30 straight answers on what your car is worth, how free collection works, when you get paid, and the paperwork that legally ends your responsibility for the vehicle.
Get My Free QuoteThe online form takes under two minutes. Once you submit it, we call you back within the hour during working hours to confirm your offer and book a collection slot.
It depends mainly on the weight of the vehicle, the current scrap metal market, whether the car is complete, and whether the catalytic converter is still fitted. A small hatchback and a large 4x4 are not in the same bracket. Our scrap car pricing guide breaks down the ranges and what moves a quote up or down.
The price we confirm on the phone is the price you are paid, provided the vehicle matches what you described. Nothing is deducted at the roadside for collection, paperwork or the Certificate of Destruction. The one thing that legitimately changes a quote is a material difference between the car described and the car we find — a missing catalytic converter or engine, for example. Describe it accurately and the price holds.
No. Collection is free, the Certificate of Destruction is free, and there is no administration fee. If any scrap car buyer wants to deduct a fee from your agreed price, question it.
Three reasons. Some are comparison sites selling your details on, so the quote is an estimate from a yard that has not seen the car. Some quote high to win the booking and revise the figure once the truck is on your drive. And genuine differences in metal prices and in what a facility can recover from a vehicle account for the rest. Ask whether the quote is from the company that will actually collect the car.
Yes. If a car is running, MOT’d and roadworthy it may be worth more than its scrap value, and we will tell you if that is the case rather than quietly buying it at scrap price.
Yes, everywhere we cover, with no minimum vehicle value. That includes rural and awkward-access addresses — there is no surcharge for a farm track or a narrow lane.
Bookings confirmed before midday on a working day are usually collected the same day. Anything later is normally collected the next working day. You get a one-hour arrival window rather than a whole-day slot.
Yes. Most of what we collect does not start. Our drivers bring flatbeds and spec-lifts, so a seized engine, a flat battery or four flat tyres is not a problem. Tell us the car does not run when we call so the right truck is sent.
Tell us during the callback. Access is the single most common reason a collection fails, and it is entirely avoidable. We will match the vehicle to the access rather than turning up and finding the truck will not fit.
Someone needs to be present to hand over the keys, the V5C if you have it, and to confirm identity. It does not have to be you personally, but it does need to be someone authorised to release the vehicle.
Take out your personal belongings and check the boot, glovebox and under the seats. Remove the number plates only if you are retaining a private registration and have already applied to the DVLA. Cancel your insurance and any direct debits once the car has gone, not before.
By bank transfer, on the day of collection. In most cases the money is sent before the driver has left.
Because it is illegal. The Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 made it an offence in England and Wales for a scrap metal dealer to pay cash for scrap metal, and that includes end-of-life vehicles. Payment has to be traceable. Any buyer offering you cash is telling you something important about how they operate.
Payment goes to the person selling the vehicle, matched to the identification provided at collection. This protects you as much as us — it is what makes the transaction traceable.
Yes. The DVLA automatically refunds any remaining full months of vehicle tax once it has been notified that the car has been scrapped. You do not need to claim it separately.
Ideally the V5C logbook, plus photo identification such as a driving licence or passport and proof of your address. We can still collect without the V5C — losing it does not stop you scrapping the car or receiving your Certificate of Destruction.
Yes, free, for every vehicle. As a licensed Authorised Treatment Facility we issue an official Certificate of Destruction and notify the DVLA. That is the document that legally ends your responsibility for the vehicle.
An ATF is a site holding an environmental permit that allows it to accept, depollute and destroy end-of-life vehicles. Only an ATF can legally scrap your car and only an ATF can issue a Certificate of Destruction. If the operator taking your car is not an ATF, the car has not been legally scrapped.
The DVLA still has you down as the registered keeper of a vehicle that legally exists. Parking fines, penalty charge notices, clean air zone charges, speeding notices and abandoned vehicle recovery costs all come to you, and you stay liable for tax and insurance obligations on it.
When you scrap through an ATF, the facility notifies the DVLA as part of issuing the Certificate of Destruction. You should still expect a confirmation letter from the DVLA telling you that you are no longer the registered keeper — if it does not arrive, chase it.
Yes, but you must transfer or retain it with the DVLA before the vehicle is scrapped. Once a car has been destroyed and its record closed, the registration goes with it. Sort this out first, not afterwards.
Not until the finance is settled. A car under an outstanding finance agreement is not yours to dispose of, and the finance company retains an interest in it. Clear the agreement or speak to the lender first.
Only with the registered keeper’s authority. If you are dealing with a deceased relative’s vehicle or acting for someone else, tell us when we call and we will explain what is needed.
Yes, in all categories. A Category B write-off must be destroyed and can never return to the road. Category S and Category N cars can legally be repaired, so if you have been offered the salvage back it is worth comparing a scrap quote against the repair bill before you decide.
Yes. Both are routine for a licensed facility, and both are handled under the same depollution process as any other end-of-life vehicle.
Yes, vans and light commercials up to 3.5 tonnes. We also handle fleet and multi-vehicle disposal for businesses.
Yes. Missing parts reduce the value rather than the eligibility. The catalytic converter makes the biggest difference, because it contains recoverable precious metals — leave it fitted if it is still there.
It is depolluted at our permitted site. Fuel, oils, coolant, brake fluid and air-conditioning refrigerant are drained, and the battery, airbags, catalytic converter, tyres and glass are removed and handled separately. Only then is the shell crushed or shredded and the metals separated for recycling.
At an ATF, yes — that is what the permit exists to enforce. The End-of-Life Vehicles Regulations set recovery targets of 95% recovery and 85% reuse and recycling by average vehicle weight. The alternative, a car quietly dismantled on unpermitted land with its fluids going into the ground, is the outcome the regulations exist to prevent.
If your question is not here, call us on 0800 193 0125 and ask. It is also worth reading our guides to Authorised Treatment Facilities, Certificates of Destruction and what scrap cars are actually worth.