How To Legally Scrap Your Car

A car coming to the end of its life can be a sad time for any driver. Whether it has stuttered through its last journey or you as the driver have made an informed decision to scrap your vehicle, ensuring you do so legally is a crucial process. Here we will look at how motorists can go about scrapping their vehicle and the important considerations you should take into account to get the best deal.

Where can you scrap your car?

In an attempt to curb metal theft and to reduce the environmental impact of abandoned cars, it became a legal requirement in 2005 that a vehicle must be scrapped in an Authorised Treatment Facility. An ATF is a site which has been licensed by the Environment Agency to ensure the scrapping process meets certain safety and quality standards and therefore does not harm the environment.

The scrapping process

The steps taken to legally scrap your vehicle can be slightly different depending on whether you decide to scrap your entire vehicle or choose to keep some parts of it. If you decide to scrap your entire vehicle, you can take the registration number off your car in order to keep the number plate prior to its destruction. To do so, the owner must apply online to take the number plate off of the road. Then the driver must take their car to a registered ATF for it to be scrapped. It is illegal to scrap your vehicle anywhere else.

At the ATF, you must give in your vehicle’s log book, making sure you keep the yellow slip labelled V5C/3. Once your vehicle has been handed in, you must inform the DVLA. If you don’t you could be fined up to £1000. An application to the DVLA can be made online, and the driver will receive both an email and a letter confirmation in addition to a tax refund cheque if applicable.

There is little change to this process if you choose to keep parts of your vehicle. Before you take your vehicle to the ATF, you must take any parts you wish from your vehicle and inform the DVLA that it has been taken off the road. The vehicle must therefore be kept off the road, for example leaving it in a garage or on private land. The owner must then follow the same steps as above, ensuring their vehicle is scrapped in a licensed environment.

Getting the best price for scrapping your car

An ATF can decide to do two things with your vehicle, either completely scrap your vehicle, or repair it and sell it on. If your vehicle is a car, light van or a three-wheeled vehicle and is scrapped, the ATF will send you a ‘certificate of destruction’ within seven days. The CoD evidences that your vehicle has been scrapped, and without it you could be liable for traffic offence penalties or vehicle tax. If your vehicle is repaired and sold, you will not receive a certificate.

The ATF you choose to scrap your car with may pay you for your vehicle. It is illegal to be paid in cash to have your vehicle scrapped in England, and being offered cash could be a signal that the company is neither licensed or honest. Payment therefore can be made by bank transfer or cheque. If, however your vehicle is repaired and sold on by the ATF rather than scrapped, you can be paid in any method. It is useful to note that many car manufacturers work closely to affiliate companies who scrap vehicles, so it may be worth contacting them as a first point of call.

If you are at a stage where you are thinking of scrapping your vehicle, you may not have to go all the way to destroying it. Our sister company Cash For Cars is a quick and easy way to get a quote for your vehicle, letting you sell it on rather than watching it be crushed. The company will value any vehicle no matter the age, and in any condition, providing you a simple alternative in taking your vehicle off your hands.

This process is for the voluntary and legal scrappage of your vehicle. If your vehicle is written off however, the process differs due to the fact your vehicle’s insurance company must be informed.