What's my recourse if a buyer picks up my car but never sends the promised deregistration confirmation?
Short answer: Follow up directly and promptly with the buyer requesting the confirmation, referencing what was originally promised, and if they remain unresponsive, contact your local transport or vehicle registration authority directly to confirm the vehicle's actual registration status and, if necessary, initiate the deregistration yourself using proof of the sale.
Skip the phone calls. List your scrap vehicle once and let verified buyers on ScrapTrade come to you with real pickup offers.
List Free →Why this follow-up matters even after the vehicle is gone
An unregistered vehicle still linked to your name can create genuine liability if it’s later involved in an incident or continues accruing registration fees — this makes following up on a missing deregistration confirmation worth the effort, even though the vehicle itself is already gone.
What to do first
Contact the buyer directly, referencing the specific commitment they made about handling deregistration, and request the confirmation — a legitimate buyer who simply hasn’t gotten to it yet should respond promptly once reminded.
What to do if the buyer remains unresponsive
Contact your local vehicle registration or transport authority directly, explain the situation, and provide whatever proof of sale you have — many authorities have a process for a seller to report a vehicle disposal even without buyer-provided confirmation, which protects you regardless of whether the buyer follows through on their end.
How ScrapTrade Makes This Easier
Buyers on ScrapTrade handling vehicle deregistration as part of their standard process should be able to confirm their specific timeline for providing documentation, giving you a concrete expectation to follow up against.
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