Auto salvage in Edinburgh

Motor Salvage Group buys damaged cars in Edinburgh: Category B, S and N write-offs that you own, accident damage you chose not to claim for, and cars hit by flood or fire. Send the registration, the category if there is one, and photos of the damage, and we reply with a price that counts the undamaged parts as well as the metal.

Collection in Edinburgh is free and done with a recovery vehicle, so a car that cannot steer or roll is not a problem. Payment is by bank transfer. As a rule, the cars we buy go to a licensed Authorised Treatment Facility for parts recovery and recycling, and when a car is scrapped the ATF issues the Certificate of Destruction and notifies the DVLA.

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 local page.

Understanding the category on your car

Only an insurer gives a car a write-off category, and only after a claim. Category A means the whole car must be crushed, so we take one only for crushing. Category B means the shell must be crushed, although parts can be recovered. Category S covers structural damage, such as to the chassis or crumple zones, and Category N covers damage that is not structural. If you never claimed, the car has no category: it is simply damaged, and we buy it on that basis. Offered the chance to keep a Category S or N car? The insurer usually deducts its salvage value from your settlement, so compare that deduction with a salvage price from us before you decide. A car the insurer has taken is theirs to dispose of, not yours to sell.

What we need to price a damaged car

Blurred photos taken at night make a damaged car look worse than it is, and a cautious price follows. Take your pictures in good light, standing far enough back to show each whole side, then move in on the damage. Open the doors and photograph the interior, including the steering wheel and dashboard airbags. If the engine bay is reachable, include that too. Tell us what happened, for example a side impact, a rollover or a flood, and whether the car has been started since. Send the photos with the reg and your postcode, and we reply with a firm salvage price.

Releasing a car from a garage or storage yard

Collecting from a business site in Edinburgh is straightforward if the paperwork is sorted first. Most garages and compounds need to know the car is being released on your instructions, and some ask for a reference number or signed note. Some sites charge daily storage, so ask before the bill grows. A car on hire purchase or PCP belongs to the finance company until it is settled, and after a write-off the insurer's payment normally goes to that company first, so mention anything still owed when you ask for a price. Tell us the name of the site, its address and the times it is open, and whether the car is inside a building or in a yard. The driver loads it on a recovery vehicle, and as a rule, cars we buy go on to a licensed treatment facility.

Read our full guide to auto salvage, see what happens after you send the reg, or send us the reg.