Scrap car questions, answered

Three steps. Send your registration and postcode on WhatsApp or through the quote form. We reply with one firm price based on the car's weight, make and model, condition, parts demand, distance and that week's metal prices. If you accept, we agree a collection date, the driver checks the car and your ID, and you are paid by bank transfer. The step-by-step guide has the detail.

No. There is no collection charge wherever the car is, and no admin fee. Distance is one of the things that sets the price, along with weight, condition and metal prices, so the journey is already allowed for in the figure we quote. Accept it and that agreed figure is what you are paid, as long as the car matches your description.

We collect the car wherever it is parked, on scheduled routes from our one base in Fort William. Scotland's central belt and north east are closest. English towns such as Walsall, Crewe, Atherton and Lowestoft lie between roughly 300 and over 500 miles away, so they share less frequent runs. Unsure whether a route reaches you? Message the postcode and reg on WhatsApp, or see the towns we cover.

By bank transfer to an account in your name, never in cash. Paying cash for scrap vehicles is illegal in Great Britain: the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 bans it in England and Wales, and in Scotland the Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2015 amended the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 to do the same from 2016. Payment must be traceable.

These set the figure: the weight, because scrap value starts with the metal; the make and model, because some parts are worth reusing; the condition and whether the car is complete; demand for its parts; how far we travel and how easy it is to load; and that week's metal prices. That is why we do not publish a flat rate.

Metal prices move, so we tell you how long the price stands when we send it. We pay the quoted figure when the car matches your description. It changes only if something material is different, such as a missing catalytic converter, engine or wheels, and the driver explains before anything is loaded. You can decline at that point at no cost.

Yes, up until the car is collected, and it costs you nothing. Accepting a price books a collection rather than binding you to the sale, so a WhatsApp message, a call or an email is enough to call it off. Once the car has been collected and you have been paid, the sale is final and the car cannot come back.

No, but it helps. With a V5C, the driver takes the main document and the yellow V5C/3 section stays with you: post it to the DVLA, or tell them online and keep it with your records. Without one, show photo ID and proof the car is yours, such as a purchase receipt, and write to the DVLA. We cannot buy from someone who cannot show the right to sell.

A Certificate of Destruction is the official record that a car has been scrapped. Only a licensed Authorised Treatment Facility can issue one, and that facility notifies the DVLA; a car broken for parts there still gets one. We are the buyer, not the ATF, so you also tell the DVLA you sold to the motor trade: online or by posting the V5C/3 slip, or by letter without a V5C.

Yes, but sort it out before we collect, because a registration cannot be saved once the car is scrapped. Apply to the DVLA to move the number to another vehicle or onto a V778 retention document. The DVLA only allows this if the car can move under its own power and can be inspected, so a non-runner may not qualify. Tell us if a transfer is pending.

Yes. The car is loaded onto a recovery vehicle, so it does not need to start, and a car on SORN or without an MOT is never driven on the road. None of that affects your right to sell. Missing keys can change the price and the vehicle we send, so mention them. Our guide to selling a non-runner covers the rest.

Usually. The category comes from your insurer after a claim, and owners normally get to keep only a Category S or N car. We buy Cat B, S and N write-offs, and damaged cars that were never claimed on, which have no category at all. Give us the category when you ask for a price, and our guide to selling a written-off car explains how it affects value.

Often, yes, but tell us first. For a car left by someone who has died, the person dealing with the estate sells it, with their photo ID and papers showing their role, such as the will or grant of probate, or confirmation in Scotland. A car on hire purchase or PCP belongs to the lender until it is settled, so settle it, or get the lender's written permission, first.

Yes, including non-runners and accident-damaged EVs. The high-voltage battery makes an electric car hazardous to dismantle, so it goes to a treatment facility equipped to handle it, and the battery goes to specialists for reuse or recycling, not through the shredder with the car. Tell us the battery's condition if you know it, because it affects the value. Our page on scrapping an electric car has more.

Yes. Panel vans, pickups, minibuses and light commercials up to 3.5 tonnes, whether one retired work van or several fleet vehicles. Vans often weigh more than cars, which helps the price. A company selling a vehicle needs to show authority to sell, and we pay the business account by bank transfer. Ask about anything heavier and we will tell you honestly.

Most of the cars we buy go to a licensed Authorised Treatment Facility. The fuel, oil and other fluids are drained, the battery, tyres and airbags removed, and reusable parts set aside. The shell is then shredded and the metals separated for recycling, and the facility issues the certificate once the car is scrapped. Our car dismantling page explains each stage.