If you no longer sell your own car, then there is no other way out than to have him scrapped. There can be the following reasons for this: Either the car is so old that you can no longer find a buyer, or the car had an accident and now suffers from a total loss.
Even if you drive a sought-after model or a vintage car, but some parts on the vehicle are still good to use, you can ask at some nearby scrap yards if someone is interested in the car. If the car is no longer roadworthy, a salvage yard will pick up the valuable parts for free. The car is then cannibalized and the salvage yard sells the parts online or directly on site.
Of course, some salvage yards may refurbish the old vehicles to resell them. In this way, you have the chance to make some more money out of the old car.
Scrap yards are also happy to receive your old car and let their apprentices practice the automotive trade on it. Often you can expect a little money here as well. However, vintage cars are the most popular among owners of scrap yards, because such old car parts are no longer manufactured. There are even junkyards specializing in classic cars that make such parts available to classic car enthusiasts.
What is the cost of car scrapping?
A good tip on this one is to have the old car devalued by the manufacturer, as he is forced by law to dispose of the old vehicle. Of course, there are exceptions, according to which the legal obligation does not apply: if your car is registered for less than 30 days, has been cannibalized in the meantime or does not belong to the EU, then the manufacturer does not have to take care of it.
However, the costs at the scrap yard are calculated in such a way that pressing and dismantling are seen as the most important cost factors. In addition, it may happen that a fee for collection is also added. Then the scrap dealer will subtract the residual value of your car from the total cost – this could be parts from the interior or engine, the winter tires, body components, etc.
The more parts that can still be used from your old car, the less you will have to pay for scrapping. In fact, it often happens that people even come out of the scrap yard in the plus. On average, you can expect to pay about a hundred euros, but in practice it is quite rare that you have to pay anything for scrapping.
A tip on the side: It is a good idea to ask fire stations if they would like to have your old car. You might get some money from them or they might just pick up the car for free – then your old car will be used for training purposes and you will have done something good with it.
What documents are necessary for scrapping?
Of course, it is quite simple if you are the owner of the car – in this case, only the vehicle registration certificate is necessary. However, if the car is not your property, then a power of attorney from the owner is necessary. In most cases, the owner’s identity card is also required. This is a common practice at salvage yards, although it is not legally protected. For this reason, it is advisable that you get in touch with some scrap yards to be informed about what is important.
It is also important to mention that in Germany, only those vehicles are scrapped that are really ready for scrap. This means that you will receive a certificate of invalidation after you hand in your old car at the scrap yard, although it doesn’t have to be that your car will be evaluated as scrap.
As mentioned above – other people’s cars may not be scrapped without a power of attorney. This also applies to vehicles that are related to a criminal offense.
When scrapping a car, it is quite important to protect the environment as well. Accordingly, all liquids must be properly removed from the car before it can be scrapped. The different materials are also properly separated so that they can be used in the best possible way. Usually, as a former driver, you will also receive some money from the whole process. For this reason, it is always worthwhile to find out about everything in advance.