Car dismantlers for Edinburgh: free collection to a licensed facility

Dismantling an end-of-life car legally needs an authorised site, trained staff and proper handling of every fluid, which is why it cannot be done on a driveway. Our part is to buy the car from you in Edinburgh, collect it on a recovery vehicle at no charge and take it to a facility authorised to do the work.

Once you accept the price, the driver checks the car and your ID, loads it at your address in Edinburgh, and the facility does the rest. After collection, tell the DVLA yourself that you have sold the car to the motor trade. If the car is electric, our EV and hybrid guide explains the extra steps.

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.

What happens to your car after it leaves Edinburgh

First the car is made safe. Every liquid that could pollute soil or water is drained and stored, and anything that could go off, like an airbag or a seat-belt pretensioner, is deployed or removed. Recovery comes next: components with a future, from alternators to tailgates, are unbolted and kept by the facility. Last is recycling, where the stripped shell is flattened and shredded and its metals sorted by magnet and separator. The facility handles its own paperwork too: when the car is scrapped, it notifies the DVLA and issues your Certificate of Destruction.

What to tell us before a car is dismantled

The driver's job at your address is to check and load, not to dismantle, so the car should be left as it is. What helps is information. Is the car complete, or have the engine, wheels or catalytic converter been taken off? Does it leak? Is it electric or hybrid? Can a recovery vehicle reach it from the road? Answering those when you ask for a price keeps the figure accurate and the collection straightforward. If the car is in a garage, a shared car park or behind a locked gate in Edinburgh, tell us how to reach it and who holds the key.

How to tell a car is going to the right place

Dismantling an end-of-life car without authorisation is illegal in Scotland and England, and for good reason: drained fuel, oil and refrigerant pollute land and water, and an unmanaged battery or airbag can injure someone. It matters to you as well. Only an Authorised Treatment Facility can issue a Certificate of Destruction, and without one you have no proof the car has been destroyed, which can leave you answering for it later. So before you sell to anyone in Edinburgh, ask where the car is going; if you ask us, we will tell you which licensed facility is taking yours, so you can look it up on the public register kept by SEPA or the Environment Agency.

Read our full guide to how car dismantling works, see how we price and collect, or ask for a firm price.