At Take My Scrap Car, we’re all about keeping things as straightforward as possible for our customers. Nevertheless, there are still a few (very) simple things that need to be done, prior to sending your car away for recycling.

None of which are particularly laborious, but nonetheless contribute to a smooth and simple recovery process.

If you’ve already arranged collection of your vehicle and are awaiting our arrival, here’s what you’ll need to do before bidding farewell to your scrap car:

Step 1 – Remove Your Possessions

First up, we strongly suggest going over its interior as meticulously as possible, in order to ensure you’ve removed all valuable possessions. You genuinely would not believe the kind of stuff that gets left behind in scrap cars – everything from jewellery to personal electronics to wads of cash. All of which will (of course) be returned to the owner by most responsible car scrapping companies, but still – better safe than sorry.

Step 2 – Remove All Garbage

Car scrapping and recycling doesn’t translate to a quick and easy way to get rid of a few excess bags of garbage. For your car to be collected and taken away for recycling, it needs to have been emptied of all unnecessary detritus. Again, give its interior a good going over and throw out anything that doesn’t need to be there. Don’t leave it to your collection agent to toss out those rotten banana skins and cigarette ends on your behalf!

Step 3 – Ensure it’s (Reasonably) Sanitary  

On that note, you also need to ensure that the interior of your car is at least reasonably sanitary. It doesn’t need to be spotlessly clean, given the fact that it is going to be stripped and destroyed soon after. Nevertheless, it also shouldn’t be an outright health hazard that poses a risk to the health and safety of your collection agent. A simple once-over is really all that’s needed, in order to ensure your car is in adequate condition for collection.

Step 4 – Make it Accessible 

Where possible, we ask that you remove as many obstacles as you can to make your scrap car accessible. Admittedly, this is completely impossible in the case of broken-down cars that haven’t moved in weeks, months or years. If accessibility is likely to be an issue, simply let us know in advance and we will make the necessary arrangements. But if there is something you can do to make it quicker and easier to collect your car, feel free to oblige – all efforts are appreciated!

Step 5 – Get Your Paperwork Ready 

Last up, the only paperwork you’ll need to scrap your car is your logbook (V5C), accompanied by a valid form of photo ID. It’s simply a case of verifying you are who you say you are, and that you are legally entitled to scrap the car in question. That’s really all there is to it – we’ll help you declare your car scrapped with the DVLA, and you’ll be provided with a formal certificate of destruction to hold onto for your records.

If you have any questions or concerns on any of the above, contact a member of the team at Take My Scrap Car for a chat.