Scrap my car: free collection, paid by bank transfer

If your car has failed its MOT, stopped running or costs more to keep than it is worth, scrapping it should be simple and legal. Motor Salvage Group buys end-of-life cars and vans across Scotland and England. Send the registration and postcode, we reply with a firm price, and when you accept we agree a collection date. Collection is free: there is no collection charge and no admin fee. Distance is one of the things that sets the price, so the figure we quote already allows for the journey, and the figure we agree is the figure you are paid.

We pay by bank transfer to an account in your name, because the law requires a traceable payment for scrap vehicles and paying cash is illegal in Great Britain. We are the buyer, not the scrapyard. The car goes to a licensed Authorised Treatment Facility (ATF), which depollutes and recycles it, and when the car is scrapped the ATF issues the Certificate of Destruction and notifies the DVLA.

Our only base is in Fort William and towns are reached on scheduled collection runs, so you never have to find a yard or arrange a tow. Send your postcode with the reg and we confirm on WhatsApp whether we can collect. Tell us where the car is, whether it starts and whether you have the V5C, and we plan the rest. If the car has a single fault and its engine, gearbox or other parts are still in demand, it may be worth more if you sell it as a broken car, and crash-damaged or written-off cars are covered on our salvage page.

Paperwork, the DVLA and your Certificate of Destruction

After collection the car goes to a licensed Authorised Treatment Facility, which removes the fluids, battery and other hazardous parts, recovers anything reusable and recycles the shell. When the car is scrapped, the ATF issues the Certificate of Destruction: file it as your proof that the car was disposed of legally. If you have the V5C, hand the logbook to the driver but hold back the yellow section for selling to the motor trade, then tell the DVLA about the sale yourself, either online with the 11-digit reference, keeping the slip with your records, or by filling in the slip and posting it. GOV.UK says you can be fined if you do not. With no V5C, we ask for photo ID and proof you own the car, such as a purchase receipt, and you write to the DVLA instead. Once the DVLA is told, the vehicle tax is cancelled and any full months left are refunded automatically.

Before collection day

Take out anything personal: check the glovebox, door pockets, boot and spare wheel well, and remove any dashcam or child seat. If the car has a private number plate you want to keep, apply to the DVLA to take it off before collection, because the number is lost once the car is scrapped; our pre-scrap checklist covers the other jobs worth doing first. Have photo ID ready, with any keys and the V5C if you have them, and tell us about locked wheels, flat tyres or a tight space so the right recovery vehicle is sent.

Not sure which service you need? It does not matter. Send us the reg and we will tell you the best route, or read how the process works.