After serving a certain period, a car loses its consumer qualities. Sooner or later, you have to decide what to do with an old car. It is not always possible or financially reasonable to maintain pristine conditions.
There are not many options left—to scrap your car and buy another one or exchange it for scrap metal. Each method is suitable in its way but requires following the procedure. So, let’s find out how to scrap a car.
Options for scrapping a car
There are two options:
- Scrap the whole car. A car is dismantled, its parts are sorted according to manufacturing materials and then recycled.
- Partial scrapping. Working parts of the car are used later or sold separately.
In the first case, you will not receive a certificate. Money for clean metal—that is all. But in this way you can take only the already demounted car, but not utilized one. The second option is suitable for those who want to get rid of the old car, remove it from the registration, and not pay tax.
The owner may get rid of the unwanted vehicle in the following ways:
- Give it for scrap metal or disassembly.
- Use the services of a junk car buyer like JunkCarsUs that can pick up your old car, take care of it, give you cash for your junk and issue a package of documents required for deregistration;
- Dispose of on your own at a recycling center;
- Deliver your old car to the showroom and try to sell it.
Get rid of your car by sending it for scrapping
If a car owner has no desire or time to deal with the removal and subsequent sale of “live” units and components, the specialists of the top junk car buyer in Los Angeles JunkCarsUs team will do it for them! There are plenty of companies that specialize in auto repurchase and dismantling. They often provide car towing for free and give cash for junk cars.
When the car is deregistered due to scrapping
To carry out this procedure, it is necessary to provide a document that a car has already been scrapped. You will first have to surrender it to pitch and then terminate the registration. To do this, it is enough to come to the unit with the following documents:
- Civil passport;
- Passport of the vehicle;
- State registration plates.
The documents must be accompanied by an application for deregistration of the car due to disposal.
Can I scrap a car without documents?
No legally operated scrap metal recycling center accepts undocumented vehicles. How to scrap a car without documents? There are two options:
- Restore the documents and then proceed with recycling.
- If a car has already been deregistered but has not been scrapped, you can disassemble it yourself and hand it over as scrap metal.
In the second case, you do not need to restore the documents.
Do I have to notify the tax office if I have deregistered my car?
If tax inspectors don’t know that the car is not registered anymore, they will continue to charge transport tax. You should contact the department of the tax inspectorate responsible for the reconciliation of accounts with the budget.
Where to dispose of your car for scrap
The best and most hustle-free option for every junk car owner is to contact a relatable junk car buyer in their region. Such companies take old cars for scrap, pay a fair price for them in cash and offer free towing.
Before contacting a junk car buyer, ensure you did your best with all the documents. First, your car’s title will be checked before scrapping, so you should transfer the title to the salvage yard that will deal with your car. Also, prepare all the documents that prove your ownership of the car.
How much you can earn giving a car for scrap metal
Earnings depend on the price situation on the market of ferrous and non-ferrous metals and the decency of the receivers.
Rubber, plastic, glass, and other non-metal parts are not evaluated. The question is how much is in the car. How does one determine this? Only one way—by disassembling it and then weighing it. You can disassemble it yourself. But it takes time and effort. Pickup shops will do it, but not for free.
Dismantling the car for parts before turning it in for scrap
This method may be used only for a car that was earlier deregistered but, for some reason, was not scrapped. The final price of taking the car for scrap metal is determined by the value of the parts and components left and then sold.
Tires, battery, glass, dashboard, engine, gearbox all cost money on the market. If the model is marketable, the liquidity of such goods will be one hundred percent. The car, in any case, must be free of unnecessary details, liquids, oils, and so on. This can be done independently.
But the desire to generate income will require time, storage space, additional restoration costs, and marketing efforts (posting ads, contacts with potential buyers, and so on). There’s a reason many sites and individuals specialize in this.
You can get a significant income by selling parts for a third of their actual value. At any rate, it will exceed the price paid by metal collectors. Component prices are going up. That is why it makes sense to take it off:
- Tires, if the wear and tear of the rubber is minor. The spare needs to be taken out at once. It’s usually new. On average, one costs $20.
- Glasses and headlights. If they are in decent condition, you can get from $30 for a headlight and $50 per glass.
- Engine and transmission. These auto parts are always in price. If the motor is excellent, it can fetch $1,000 or more. An automatic transmission can cost almost as much.
- Dashboard. It doesn’t weigh much, but it costs a lot. The price range is wide. The simplest option for a budget car on the market is $50.
- Radiator, battery, plastic fluid tanks. Used ones are inexpensive but sell very quickly.
- Chairs, seats, trim, and tuning elements. A lot depends on the type and quality of the trim. Prices start at $20 and go to infinity and beyond.
- Alarm system, multimedia, speakers, rearview cameras, parking sensors, GPS, and recorder. First, they are universal and can be used on a new car. Second, the cost of such devices can be very high.
Conclusion
Turning your car into scrap is not a difficult task. However, it’s a solution that can bring different results. To avoid problems and obtain benefits, we recommend not to go for dubious deals, document the disposal, and personally verify its actual implementation.