Auto breakers in Edinburgh: sell your car for parts

Every breaking decision comes down to one question: are the parts worth more than the metal? For a common model with a healthy engine, the answer is often yes. Tell us about the car at your Edinburgh address and we will price it on its reusable parts, arrange free collection and pay by bank transfer to an account in your name.

This page is for selling a car, not buying bits for one: there is no stock list and no parts counter here. What we work out is how much the parts still on your car add to its value, and you get that figure in writing on WhatsApp before anyone sets off. If nothing on it is worth reusing, start with the scrap car page for Edinburgh.

Edinburgh is around 145 miles from our Fort William base, and jobs in the city and the Lothians are grouped into scheduled runs rather than sent one at a time. We agree the date when you accept the price. In the centre's permit zones and tenement streets, we need the exact street before a truck is sent. Postcodes, districts and how collection runs in Edinburgh are on our page for Edinburgh.

What decides a parts price for a car in Edinburgh

A parts price is built up from the car rather than read off a weight chart. We start with the model, because demand for parts follows how many of that model are still on the road. Then we look at what works: an engine that starts and runs cleanly and a gearbox that shifts through every gear add the most. After that come the catalytic converter, the panels and doors, the wheels and tyres, the lights and the interior. Damage, missing parts and very high mileage take value away. Distance and access to your address in Edinburgh are part of the figure too, and so is that week's metal price for whatever cannot be reused.

What to have ready when you sell for parts

Anything taken off the car since you described it should be mentioned before the driver sets out, because the parts in the quote are what the figure is built on. The paperwork is simple: photo ID, and the V5C if you have it (if not, tell us before we quote). If a key is lost, say so up front: we can still buy the car, though it may alter the figure and the truck we send. Away on the day? Another adult you nominate can meet the driver, bringing photo identification of their own and a signed note from you. A recovery vehicle needs room to load, so warn us about narrow lanes, low garages or a handbrake that will not release. To keep a private number, retain it with the DVLA before the sale: it cannot be moved once the car is scrapped.

Cars that are worth about the same either way

For some cars the catalytic converter and the metal are most of the value. That can be the case for an older small car whose engine, gearbox and panels are worn or corroded: the converter still holds recoverable precious metals and the shell is sold by weight, but little else will be reused. A parts price then sits close to a scrap price, and it is simpler to treat the car as scrap. Our scrap car service handles it with the same free collection from Edinburgh and the same payment by bank transfer. Either way, leave the converter on the car, because a missing one cannot be priced in.

Read our full guide to selling a car to auto breakers, see how the WhatsApp quote works, or start a quote.