Scrap Your Old Car Before Someone Else Does

Whilst it isn’t always reported on the news, if you have been reading your local newspaper recently you may have noticed an increase in the amount of stories reporting the theft of scrap metal. The main reason for this is that, when the prices for different kinds of scrap are quite high, opportunist thieves will steal anything and everything that isn’t tied down.

Whilst it is easy to think that scrap thefts won’t affect you – railway yards and building sites are the most targeted areas, after all – this really is naïve thinking at best. What are the thieves going to do when they’ve pilfered everything of value from the railway yards and building sites in the area? They’re going to start looking for other ways of getting some quick scrap. And, if you have an old car sitting somewhere on your property, you could find yourself in a bit of trouble.

Many people, especially men, hate to get rid of old scrap cars, even if they no longer start. Often, there are grand plans of restoring the car to its former glory, but financial problems and life in general gets in the way of these plans ever becoming a reality. Because these cars don’t have the best security measures (if they have any at all), they can easily become a goldmine for scrap theft.

Thieves will go to extreme lengths to steal a scrap car that they’ve noticed on your property – they have been known to creep up to your home in the dead of night and load the car onto a trailer; they may brazenly visit your property in the middle of the day while you’re at work; and they may even bring tools along with them to dismantle the shell, piece by piece.

Have a careful think about that old car sitting in your front or backyard, your garage or shed, or even your driveway. Do you really think that you’re going to get around to doing it up in the next few years? If the answer is no, then you really should consider selling it for scrap yourself. The only person who should be profiting from your possessions is you, so doesn’t it make sense to cash in on your old car before someone else does?

If you have decided to sell your car for scrap, but your car refuses to start, there are a couple of ways that you can still get it to the yard. Hire or borrow a trailer that is large enough to fit the car on it, or take the car apart and collect the parts that are of most value. You should also contact your local scrap yard, as some will offer a free towing service.