Scrap car value
What is my car worth for scrap?
Put the registration in and you will have a figure in about twenty seconds. No phone call, no haggling, and the price we quote is the price you get.
A scrap car is worth what it weighs. Vehicles are paid by weight at a set rate per tonne, and most cars come out between £100 and £250. Vans and 4x4s are worth more because they weigh more.
Age and mileage barely matter. A heavy old estate is usually worth more than a newer small car. Three things move the figure after weight: whether it still starts and drives, because a working engine and gearbox are worth more than the metal in them; whether it has a full set of alloys; and whether you bring it in rather than us collecting it.
Allparts Rochdale is an Environment Agency Authorised Treatment Facility, licence EAWML/53593, paying the same day by bank transfer.
What decides what a scrap car is worth?
Weight
The base figure, and most of the answer. Scrap is paid at a set rate per tonne, so a big heavy car is worth more than a small light one regardless of anything else.
Does it start and drive
The biggest single swing between two identical cars. A working engine and gearbox get sold as parts instead of baled, so they are worth more to us than the metal in them.
Alloys or steels
A full set of alloy wheels is worth having and adds to the figure. Steel wheels do not.
Who moves it
We collect free, but if you drive it in to the yard yourself we pay a bit more, because it saves us sending the truck out.
Notice what is not on that list. Age, mileage, service history, how clean it is, whether it has a dent in the wing. None of it changes what a vehicle is worth as scrap, which is why a figure off a registration can be this quick.
Why are two identical cars worth different money?
Almost always one of three things. One of them ran and one did not. One was on alloys and one was on steels. Or one had already been picked at and the engine was out of it, which takes away both the weight and the most valuable part in the vehicle at the same time.
It is the question we get asked most after a quote, usually because somebody down the road got a different number for the same model.
That last one matters more than people expect. An engine is 150 to 200kg, so a car with the engine already out is worth a good deal less than the same car with it still in. Tell us if anything has come off it before you get a quote, and the figure will be right first time rather than changing on the day.
Who pays the most for a scrap car?
Whoever actually wants your particular vehicle. It is not the same place every time, and anyone telling you they always pay the most is guessing.
A site that only crushes pays on weight and nothing else, so every car of the same weight is worth the same to them whether it runs or not. If your car is properly dead, you may well do just as well there, and we would rather say that than waste an afternoon of your time.
We break for parts as well as scrap, so the sums are different. A vehicle that still starts and drives is worth more to us than it is to a crusher, because the engine and gearbox get sold again. The same goes for a clean set of alloys, straight panels, and anything in demand.
If you are ringing round, the one thing worth doing is telling everybody the same thing about the vehicle. Otherwise you are not comparing like with like, and the cheapest quote is usually the one that changes when the driver turns up.
Is it better to scrap a car or sell it?
Sometimes the honest advice is not to scrap it at all.
If the car has an MOT and drives properly, you will nearly always get more selling it privately than scrapping it. Scrap value is a floor, not a market price. We will tell you that on the phone rather than take it off you cheap, because a car bought badly is how a yard ends up with a review it deserves.
Scrapping is the right call when the repair is worth more than the vehicle: a failed MOT with a bill behind it, a blown engine, a gearbox gone, serious rot, or an insurance write off. At that point nobody is buying it as a car, and the weight is what it is worth.
Ready to go ahead?
Once you have a figure you are happy with, the rest is straightforward. Scrap my car, Rochdale covers free collection within 40 miles, same-day payment and what happens on the day. Scrapping a van instead? Scrap my van explains why they are worth more.
And if you have not got the V5C, or you are not sure what you are supposed to tell the DVLA, the paperwork explained covers the Certificate of Destruction and when the vehicle actually stops being your responsibility.
Common questions about scrap car values
- How is the scrap value of a car worked out?
- By weight, at a set rate per tonne. That is the base figure and it is most of the answer. On top of that, a vehicle that still starts and drives is worth more, because the engine and gearbox can be sold as parts rather than baled with the rest of it. A full set of alloys is worth more than steel wheels. And bringing the vehicle in yourself is worth more than us collecting it, because it saves us sending the truck out.
- Does the age or mileage of the car change what I get?
- Barely, and this surprises nearly everybody. Scrap is paid by weight, so a 2005 estate is worth more than a 2018 city car simply because there is more of it. Mileage does not come into it at all. Neither does whether it is clean, dented, or has been stood on a drive for four years. The only age-related thing that matters is whether it still runs, and plenty of old cars do.
- What is the average price for a scrap car?
- Most cars come out somewhere between £100 and £250. Where yours lands depends on weight first, then whether it starts and drives, then whether it is on alloys. Vans and 4x4s are more again because they weigh more. That is an honest range rather than a headline figure, and the calculator on this page gives you your actual number rather than an average.
- Who pays the most for a scrap car?
- Whoever actually wants your particular vehicle, and it is not the same yard every time. A site that only crushes pays on weight alone, so a dead car is worth the same to them as a running one. We break for parts as well, so a car that starts and drives is worth more to us. If yours is properly dead you may do just as well elsewhere, and we will say so rather than waste your time.
- Is my car worth more if it still runs?
- Yes, noticeably. A working engine and gearbox are worth more to a breaker than the metal they are made of, because they go on the shelf and get sold again rather than being baled. It is the single biggest difference between two otherwise identical cars. The same applies in reverse: if the engine has already been taken out, the value drops by more than the weight alone would suggest.
- Is the figure on the calculator what I actually get?
- Yes, as long as what you told us is right. The price we quote is the price that goes into your bank. Nothing is deducted for collection and nobody turns up and starts knocking money off. The only thing that changes a quote is the vehicle not being what was described, and if that happens we tell you before it goes on the truck rather than after.
- Do I get paid straight away?
- Same day, by bank transfer, as the vehicle goes on the truck. We do not pay cash. Paying cash for scrap metal has been illegal in England and Wales since the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013, so anyone offering you notes for a vehicle is breaking the law.
Get a figure before you decide anything
Registration in, number out, about twenty seconds. Licensed ATF EAWML/53593, paid the same day by bank transfer.
Out of hours 07360 497269