Breakers yard in Edinburgh: sell your car for breaking

The usual picture of a breakers yard is a drive to an industrial estate, a look round the car at the gate and a price agreed there and then. Selling to us skips the visit but keeps the idea: a breaker's price, based on what the car still has, agreed before anything moves. If your car is in Edinburgh, we buy it where it stands, and licensed partners do the breaking.

Being open about faults works in your favour. A car described as a non-runner with a failed gearbox is priced on that basis, and the price stands when the driver finds exactly that. What moves a figure after it is agreed is a surprise: missing wheels, a removed catalytic converter or damage nobody mentioned. So list the faults, the missing parts and the mileage when you send the reg.

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 collection notes.

A breakers yard visit, or a collection

The cars that suit breaking are often the ones that cannot reach a yard. A seized engine or a failed gearbox means the car will not drive, and without tax and a valid MOT it could not legally be driven there even if it did. Towing needs working brakes and steering on the towed car, which a damaged car may not have. A recovery vehicle avoids all of that: it lifts the car from a drive, a garage or the kerb, as long as the truck can reach it safely, and carries it clear of the road. You never have to find a breaker willing to take the car, or wait at a gate for an offer. If you want to know which parts lift the price, read our parts-value guide.

The sale, the handover and the paperwork

Collection itself is short. The driver checks the registration, looks the car over against your description, sees your photo ID and records the sale. Loading takes most of the time, so a little notice helps. Missing keys can leave the steering locked; a seized handbrake or flat tyres can stop the car rolling; a garage, a gate or a steep drive needs a clear line for the truck. Mention any of that when you send the reg. Leave the fluids and battery alone: removing them is the treatment facility's job. If you have the V5C, note its reference number and keep back the yellow slip when the driver takes the logbook. Then tell the DVLA the car has gone to the motor trade, online with that number or by posting the slip. The DVLA stops the tax, repays any full months left and ends a Direct Debit.

Looking for car parts? Read this first

A short note for anyone here to buy a second-hand part. We are not a parts supplier. There is no counter, no stock list and no way to reserve a component from a car we have collected, because the car passes to a licensed partner who breaks it. A breaker with a public parts service, or an online parts-locating service, is the right place to look, and it is worth checking the returns policy before you pay. Where we can help is the other side of the problem: if the part you need costs more than the car is worth to you, we can price the whole car in Edinburgh as it stands.

Read our full guide to selling a car to a breakers yard, see the three steps from reg to payment, or start a quote.