Scrap my car in Crewe

Crewe grew up around its railway junction, and the town still shows it: streets of Victorian terraces around West Street, Hightown and the station, where parking is on the road. The Bentley works on Pyms Lane anchors the industrial side of town. Wherever the car is, from the centre to Leighton, Wistaston, Shavington or Haslington, tell us whether it is on a drive, at the kerb or in a shared car park. Crewe connects to the M6 at junction 16 via the A500 and at junction 17 through Sandbach, so a recovery truck coming down from the north can reach any part of Cheshire East without cutting through the centre. Cheshire East has no Clean Air Zone, so the reasons for selling a car here are the everyday ones: an MOT failure, accident damage, or a repair bill bigger than the car is worth.

Motor Salvage Group buys end-of-life cars and vans in Crewe and the surrounding area. Tell us the registration, whether the car starts and whether you have the V5C, and we come back with a firm price. There is no collection charge and no admin fee: the figure we quote already allows for the journey, and the figure we agree is what you are paid.

Where in Crewe we collect

Our drivers cover Coppenhall, Haslington, Shavington, Wistaston, Leighton, Sydney, Willaston, Nantwich, Sandbach and Middlewich, across the CW1, CW2, CW3, CW5, CW11, CW4 and CW10 postcode areas. If your postcode is not listed, send it with the reg anyway and we will confirm on WhatsApp whether we can collect.

How collection works in Crewe

Our base is in Fort William, about 330 miles north of Crewe, and we have no premises in Cheshire. Crewe collections are grouped with Walsall and Atherton collections into scheduled runs, which come round less often than our Scottish ones. The date and time window are agreed when you accept the price. The driver checks the car against your description, sees your photo ID, takes the V5C if you have it and loads it, and you are paid by bank transfer to an account in your name.

What to have ready before the driver arrives

Have three things to hand: photo ID, the V5C logbook if you have it, and any keys you have, spares included. The driver compares the car with the description you gave us and checks your ID before anything is loaded. Clear the car of personal items, remembering the glovebox, door pockets, boot and the well under the boot floor. If there is a private number plate you want to keep, apply to the DVLA to take it off before collection day, because the registration is lost once the car is scrapped; our guide to the days before scrapping walks through that step. Finally, tell us about anything that affects loading in Crewe, such as a flat tyre, a locked steering wheel or a car parked tight against a wall.

What decides the price of a scrap car

Think of a scrap price as the metal in the car, adjusted for what is on it and where it is. Heavier cars carry more steel and aluminium. A complete car beats a stripped one, and the catalytic converter is worth checking for, since it contains precious metals. Mileage matters little when a car is priced as scrap, although a popular engine or gearbox can still add something, and a car with a single fault may be better priced as a non-runner rather than as scrap. Collection has no separate charge, but the distance from our base and any tricky access in Crewe are part of the figure we quote. Because metal markets move, the price comes with a note of how long it stands.

Paperwork once your car is scrapped

Scrapping legally protects you from fines and letters about a car you no longer have. We buy the car and pass it to a licensed ATF; we do not issue paperwork ourselves. At the facility the car is depolluted and broken down, and when it is scrapped the ATF issues the Certificate of Destruction and tells the DVLA. Your part is to tell the DVLA you have sold the car to the motor trade. From then on the car is off your record. Vehicle tax is refunded automatically for any whole months remaining, and your insurer can be told the car has gone.

Read our full guide to scrapping a car, see what happens after you send the reg, or start a quote.