How to salvage a car for scrap or for cash is a question I get all of the time.
Most people that want to know how to salvage a car for scrap either have an old beater staining up the driveway or have a wrecked car from an accident that they want to get rid of.
There are 2 ways that you can approach this. One way involves you donating a car as a whole.
The other which could make you more money, involves selling pieces of your car as scrap.
First, we’ll cover donating cars for cash as a whole. I once had a project car that I put at least 5 years of work into and I can’t even begin to try to explain the amount of money I wasted on the project.
I tried selling the car with no luck and finally decided to call a junk car donation program to see how much I could get if I donate a junk car.
The junk car donation companies all gave me good prices that included free pick up and clean up of any spills but I honestly wanted more money.
I had brand new parts in this car and they cost more together than what some of the junk car donation places offered me.
Therefore, this is what I did and you should too, before you donate a junk car that you own.
How to Salvage a Car for Scrap
Strip the car – You don’t have to be a mechanic to do this but before you donate a junk car, you should remove everything valuable from it.
Not just the change in the cup holder, I’m talking about its parts. When you donate junk cars, the companies recycle and sell parts of the car then sell what ever is left as scrap metal.
Junk yards will buy just about everything on the car including starters, catalytic converters, aluminum rims, stainless steel bumpers, battery, alternators, tires, headlights, mirrors, doors, hood, trunk lid, seats, steering wheel, blower motor and more.
All of these things are valuable because they can be resold as well. You could strip your car down to the frame and then sell that to a junk car donation program as scrap.
Tips: Before you start takings parts off your car, electrical or not, one of the first things you should do is disconnect the car’s battery.
Just because the key isn’t in the ignition does not mean a thing.
You could still accidentally get shocked. Always remove the negative battery cable first.
There is nothing wrong with simply calling a car donation company to pick the vehicle up either.
You now know though, how to salvage a car for scrap and what options you have so that you can make the best choice for your situation.