Sell your car in Fairbanks: running, won't start or on PCS orders
Fort Wainwright sits on the edge of Fairbanks, and Eielson Air Force Base is 26 miles southeast down the Richardson Highway. If orders are moving you off either post, start below with what your orders will ship and where in town a car is turned in. If the car quit in the cold or is simply used up, the borough's junk-car drop-off and our offer are set out side by side further down.
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Checking your car's trade-in value in Fairbanks
- Get the dealer's figure for your car alone. Ask for the trade-in amount in writing, apart from the price of the car you're buying, so the two numbers can't blur together.
- Put an instant offer next to it. Describe the same miles and the same problems both times, so both numbers are for one car.
- Compare them without a tax credit. In most states a trade-in also trims the sales tax on the next car, which our trade-in vs selling guide explains. As of September 2026, the City of Fairbanks taxes alcohol, room rentals, tobacco, marijuana and gasoline, and the borough taxes rooms, alcohol, marijuana and tobacco. Neither taxes a car purchase, so on a car bought inside city limits that credit is worth nothing. The bigger number is the better deal, and if you sell, the payment can go toward the next car.
Where we pick up around Fairbanks
We pick up anywhere on the borough road system, winter included. Close in, that's downtown (99701) and College and the university side (99709). Farther out, it's North Pole (99705), 8 miles from Eielson, along with housing on both posts, Ester, Fox, Two Rivers and Salcha.
Put the winter gear in the description. Fort Wainwright's winterizing suggestions, written for anyone driving or shipping a car to Alaska, include an engine block heater and a battery blanket or trickle charger, with oil-pan and transmission heaters as options. If your car has any of them, list them with the rest of its details.
What your orders cover, and what is left to sell
Your post's moving office is where you find out what your orders pay for. At Fort Wainwright that's the Army Transportation Office in Building 3401 on Santiago Avenue, first floor, Room 118. At Eielson it's the Air Force Personal Property Office at 354 Broadway Avenue. A move to or from Alaska counts as OCONUS, outside the continental U.S. On those moves, the government can ship or store one car you own or lease. Ask that office about exceptions.
A car shipping on your orders can be turned in here in Fairbanks, at the vehicle processing center listed in the box below. Its turn-in notes say a windshield crack longer than 6 inches, or one that touches the frame, means new glass before the car ships. A cracked windshield doesn't stop an offer. A second car your orders won't cover is yours to ship at your own cost, drive out or sell.
If you sell, the offer comes first, pickup is scheduled around your final-out, and payment comes before you fly. Our guide to selling a car before a PCS move compares shipping with selling and has a timeline from orders to report date.
Cash for your car in Fairbanks
Junk cars in Fairbanks have a way out that costs residents nothing but the trip. The borough's Solid Waste Facility at 455 Sanduri Street accepts junk vehicles with the fluids still in them. Residents pay nothing, and commercial customers pay $160 a vehicle. It asks for no proof of ownership, though it says proof helps. It's open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays, 9 to 4 on Saturdays and noon to 4 on Sundays.
The other route is to sell the junk car instead of hauling it to Sanduri Street yourself. A dead, damaged or worn-out car still gets an offer, and our pickup does the hauling.
When the cold does more than kill the battery, selling a car with a cracked block or blown head gasket weighs the repair bill against selling it as it is. A transmission that slips or won't go into reverse is covered in selling a car with a bad transmission, and crash damage in selling an accident-damaged car.
Gate rules on each post, and where a shipped car goes
- •Fort Wainwright issues vehicle passes at the Visitor Center on the right before the gate. You need your orders, military ID, driver's license, current registration and proof of insurance (Military OneSource, Fort Wainwright)
- •Eielson Security Forces no longer register vehicles, but you show a Common Access Card or dependent ID at the gate, and any car driven on base must be registered in its home state (Military OneSource, Eielson AFB)
- •The Fairbanks vehicle processing center, where a car shipping on PCS orders can be turned in, is at 5250 Airport Industrial Road. From Fort Wainwright's Gaffney Road gate it's about 6½ miles west on Airport Way, then about ¾ mile down Airport Industrial Road. It's open weekdays 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (PCSmyPOV, Fairbanks VPC)
Asked by Fairbanks sellers
Will you buy a car that won't start at forty below?
Yes. A car that won't start still gets an offer, and pickup comes to the driveway it's frozen to. It doesn't need to run on pickup day.
Can you pick up a car parked in housing on Fort Wainwright or at Eielson?
Yes. We handle the pickup logistics whether the car sits in base housing, a dorm lot or a driveway in North Pole. What each post asks about a car at its gate is in the box above. Tell us which post and which lot when you set the time.
I still owe on the car. Do I need a lien release to ship it from Fairbanks?
The Fairbanks processing center's turn-in notes say you need a lien release from your lender only when the car is going overseas. For the turn-in itself, they ask you to bring your orders, registration, any amendments to the orders, and the title if you have it.
Which office handles title work here if something's wrong with mine?
The Alaska DMV's Fairbanks office, at 414 3rd Street, open weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The DMV also lists business partners that do vehicle paperwork: two in Fairbanks and two in North Pole, and two of those four open on Saturdays. They're privately owned and charge their own fee for the service.
Our Alaska selling page covers signing the title over and the sale notice you send the DMV afterward.