Here’s a quick FAQ covering the fundamentals on the subject of car scrapping for the 21st century motorist:
What is Car Scrapping?
Car scrapping is the term that refers to the process whereby old cars that are no longer fit for purpose and/or cannot be sold to new owners are taken by scrapping experts to be stripped, sorted and ideally sold-on piece by piece. However, the modern take on car scrapping means that of the parts of the car that cannot be reused, the vast majority is sent away to be fully recycled and put back into the system. 
What Happens to Scrapped Cars?
The dealer takes the car from its owner, then begins the long and painstaking process of stripping it down and sorting all the various parts. Most of a car can be recycled but the various materials and components are recycled in very different ways, which is why they must be stripped and sorted before the process can go ahead. After this, the steel is taken away to a recycling plant where it is processed further and melted down in order to produce new steel to be used for anything and everything imaginable.
Why is Sensible Scrapping Important?
Scrapping sensibly is important because not only can 80% of a car’s steel be recycled, but the recycled steel made during the process is 100% as strong, versatile and generally useful as newly-made steel. What’s more, it is massively less harmful on the environment to produce and doesn’t demand nearly as much energy. As such, to recycle a car in a sensible manner is to put something back into the system and contribute to on-going efforts to increase energy efficiency and to reduce carbon output.
What Happens When the Call is Made?
In the case of a responsible dealer, the only effort that has to be made on the part of the car’s owner is the initial phone call. During the call, the dealer will make a fair offer for the car that will not be beaten elsewhere, while at the same time arranging a time and a date to pick up the car from any given location. Expert drivers will then collect the vehicle, make sure all the paperwork is sorted properly and hand over the agreed sum of cash along with a full receipt for the transaction.
Why Are Some Dealers Better Than Others?
Some dealers are better than others because there will always be those that operate strictly for their own benefit and not with the interests of anyone else in mind. For example, there are those that have no intention of ever paying the best price for scrap cars and do no such thing. Others don’t bother with the legal side of things and can leave car owners stuck with hefty fines. And for others, recycling basically means doing the easy bits and leaving the rest to rot on a pile, which doesn’t in any way help the bigger picture. This is why it’s important to always vet the services on offer before making a final decision.
