The scrap value of a car is set by its weight and the price of scrap metal, not by its make, age or mileage. Quotes change week to week with metal prices, and for a typical family car they come to a few hundred pounds, more if the car runs or has parts worth saving. Scrapping is also a legal process: the car has to go to an Authorised Treatment Facility, you can't be paid in cash, and the DVLA has to be told. This guide covers what your car is worth as scrap, when selling it is better than scrapping it, and how to scrap a car properly step by step.
What is the scrap value of a car?
A scrap buyer pays for the metal, mainly steel, so a heavier car is worth more as scrap than a lighter one. A small hatchback weighs around a tonne; a large SUV about twice that. On top of the metal, the buyer looks at:
- Whether it runs and drives. A running car can be sold on or broken for parts, so it's worth more than a dead one, and collection is cheaper.
- Saleable parts. A catalytic converter, alloy wheels, a good engine or gearbox, and body panels for a model still in demand.
- Whether the V5C is present. You can scrap a car without one, but some buyers pay less.
- Location. Collection distance comes off the price.
Get three quotes on the same day, because the metal price moves and buyers price differently. Quotes are per car, so give the registration: the buyer uses it to confirm the model and weight, which is the same DVLA data the free check above shows you (kerb weight is on the vehicle weight page).
Scrap it or sell it?
If the car has an MOT and starts, it's probably worth more sold than scrapped: a cheap runabout with months of MOT left sells privately for more than scrap, and a car with a known fault often sells to someone who can fix it. Check what it would fetch with our guide on how much a car is worth, and if a sale makes sense, follow selling a car privately. Scrapping wins when the repair costs more than the car, the MOT has failed on structural corrosion, or the car has been off the road so long that selling it would be more trouble than the money.
If an insurer has written the car off and offered you a settlement, the scrap value is already in their figure. You can usually keep the car and sell the salvage yourself, but a Cat S or Cat N record stays on it: see what the write-off categories mean.
How to scrap a car in the UK
- Keep your private plate first. If the car carries a personalised registration you want, apply to retain it (online or on a V317) before the car goes. Once it's scrapped, the registration goes with it.
- Get quotes from Authorised Treatment Facilities. Only an ATF, licensed by the Environment Agency (or its Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish equivalents), can legally depollute and destroy a car and issue the certificate you need. Scrap car websites act as brokers for ATFs; ask which ATF the car is going to.
- Don't accept cash. In England, Wales and Scotland it's illegal for a scrap dealer to pay cash for a vehicle. Payment is by bank transfer or cheque, and the dealer records who sold the car. A buyer offering cash is telling you something.
- Take out anything you want to keep and remove your personal data: sat-nav addresses, paired phones, documents in the glovebox.
- Hand over the V5C. Give the ATF the whole log book except the yellow section (V5C/3, "sell, transfer or part-exchange your vehicle to the motor trade"), which you keep to tell the DVLA. Fill in the ATF's details on it.
- Tell the DVLA you've scrapped the car. Do it online with the yellow section's reference, or post the section to the DVLA. The DVLA then stops you being the keeper, and refunds any full months of tax left automatically. Our guide covers how the car tax refund works. Cancel your insurance once the car is gone.
- Get the Certificate of Destruction. The ATF issues it (usually within a week) once the car is destroyed. Keep it: it's your proof that the car is no longer yours and will never be back on the road.
Scrapping a car without a V5C
You can still scrap it. The ATF will ask for proof of identity and address and that you're the keeper, and may pay less. Write to the DVLA to tell them the car has been scrapped, with the registration, make and model, the ATF's details and the date, so the record stops in your name. If the car is simply missing its log book and you plan to keep it, apply for a replacement V5C instead.
What if the car is on finance, or isn't yours?
A car with outstanding finance still belongs to the lender; you can't scrap it without settling or getting the lender's written agreement. If you're dealing with a car in someone else's name (a relative's, for example), the keeper or their executor has to authorise it. A scrap buyer who doesn't ask who owns the car is not one to use.
Buying a car? Make sure it wasn't scrapped
A car with a Certificate of Destruction is meant to have been destroyed. If one turns up for sale, it was either never actually destroyed, or its identity has been put on another car. In the full reports our customers ran between March 2023 and October 2026, 0.1% of 4,402 cars had a scrapped record: rare, but a car you should never buy. The scrapped car check explains what the record shows, and the full car history check includes it alongside finance, write-offs and stolen markers.
Free check or full report before you scrap or buy?
| What you want to know | Free check | Full report |
|---|---|---|
| Make, model, engine and year the scrap buyer prices from | Yes | Yes |
| Tax and MOT status, and whether a sale beats scrap | Yes | Yes |
| MOT history and the reason it last failed | Yes | Yes |
| Kerb weight and other weights | No | Yes |
| Outstanding finance (you can't scrap a financed car) | No | Yes |
| Scrapped record or certificate of destruction | No | Yes |
| Write-off category | No | Yes |
Scrapping a car FAQs
How much will I get for scrapping my car?
It depends on the car's weight, the scrap metal price that week, whether it runs and whether it has saleable parts. For most family cars the quotes are in the hundreds of pounds. Get three quotes on the same day and compare.
Can I be paid cash for a scrap car?
No. In England, Wales and Scotland scrap dealers can't pay cash for vehicles; payment is by bank transfer or cheque.
Do I need to tell the DVLA when I scrap my car?
Yes. Use the yellow section of the V5C online or by post. Until you do, you're still the registered keeper and liable for the car.
Will I get a tax refund when I scrap my car?
Yes, for any full months left, once the DVLA knows the car has been scrapped. It's automatic; there's no form.
Can I scrap a car without a log book?
Yes. The ATF will check your identity and keepership, and you write to the DVLA to tell them. Some buyers pay less without the V5C.
Can I keep my private number plate?
Yes, but only if you retain it before the car is scrapped. Apply to the DVLA to take the registration off the car first.
What is a Certificate of Destruction?
The document an Authorised Treatment Facility issues when a car has been depolluted and destroyed. It ends your responsibility for the car, and a car with one should never be sold again.
Can I sell a car for parts instead of scrapping it?
Yes, but if you break it yourself the shell still has to go to an ATF for a Certificate of Destruction, and you still tell the DVLA.