Car scrapping: how much do scrap yards actually pay?

Car scrapping: the business that pays owners 0 euros

Anyone who thinks handing their old car over to a scrap yard will earn them a few euros is in for a surprise: in most cases, the payment is non-existent or symbolic. Offers hover around 50-60 euros for vehicles that still run, but if the owner asks for it to be collected by tow truck, the figure vanishes. The business, as many affected owners complain, is a sweet deal for the operator: they take in money for the metal and reusable parts, while the owner ends up paying – in time or in fees – to get rid of the hulk.

From 60 euros to zero: the cost of the tow truck
A typical case: a 1999 Seat Ibiza, running but cosmetically shabby, was offered 60 euros. When the owner asked them to come and collect it, the amount dropped to zero. In other words, the collection service absorbs any compensation. On the other side, scrap yards resell parts at far higher prices: an engine in good condition can fetch 500 euros, a rear bumper 120 euros, and a wheel 40 euros. The margin is brutal.

The alternative: dismantling and selling by parts
Faced with this reality, more and more owners are choosing to strip the vehicle themselves and sell the parts on second-hand platforms. A diesel engine from the 1990s, like the Golf's 1.9 TDI, still enjoys demand and attractive prices. "Everything sells, down to the last screw," say those who have done it. That said, it requires space, time and some mechanical skill.

Opaque business or circular economy?
The sense of a "mafia" that some describe is not unfounded: the scrap yard earns from scrapping (subsidies, metal) and from selling parts, while the private owner gets next to nothing. The authorities require the vehicle to be deregistered, which the scrap yard handles, but with no transparency on prices. Until the sector is regulated or owners discover the goldmine of dismantling, the business will remain theirs.

The prediction is clear: as word spreads, more cars will end up dismantled in private garages and fewer in the presses of authorised centres. The traditional scrap yard will have to find a new model or keep paying zero.