Most vehicles are recycled after they reach the end of their lifespan and are no longer valuable as modes of transportation — a practice that helps decrease landfill use, helps mitigate emissions by reducing the need to create new auto parts, and helps prevent engine fluids from polluting the environment, among other benefits. If you’re interested in recycling a vehicle, but you have some general questions about the process, see the answers to the questions below.
Should I offer the automobile to an auto recycler or a junkyard?
If you want to sell your vehicle, offering it to
a junkyard is likely to get you the best price, as a junkyard generally
makes more money from selling reusable auto components than recyclers do,
and can thus afford to offer you more money. Just make sure that the
junkyard actually participates in recycling automobiles, or unsalable parts
from the car could end up in a landfill.
Must I remove non-recyclables before offering the car to an auto
recycler?
Some auto recyclers require everything to be stripped from the car frame before they acquire it, while others remove parts from the frame and sell them to mechanics and other auto part buyers. Because removing everything from the frame is time consuming, recycling a vehicle by selling it to a junkyard that will purchase the car as-is is typically the most hassle-free option.
How do junkyards participate in the auto recycling process?
Professionally operated junkyards participate in
recycling a vehicle in two basic capacities: They sell quality, used parts
from the automobile, which keeps components in cars and out of landfills,
and they sell to auto recyclers scrap metal that is leftover after salable
parts are removed. Before you sell your vehicle to a junkyard, be sure that
it forwards scrap metal to auto recyclers.
How much money can I expect to receive for selling the automobile?
Several factors determine how much a junkyard
offers for an end-of-life vehicle, primarily: the popularity of the vehicle,
how many salable parts it contains, and whether or not the vehicle is
already in the buyer’s car lot. With that said, junkyards that participate
in recycling a vehicle typically pay hundreds of dollars for an
end-of-life automobile that has plenty of good parts.
Interested in Recycling a Vehicle?
If you have an end-of life vehicle that you would like to recycle, Wrench-A-Part can help you do it. We contribute to auto recycling in two ways: By selling quality, pre-owned auto parts to keep them in circulation and by forwarding leftover scrap metal from vehicles to auto recyclers. We accept both donated vehicles and ones that we pay to acquire. For instructions for donating or selling your car, contact one of our Texas locations in Austin, Belton, Holland, or Lubbock today.
