How to make money by scrapping your car

Your motor can still make you money at the end of its life, but there are several things to watch out for.

The recent bad weather can be the final straw for an old car, with more breaking down for the final time in the winter months than at any other time of the year. So what do you do with an old banger that either won’t go ever again or will cost too much to repair?

Not that long ago a clapped-out car was a burden. It would no longer take you from A to B, and it couldn’t even get itself to the scrapyard. In order to get rid of it you would have to pay someone upwards of £100 to tow it away, and then you would have to pay another £50 or so for it to be scrapped.

Now, thanks to the rising cost of scrap metal your old banger can earn you a final lump of cash before it heads to the great car park in the sky. Companies such as Cartakeback.com and RewardingRecycling.co.uk will pay you to take your old car away as they can then sell on the metal.

How much can I make?

You can make quite a bit of cash, depending on your car make and whereabouts in the country. For example, a 2000 Ford Mondeo in Reading is worth £148.72 to RewardingRecycling. But a 1995 Honda Civic in Leeds would be worth £115 with Cartakeback.com.

It isn’t just rising scrap metal prices that mean you no longer have to pay to get rid of your old car. The EU End of Life Directive came into force back in 2005. This was brought in to reduce the number of old cars dumped by people who didn’t want to pay for them to be scrapped.

Under this law car manufacturers had to set up agencies that would recycle their cars for free when they came to the end of their driving life. If you aren’t sure which recycling company to use, contact the manufacturer of your car, and they should be able to tell you who recycles their models.

Don’t forget your paperwork

Selling your old car to the right scrap company is about more than just making the most money. Scrapping a car involves important paperwork that you must get right, otherwise you could end up liable if the car isn’t scrapped properly, or ends up back on the road.

First up, make sure the company that is going to scrap your car is licensed by the Environment Agency; if it is it will be called an ‘authorised treatment facility’ or ATF.

Next, check that the company will provide you with a Certificate of Destruction (CoD). They should send this to you within seven days to prove the car has been destroyed.

Finally, the scrap company will tell the DVLA that you no longer own the car, but you need to still complete section three of your V5 document and send it to the DVLA to prove you no longer it. Within four weeks you should receive confirmation that you are no longer responsible for the vehicle. If that confirmation doesn’t arrive, chase it up with the DVLA.

See if you can save by switching your car insurance

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