Scrapping your car in America is a lot less regulated than scrapping your car in the UK. In the UK the rules have to be followed or you will at least incur financial penalties and, at the worst a custodial sentence.
What do I need to do in The UK?
Your car needs to go to an Authorized Treatment Facility (ATF) who will recycle the vehicle. The easiest way to do this is to call a company like National Scrap Car who will help with the DVLA forms. We also provide you with a Certificate of Destruction (CoD), which means you will no longer be liable for any road tax, or traffic offences committed in the vehicle.
This works if your vehicle is:
- A car
- A light commercial van
- A 3 wheeled vehicle, but not a tricycle
For larger vehicles you have to complete the Notification of Transfer or Sale (Section 3) on your V5 registration document and send it to DVLA.
Less Regulated in America
Some time ago, there was uproar in America when the law changed for scrapping cars. The new law stated you should prove title or ownership of the car, before you could let a scrap car buyer take it away. The argument was that junk (as they call them in the USA) dealers were not getting the same amount of cars coming in because people couldn’t prove they owned them.
It did put a stop to one sort of crime though. Criminals known as junkies would drive round the streets in tow trucks, taking any car, not always old ones, and getting scrap value for them from the junkyards. They would sometimes take several cars a day to the junkyards, and for many the crime was very lucrative.
The Junkyards Have The Choice
The junkyards have the choice whether they scrap, recycle or resell the vehicle. In fairness to them, a lot of the time they do recycle the cars, but only because they can make more money for scrap cars that way. Recycling also feeds other businesses along the line, such as low-level parts dealers and metal shredders who in turn feed the manufacturers, who are encouraged to used recycled metals in their processes.
European Targets
It appears Europe is closer to being right, and America is lax when it comes to how scrapped cars should be handled.
All EU member states have a target of 85% relating to the amount of scrap vehicles to be reused and recycled. Recent statics showed that Belgium were one of the best at recycling when they achieved 95%, but we did well in the UK achieving a respectable 91%.
That is because companies such as National Scrap Car are here to help you with doing things right when you want to scrap your car. We promise we will pay you the best price and arrange a speedy collection to suit you. We will not quote you one price then pay you less when we get there, as per some horror stories. We are honest and reliable, as our testimonials bear out, and you can trust us to stick to what we say.