Scrapping Vehicle Batteries?

Not exactly about vehicles but related. Ive been trying to buy vehicle batteries for about a month now. Havent got a single call or email about it yet. I pay 25 cents a pound. 30 cents if they bring it to me. I also offer a little more if the battery still works. Always in cash.



Am i paying too little?

Normal people don't understand in weight , buy by the unit say 7 bucks each or 5 whatever you make profit with

Originally Posted by Mechanic688

I put a "realtor style" sign out in my front yard that stated "I buy batteries, car, truck, $5.00 each. I'd have people stop by with them, occasionally there would be one or two that someone would just drop off to have them recycled properly. I didn't get rich with them but I did have a couple/few every week to take in. Best thing was, I didn't have to go anywhere to get them.

That would be nice to do. If i could, i would. For now, im stuck with going out to pick them up and praying they have a couple for me. Looks like ill start paying out $5 instead now. See how it works this time

How do you plan on making any money buying them at .30 per lb. Battery prices arnt much higher than that

Originally Posted by ResourcefulRecycling

How do you plan on making any money buying them at .30 per lb. Battery prices arnt much higher than that

I have a couple yards down here that buy them for between $6 and $18. There is also another place in Westland (I believe) that buys them $10 each no matter what

Always keep in mind that if you need a new battery, most places have a core charge. A lot of people turn in their battery so they don't have to pay the charge.

Even at $10 each, I get very few batteries from my Craigslist ads. With core charges at $12 to 18+, the do-it-yourself guys simply turn their old ones in for the core refund.

The best places to find batteries in quantity are those who deal with end-of-life vehicles whose batteries are not going to be replaced by a new one. Wrecking yards, towing yards, smaller shops who part out vehicles. The good- These guys will get you lots of batteries. The bad- They're also the ones that you will have tougher competition to get batteries from.

You can pay a good price and still make decent money dealing in batteries if you deal in quantity and have a strong buyer. I pay $10-11 each on any automotive battery, whether it's a tiny 26 series or a big 78 or 65 series. On the big deep cycles and commercial batteries, it's more. My buyer buys from me by type (automotive, light commercial, utility, etc.) rather than weight, so I don't have to weigh them when I buy, which is convenient.

Good luck in your venture.

Originally Posted by SuperDave

Should get one of these, they will make work way easier. Especially since you are planning to increase volume.
Give you that professional flair!

Im not really too sure how i would manage this but i feel like i would find a way to lose a finger with that thing

A battery grabber like that one will actually save you a lot of pinched fingers, acid contact, ruined t-shirts and other unpleasant things. I'm never without mine when handling batteries. They're great for removal and especially installation in vehicles, too. The one I have has flat steel jaws with rubber pads, but the ones with the "teeth" work just as well.

Originally Posted by SuperDave

Should get one of these, they will make work way easier. Especially since you are planning to increase volume.
Give you that professional flair!

That's sweet - also to make things easier I just snip the cables as far back as I can - and if it has the battery hold down tab like so :


I take my breaker bar or the handle to the jack and just place it in there and pry on the battery (Make sure you have plenty of contact on the case so you don't crack it) - and it just 'pops' out of the hold down ^_^

When scrapping batteries does it matter if the battery has been sitting outside for a year and completely drained? I have a piece of equipment at work that has been sitting outside for a year and used 4 batteries. It is now just rusting and decaying but I can pull all the batteries.

It's immaterial if the batteries are drained. It's the lead that is the wanted product. I've taken batteries in that have been damaged, run over or in pieces.
Leather gloves are good to handle batteries with if you don't have a tool and don't hug em like the girlfriend.

Originally Posted by scrapchap

When scrapping batteries does it matter if the battery has been sitting outside for a year and completely drained?

If being paid per battery makes no difference
If being paid by weight, liquid = weight , so you might get 25 Cents less for the drained ones then the full ones
As Yunkman mentioned, I have turned in battery's crushed with a corner missing
They happened to be mounted in the front corner that took the hit