote it properly.
How much will you pay for a wrecked car? It depends on what is recoverable and what the body weighs. A complete late-model vehicle with a good engine and gearbox is worth considerably more than its metal. Give us the year, make, model and kilometres and we will give you a real figure.
The car cannot be driven. Is that a problem? Not at all. Almost none of the wrecked cars we buy can be driven. Free pickup is part of every offer.
Do you buy a wrecked car that has already been stripped? Usually not. Once the engine, gearbox and wheels are gone, what is left will not cover the cost of collection. If it is still complete, we are interested however bad the damage looks.
How fast can you collect it? Often the same day in Christchurch, usually within 24 to 48 hours across the rest of Canterbury.
Get an offer for your wrecked car
Send your plate, suburb and a short description through the quote form and we will come back with a cash offer. No obligation, no listing fee, no success fee and nothing deducted for collection. If your car is not wrecked but you still want it gone, see sell my car, or cash for cars for our main buying service.