A phone quote well above everyone else's
Especially one given without a single question about condition. That's a hook. The truck arrives and the number falls. Ask what the quote is based on - a real buyer will say weight, completeness, converter, distance.
A towing charge
Free towing is standard for junk vehicles in this market. A tow fee deducted at the curb is a price cut wearing a disguise.
Vagueness about payment
Ask directly: cash or check, and paid when? The answer should be simple, and it should happen before the car goes on the truck.
No physical address
A buyer with nowhere to be found is harder to hold to anything. Ask where they operate from and check that it exists.
Pressure to decide in the next four minutes
There is no legitimate reason an offer on a junk car expires that fast.
Nobody mentions the paperwork
Ask how the vehicle comes out of your name. A buyer with no answer isn't protecting you.
One fair caveat
A phone quote rests on your description, so it's an estimate until the vehicle is seen. That's normal and honest. What isn't normal is a large unexplained drop at the curb on a car you described accurately.
Want a figure on your car?
We're at 7148 S Aberdeen St and the phone is answered 24 hours: (708) 994-7429. Free tow across the South and Far South Side, cash at pickup.
Get a cash figure
A few details and a phone number. We come back with a figure.
Tell us what you've got
One call, one number, one truck. We're on Aberdeen just off 71st and we run around the clock.