KyleStar
Jr. Member
- #1
Thread Owner
Ever wonder how a scrap yard actually comes up with a number when you call about a junk car? It's not random, and knowing the math helps you spot a lowball offer. Here's the short version of how pricing works.
It starts with curb weight. When a yard buys your car for scrap, they're mostly buying a few thousand pounds of steel. So the first thing they look at is curb weight: the weight of the car as it sits, full fluids, standard equipment, no driver, no cargo. A big old sedan or SUV can weigh 3,800 to 4,500 pounds, while a small compact might be closer to 2,500. That weight gap is the main reason a dead SUV gets a bigger offer than a dead compact in the same condition.
Then comes the price per ton. Scrap steel is a commodity, so yards pay based on the going rate per ton, which moves up and down with the market. A yard takes the current price for prepared scrap or shred, multiplies it by your car's weight in tons, and that gives the base scrap value. Rates change by region and even by yard, since every yard has different deals with the mills and shredders it sells to.
What gets deducted. The base number is never the final number. Yards subtract for things that cost them money to handle:
- Tires, because the yard pays a disposal fee per tire and gets no scrap value from the rubber.
- Fluids that have to be drained and disposed of, like oil, coolant, and leftover gas.
- Non-metal parts, like big plastic bumpers, glass, and interiors, that don't melt down into anything valuable.
- Missing major components. If the engine or transmission is already pulled, expect a lower number, since that's a big chunk of the metal gone.
Why quotes differ so much. This is the part that trips people up. One yard offers 350, another offers 500 for the same car. A few reasons: steel prices move day to day, yards closer to a shredder usually pay better because their hauling costs are lower, some yards run leaner and pass more through to you, and a couple of them just count on you not calling around. I went through a rough stretch with debt years ago where every dollar mattered, and it taught me to treat quotes like a negotiation. Call at least three places. Seriously.
Tips to get a fair price:
- Look up your car's curb weight before you call so you know the ballpark.
- Ask what the yard is paying per ton right now. If they won't say, that's a red flag.
- Ask exactly what is deducted, especially tires and missing parts.
- Get the quote in writing or at least in a text, and ask whether the price is locked until pickup.
- If the car still runs or has good parts, you're selling more than scrap, so say so.
One thing that helped me: I ran across this page breaking down how junk car value is calculated: https://junkcarworth.com/junk-car-value-calculator/ It walks through the weight math with real numbers, and it made the whole thing click for me. Worth a skim before you start calling around.
Hope this helps somebody get a fairer number. Anyone here scrapped a car recently? Curious what per-ton rates people are seeing in their area.
It starts with curb weight. When a yard buys your car for scrap, they're mostly buying a few thousand pounds of steel. So the first thing they look at is curb weight: the weight of the car as it sits, full fluids, standard equipment, no driver, no cargo. A big old sedan or SUV can weigh 3,800 to 4,500 pounds, while a small compact might be closer to 2,500. That weight gap is the main reason a dead SUV gets a bigger offer than a dead compact in the same condition.
Then comes the price per ton. Scrap steel is a commodity, so yards pay based on the going rate per ton, which moves up and down with the market. A yard takes the current price for prepared scrap or shred, multiplies it by your car's weight in tons, and that gives the base scrap value. Rates change by region and even by yard, since every yard has different deals with the mills and shredders it sells to.
What gets deducted. The base number is never the final number. Yards subtract for things that cost them money to handle:
- Tires, because the yard pays a disposal fee per tire and gets no scrap value from the rubber.
- Fluids that have to be drained and disposed of, like oil, coolant, and leftover gas.
- Non-metal parts, like big plastic bumpers, glass, and interiors, that don't melt down into anything valuable.
- Missing major components. If the engine or transmission is already pulled, expect a lower number, since that's a big chunk of the metal gone.
Why quotes differ so much. This is the part that trips people up. One yard offers 350, another offers 500 for the same car. A few reasons: steel prices move day to day, yards closer to a shredder usually pay better because their hauling costs are lower, some yards run leaner and pass more through to you, and a couple of them just count on you not calling around. I went through a rough stretch with debt years ago where every dollar mattered, and it taught me to treat quotes like a negotiation. Call at least three places. Seriously.
Tips to get a fair price:
- Look up your car's curb weight before you call so you know the ballpark.
- Ask what the yard is paying per ton right now. If they won't say, that's a red flag.
- Ask exactly what is deducted, especially tires and missing parts.
- Get the quote in writing or at least in a text, and ask whether the price is locked until pickup.
- If the car still runs or has good parts, you're selling more than scrap, so say so.
One thing that helped me: I ran across this page breaking down how junk car value is calculated: https://junkcarworth.com/junk-car-value-calculator/ It walks through the weight math with real numbers, and it made the whole thing click for me. Worth a skim before you start calling around.
Hope this helps somebody get a fairer number. Anyone here scrapped a car recently? Curious what per-ton rates people are seeing in their area.
