Scrap worth of a car

I did some searching on the forum and was not able to find much if anything on what you can make on a per car deal.

I know it will very but I think I had a deal drop into my lap to recycle old cars from a car lot dealer. So I would like to get some ideas on what could be made.



So if you scrap cars...just shoot me some numbers so I can swim with them in my mind.

havent scrapped any in the last couple of years, due to health but I have scrapped hundreds in the past so I dont have a lot of current info.

what I can tell you is, just like scrapping a computer there are a lot of variabes, actually many more then in a computer.

space depends on how big you get into it, same with equipnent. in the past I have scrapped a car with just a torch, just an angle grinder, and just a sawsall.

but I have also scrapped them with a back hoe, torch, cut off wheel, fork lift and every thing else needed.

the value depends on does it have a good motor, or a good trans or both. does it have the cats in tact, how many and what kind, how are the tires, what kind of rims,steario etc.

a month ago a properly stripped car or truck could bring between $550 and &$800. arround here.

Those where the numbers I needed. Looks like I know what I will be using my new trailer for.

Yep those numbers are about right. If you don't mind putting in the work. Taking out motor and tranny, popping out pistons and taking out the innards of tranny. Separate all prep iron and alum. And pull all the wiring. Tires from rims. Alternator, starter, battery, etc. If you don't do all the work and just pull the tires and gas tank then you're looking at around $200.00 or so. I love scrapping cars!

Wish I didn't have to pull the gas tanks. Only 1 yard here will even take em and they have to be full of holes. They pay, get this now, $1.00 per tank. It's a real pita. But the are easy money. Rims count as prepped iron and each one gets you $2 - $3.00. Love going to the yard with a truck bed full of nothing but rims.

I don't scrap them as intensively as others do, so for me between 200 and 350 dollars

That's a great guide Mdg. Man, you fellas that don't have to pull gas tanks sure are lucky! Taking em out isn't really the problem. It's the getting rid of em. I always thought it was an EPA rule/law. Now yall got me thinking maybe it's just another messed up Louisiana state law. And yeah, you can leave the motor and tanny in and make that .10 per lb. $200 -$300 per vehicle. Pull em and everything else then that same vehicle brings you anywhere from $500-$800. A far cry from an extra $30.

I saved that the last time you posted that MDG, great guide and someday I will put it to use.

Originally Posted by skylinejackjr

That's a great guide Mdg. Man, you fellas that don't have to pull gas tanks sure are lucky! Taking em out isn't really the problem. It's the getting rid of em. I always thought it was an EPA rule/law. Now yall got me thinking maybe it's just another messed up Louisiana state law. And yeah, you can leave the motor and tanny in and make that .10 per lb. $200 -$300 per vehicle. Pull em and everything else then that same vehicle brings you anywhere from $500-$800. A far cry from an extra $30.

I know my scrap yard requires the tank to be removed, but my salvage yards take the cars whole. The reason scrap yards require the fuel tanks to be removed is because of risk of fire or explosion at the shredder.

I dont do many cars, I dont have the equipment to remove them, I call a buddy of mine that has a roll back, he pays me $150 - $200 per car, and I pay the car owners $50 - $100, but mostly I will get cars for free.

Now Motorcycles are another story, I will take them all day long if I could get them. I can make good money on old motorcycles.

Originally Posted by skylinejackjr

That's a great guide Mdg. Man, you fellas that don't have to pull gas tanks sure are lucky! Taking em out isn't really the problem. It's the getting rid of em. I always thought it was an EPA rule/law. Now yall got me thinking maybe it's just another messed up Louisiana state law. And yeah, you can leave the motor and tanny in and make that .10 per lb. $200 -$300 per vehicle. Pull em and everything else then that same vehicle brings you anywhere from $500-$800. A far cry from an extra $30.

At the yard that I work at, as long as there is a fist-sized hole in the tank, it counts as #2. Removing the fuel pump makes this hole. What's the problem? Tank must be empty.

If you have the time and don't care so much about the quick buck, taking your time selling a vehicle (if it's somewhat decent) can really pay off.

Around here, if you offer parts off a vehicle, on craigslist for example, people will just come and pay for specific parts. They come take the parts off themselves too. $20 for a mirror, $100 for the bed of a truck, a few bucks for the lights, etc.

It can take a little bit of time depending on where you're located and the seasons of course, but I saw my friend part out a beat up old dodge truck and ended up getting over $1,000 for it in the end, probably took like a month until it was down to half a frame and the bed at which point that part of it went to the scrap yard.

The quick buck usually always wins, I know, but if you don't need the quick cash it might be worth giving it a shot to part out the old junk cars/trucks.

Originally Posted by Scrapette

Man, I am so mad I can hardly see straight. I sold my Kia wagon for $150 last year to a salvage company because I had already let a scrapper take out the radiator, otherwise I would have still only got $225.00. Thank you, olddude, for opening my eyes.

There are alot of things over the years that we missed or did wrong....cant kick your self in the butt to much for what you did not know. Thing is..you know how so use that new info to prevent the same mistake.