September 2018

“What’s my scrap car worth”?

It is probably the most common question we hear from residents in the Romford area. There are so many variables with scrap cars that there is no quick and easy answer. If you follow some simple guidance it is easy to maximise the value from any scrap car or scrap van starting with your location.

Not many people know that the best price paid for scrap cars usually comes from the closest dealer to you. Some scrap car facilities don’t have a network of drivers and vehicles available to collect end of life cars, so they rely on a network of driver-owned collection agents that usually subcontract the work. A whole new network have tried to dominate the internet by advertising in your town or city claiming to be the biggest recycler in the area, when in fact they sit in an office and instruct a driver to collect meaning there are more people in the profit chain which usually ends up with you getting a lower valuation for your scrap car or van.

If you choose a locally based company specific to your area like Essex Scrap who have there own fleet of recovery vehicles and drivers, you can be sure that you will get a fair price for your scrap car.

What affect the scrap car prices?

There are many different factors that will affect the price you receive for your scrap car or scrap van. First, you must identify the vehicle to the dealer by giving them the registration number make model and the mileage. Once the dealer has identified the vehicle they will ask what’s wrong with it. If your car or van has suffered a total engine failure this will usually greatly reduce the quote because the engine is usually the most profitable and reusable part. If your car is still running but has failed an MOT test or has a flat battery then you can usually expect a higher value.

Some scrap cars and vans are more valuable than others if they are manufactured in Germany or Japan as these vehicles can be exported abroad. Make sure to tell the dealer exactly what problems your car has and what condition it’s in because you will only fall out when the driver comes to inspect and collect a supposedly running car only to find out it’s been stripped to a shell. Always avoid the temptation to strip parts of your scrapper especially the wheels, if the wheels have been removed it will make it a lot harder for the car to be collected unless the dealer has a Hiab lorry which lifts the car off the ground.

Typically BMW, Audi and most Japanese vehicles will command higher valuation as the components used are of high quality and can be recycled again. Another more obvious factor to take into consideration is the size and weight of your scrap vehicle because a little Ka won’t bring much cash for scrap as large heavy Land rover will.

A dealer will also take into consideration the body condition such as the body panels and bumpers, these items can be removed from end of life vehicles and sold on for cash.

Scrap metal is a worldwide commodity and is subject to change on a daily basis. Steel, copper and aluminium are the common metals that have the highest values, as these fluctuate up and down they will have a small impact all the way down the chain to your vehicle, it won’t be much and it’s not really something for you to worry about.

What prices can Essex Scrap offer you?

Make	Model	Weight	Price
Ford	Ka	0.91 tonnes	£74
Ford	Fiesta	0.98 tonnes	£92.00
Renault	Scenic	1.33 tonnes	£104.00
BMW	3 Series	1.29 tonnes	£110.00
Toyota	Avensis	1.45 tonnes	£210.00
Vw	Golf	1.41 tonnes	£108.00
Landrover	Discovery	1.81 tonnes	£230.00
Citroen	Berlingo	0.93 tonnes	£104.00

Prices above are for illustration only.

The blog is written by Paul Sweeney

It’s easy to get fed up spending money on an old car or van, make money scrapping your old vehicle and do it the environmentally friendly way.

When you have had enough and decide to SCRAP YOUR CAR you will need to find a depot that will collect your car or van and dispose responsibly of it. Essex scrap is a buyer of all makes and models of cars and vans located in the Essex and Kent area. Many steel recycling foundries rely on the scrap car industry to supply hundreds of thousands of tonnes of old scrap metal to keep producing new vehicles.

Knowing when its time to scrap my car

Maybe stripping your old car and using a bucket for a seat and mole grips for a steering wheel is taking it to the extreme, but its defiantly not a good idea to use a vehicle on the road if its failed its MOT or has been involved in an accident when your ready to SCRAP YOUR CAR in the Essex or Kent area then give the professional team at ESSEX SCRAP a call they buy all makes and models and collect free of charge, its not even worth the risk delivering it.

Regular servicing and maintenance of vehicles is essential to a long lifetime and safe use on the roads, yearly visits to the garage for preventative maintenance will help reduce any embarrassing situations besides the highway, quite often we will receive calls from stranded motorist’s that have broken down on the A12 or A130 asking us to collect their scrap car or van.

Popular scrap cars

This title has to be shared between the Ford Ka and the Ford Fiesta, these two models are the most frequent scrap cars we see on our website, the Ka is notorious for its corroding sills and not being able to pass an MOT test, while the Fiesta still suffered from corrosion problems they also failed heavily on lower arm bushes and leaking engine oil.

Another frequent manufacturer that may surprise you is the BMW 1 and 3 series made famous for snapped timing chains reviewed on Tv programme watchdog. Due to poor servicing schedules and improper maintenance, we often get customers with expensive BMW’s asking us to scrap it for them.

Popular scrap vans

The award for the most common scrapped vans goes to the Vauxhall Vivaro common for spitting out the bottom end and just generally having a poorly built engine and gearbox, closely followed by the combo van usually snapping timing chains. The Vivaro van also is known as the Renault Traffic or the Nissan Primastar essentially is all the same van just with different badges. The combo engines come in 1.3 and 1.7 CDTI both suffering the same issues. Essex Scrap buys all types of vans and commercial vehicles so give them a shout for a free no obligation valuation.

We see many patterns emerging from the scrap car market with many common failing components from a variety of manufactures. Another vehicle we see a lot of is the Landrover Range rover with expensive issues usually relating to air suspension and failing turbos quite often just too expensive to fix. Essex scrap is top buyers of scrap land rovers from all over the southeast.

Blog is written by

Paul Sweeney