cars · Ontario

Where to sell cars and vehicles in Kitchener–Waterloo

3 businesses in and around Kitchener–Waterloo that buy used cars from the public — what each takes, and whether you are offered a purchase, a consignment or a loan.

Verified 2026-09-24 from each organization's own website. We are not affiliated with anyone listed here, nobody pays to be included, and we receive nothing if you sell to them.

How to tell what you have got

Before you call anyone, two minutes with the object settles most of it. None of this needs an expert — it needs a flashlight and a look at the back.

  • A complete non-running car or light truck, still on four tiresAll four wheels on. Engine and transmission still in it. VIN plate at the base of the windshield readable. Doors and hood present. If you can read the VIN and count four tires, you have something to hand over.
  • A car that still starts and drives, however badlyIt turns over and will move under its own power onto a trailer. Under 12 years old. Under about 250,000 km. No structural rust through the sills or spring perches.
  • Alloy wheels, a spare set of winter tires on rims, a tow hitch, a roof box, a recent battery — stored separately in the garageIt is already off the vehicle and on the garage floor. If it is still bolted to the car, leave it.
  • British Columbia only: a vehicle still insured in BC and still driveableCount six months backwards from the day you apply. If the insurance lapsed at any point in that window, or the car will not drive today, you do not qualify.

Rarely worth anything

Not a rule, and not a reason to bin something without asking. These are the things people most often expect to be worth money and find are not.

  • A stripped shell — engine or transmission pulled, wheels off, sitting on blocks or on its brake discs
  • Any vehicle with a lien or encumbrance registered against it
  • A vehicle with an open insurance claim against it
  • A car still registered to a parent who has died, before the estate paperwork exists
  • An Ontario vehicle branded "irreparable" — worth nothing as a car
  • A vehicle a tow truck cannot physically reach
  • Loose tires off their rims, and the shelf of old oil, antifreeze and brake fluid
Licence plates travel with the driver, not the vehicle Ontario

On a sale the seller keeps the licence plates and the plate portion of the permit, and gives the buyer the vehicle portion of the owner's permit with the completed and signed Application for Transfer on the back, an original signed and dated bill of sale, and a safety standards certificate where one is required.

Read the rule →
Vehicles are branded none, salvage, irreparable or rebuilt, and the brand governs what you can do with the car Ontario

Under the mandatory vehicle branding program, a vehicle branded irreparable "has been written-off as a total loss", "can only be used for parts or scrap" and "cannot be driven again in Ontario" — it remains sellable for parts and scrap but can never be registered for road use. A salvage vehicle has also been a total loss but may be repaired; to be reclassified as rebuilt it must undergo and pass a structural inspection at a registered DriveON Vehicle Inspection Centre, with photographs of the damage and detailed invoices for the major components used. Only vehicles branded none or rebuilt can be driven on Ontario roads. Owners have 90 days to appeal a salvage or irreparable brand assigned in Ontario.

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A scrapped vehicle must be formally discarded with the SAAQ Quebec

Discard the vehicle online through SAAQclic if it is registered to an individual, or in person at a SAAQ service outlet. Where the vehicle goes to a scrap dealer or recycler, the dealer-recycler "will give you an attestation of transaction, which you must present at one of our service outlets"; ownership then transfers to the dealer-recycler. You are issued a new registration certificate marked "Mise au rancart". You must remove the licence plate: you "can destroy it so that nobody can use it or keep it for up to 3 years to register a vehicle that requires a licence plate of the same category."

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Your registration stays with you, not the vehicle Alberta

An Alberta registration can be transferred to another vehicle you own. To do it, bring to a registry agent "acceptable identification", "proof of ownership of the new vehicle" and "proof of valid insurance 'pink card'". Alberta issues no separate paper title, so the registration certificate is the ownership document.

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A detached catalytic converter is regulated metal, even though a whole car is not British Columbia

BC's regulated metals are items substantially made of non-ferrous metal — aluminum, copper including brass and bronze, lead, magnesium, nickel and zinc — together with a specific list of scrap items that includes utility wire, traffic signals, street lighting equipment, sewer grates, guardrails, grave markers, construction site scrap metal and "a catalytic converter that is not attached to an exhaust system." Car batteries are noted as not regulated. The practical consequence for a seller is that cutting the converter out turns one transaction into two, and the detached part is the regulated one.

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Certified recyclers must remove hazardous materials before the shell is shredded Canada (industry certification, not statute)

The Canadian Auto Recyclers' Environmental Code, developed from the National Code of Practice written for Environment Canada in 2008, requires removal and proper management of reusable parts, batteries, mercury switches, oils, fluids, coolants, gasoline and refrigerants before metal recycling. Certification requires an independent audit, and Automotive Recyclers of Canada makes maintaining it a condition of membership for direct members. Pre-2002 vehicles commonly contain mercury switches in convenience lighting.

Read the rule →

3 places in Kitchener–Waterloo that take cars

Kelso & Company Auctioneers (KelsoBid)

Consignment Not stated — ask
BuysEstate contents, Household goods from downsizing, Collections, Industrial surplus
The dealAn auction house rather than a shop. Their site invites you to "Sell one item or the whole collection here" and lists services for estates, downsizing and industrial surplus across Guelph, Kitchener-Waterloo and Cambridge. Goods are consigned and sold at auction, so you are paid after the sale and only if the lot sells — this is not money on the day.
WhereServes the tri-city area of Guelph, Kitchener-Waterloo and Cambridge. No street address is published on their site.
No commission rate, seller fee or settlement timeline of any kind is published on their site, and no street address is given. Ask for the complete fee schedule in writing — including anything charged for collection, photography, lotting or unsold lots — and for when you are paid after a sale, before committing a houseful of goods. Auction results are not guaranteed and a lot can sell for far less than retail, so also ask whether reserves are permitted.
Visit their site →519-837-7653

Logel's Auto Parts

Quote first May collect — ask
BuysScrap and junk cars, Non-running vehicles, Post-accident and write-off vehicles
The dealOutright purchase of the vehicle. Their site explains the quote is calculated by multiplying the vehicle's weight from the book by the current price of scrap metal. On payment their site says: if you drop the vehicle off, "you will get paid when it arrives"; if they collect it, "our driver will bring payment along with the bill of sale." Payment on drop-off is by cheque. They have a full-time tow truck driver on staff year-round.
Where116 Bridge St East, Kitchener, ON N2K 1J6
Pickup is not free: their site says "We can also come and pick up your car if it's not safe to drive, for an additional charge." The charge amount is not published, so confirm it before booking, as it comes out of what you receive. Payment on drop-off is by cheque rather than cash. Because the quote is vehicle weight times scrap price, a car with value in its parts or as a runner may be worth more sold another way. Their site does not address number plates, permit cancellation or insurance — ask them what they handle and what is left to you.
Visit their site →519-745-4751

Schmidt's Auto Recycling

Quote first May collect — ask
BuysVehicles of any type in any condition, Damaged and non-running cars, Sedans, SUVs, trucks and vans, Hybrid and electric vehicles, Classic and imported vehicles
The dealOutright purchase. Their site advertises towing as "100% Free", payment by cash or e-transfer on the spot before the vehicle is loaded, and a process that typically runs 2-24 hours from first call to payment. They advertise assistance with paperwork.
Where956 Guelph St, Kitchener, ON N2H 5Z6
Their site advertises "Get Paid Anywhere from $200 to $20,000." That is an advertised range spanning everything from a scrap shell to a late-model vehicle, not an indication of what an ordinary old car will fetch — treat only the specific written quote as meaningful. Their site states you must prove ownership: a title, or an alternative such as a bill of sale or old insurance document, and it points to ServiceOntario for replacements. Find that paperwork before booking. Their site advertises free towing; get that confirmed in writing when you book.
Visit their site →+1-519-744-3573
We could not verify this city’s municipal rules for second-hand dealers and pawnbrokers from an official source, so we state none. Check with the City or the province before relying on anything you read about them elsewhere.

Not sure what you have got?

Photograph it and we will tell you what it is and what it is worth — including when the honest answer is that it is worth nothing.

See what it's worth Everything in Kitchener–Waterloo →

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