How much should I pay (or not) to have my Brother's Car Scrapped?

That sounds like a quote to have the car recovered with the aim of taking it somewhere for repair.

Get a quote from a scrappage company. The last two cars I've scrapped I've been paid around £200 for and that included the company coming up from Edinburgh to North of Perth to collect it.

Just make sure they will certify the car as scrapped and cancel the insurance as soon as is on their truck and they have signed the paperwork.

You don't really get any money for scrapping now. I took a car to scrap last summer and I think they gave me £50 for it. What you are paying for is vehicle recovery. As it is indoors, they can't load it up on to a truck so they are using a specialist tracked vehicle to lift it out of the car park. Its a bit of work, and specialist kit, so £250 seems fair. If you have an issue with it then go down the insurance route. You will still have the excess to pay but they will probably give you a few hundred quid for the car.

I'm with you, as to why you need to pay for a car to be collect for scrap, but it sound like recovery from the garage is the major issue. Did it not have insurance, could he not just get it written off, and leave it for the insurance company to deal with?  It's a bit swings and rounds about, he won't have to pay for recovery, and will probably get a minimal payout and hike on his next insurance. Otherwise I'd be calling around scrapping companys, but make sure you let them know it's in a (low ceiling?) underground parking.

There's a place near me that will collect your vehicle for free and take it to the local fire service so they can practice extraction drills, then they scrap what's left of it after that.  Might be worth enquiring to see if there's anything similar near you?

Sounds like it ought to be a job for insurance to sort. Not sure whether management company's, brother's property, or car insurance, but an insurance task for sure.

Not sure whether management company’s, brother’s property, or car insurance, but an insurance job for sure.

which ever…. The excess is likely to be in the range of £250.

if the cars not insured then what you’re being offered is probably as good a deal as you’ll get. Local recovery companies are not exactly going to be hungry for work just now so I doubt there’s going to be any bargains if you shop around. If you can identify a nearby scrap yard for it to go to you can maybe get a clearer price for ‘plus wherever’. If thats £50 more just do that. If it’s £300 more I’d be talking to insurers …… if its insured.

If the car has any value and you want to replace it then go through the vehicle insurer, they can haggle with other possible responsible insurers if they want.

When you say under the appartment is this down ramps or level with the street with appartments above?

For properly underground you'll need a mate and another car to recover it to street level outside the car parking area, for level with the street some mates/family to push the car out.

Sandwich Jr scapped a car late last year (November) and received around £350 collected so some googling and phoning around should get a decent price. The collection bods are reasonably reliable and turn up on the appointed day all you need do is make sure the scrap is inplace for an easy collection.

Thanks all. Yeah, I asked my brother if he was insured for it being flooded and he said no, but it was a very brief conversation and I think at that point we both assumed we could easily have it scrapped for free anyway.

I was there last week to let the utility guys in to turn the power back on and the company that already quoted me were on site and hauling a car out there- they seemed to be winching them onto one of those car-carrier trucks.

The problem is I have an exam on Thursday this week so very limited time for this. One of the other residents has a brother (or someone) who has offered to "remove" any cars out the car-park for £60 this afternoon but I don't think this is gonna move me any further forwards as I presume it will then be dumped on the road somewhere up the road (cars can't be left on site as they will obstruct the contractors trying to fix the water and power).  I'll then be trying to have it scrapped from there instead and to be honest, I need to revise this afternoon anyway so just don't think I can make it.

I've emailed a different local scrapping company and will see what they say and cross my fingers...

PS yeah the underground car-park is like one level underground with one ramp up to ground level that isn't too steep- there's no barriers or tricky turns to navigate.

drag it out side with a tow rope then call around a couple of breakers, they should pay you to collect and scrap

a normal recovery truck wont be bale to recover it from an underground car park i reckon

For properly underground you’ll need a mate and another car to recover it to street level outside the car parking area, for level with the street some mates/family to push the car out.

Assuming he has the key for the Volvo to let the hand brake and steering lock off otherwise you've got a window and steering column to break, then there's the possibility the handbrake shoes have welded on with the moisture, then you need someone with either a 4x4 with low range or someone with no mechanical symphony to rag their clutch dragging a dead car up hill.

For £250 for someone to recover it - not worth the hassle.

you absolutely sure it won't start? Cars are pretty resilient. Only salt water or hydraulicing the engine itself would completely shag things. Take the plugs out, crank it over and see. Otherwise drag its sorry arse out behind another car.

Oh and disposable boilersuit, gloves and potentially a face mask for anyone tasked with sitting it it. Flood water is generally mixed with sewerage, amongst some other lovely stuff.

I asked my brother if he was insured for it being flooded and he said no

I didn't know that was even a thing!

I didn’t know that was even a thing!

Guessing it was SORN if he is out of the country?

Guessing it was SORN if he is out of the country?

Ahhh.  I guess the parking is private so SORN would be OK.

someone with no mechanical symphony

Bitter sweet?

It sounds like paying the guy 60 notes to drag it out might be the easiest and then get it scrapped from the street. Obviously making sure it's in an area with free parking where it won't bother anyone until your exams are done.

Flood water is generally mixed with sewerage, amongst some other lovely stuff.

Wish I'd thought of this before, I was in there retrieving my brother's house keys from the dash last week.

OK, unexpected up-date- I emailed a local scrapper outlining the situation, with pics, and they have told me they will collect and "offer a rebate of £200"...unless I've misunderstood, I think they are saying they are going to pay me for it...I think?? If so, then this seems like a great result.

Thanks for all the replies it is really helpful.

Those saying to leave it to the insurance company, most Excesses are more than £250 - and why would you want to lose NCD for a car worth nothing?

Just tell you brother he owes you, job done.

 they have told me they will collect and “offer a rebate of £200″

I would check that.  A rebate sounds like it may cost £500 but they'll give you £200 off that figure.  Hopefully you're right.

why would you want to lose NCD for a car worth nothing?

Protected NCB?  The car was worth something before the floods and they would offer a sum to write it off (although who knows how much).

I wonder what a flooded car is worth to a scrapper though - there's probably very little they could re-use and scrap metal isn't worth much now.

I would check that.  A rebate sounds like it may cost £500 but they’ll give you £200 off that figure.

Yeah good point. If the car hadn't been flooded to death I think I would consider the £200 feasible but it does seem generous under the circumstances. There is no other info in the email though.

I'll wait for the V5C to arrive in the post and then send all details to the scrapper and get them to lay it out definitively in an email reply.

You don’t really get any money for scrapping now.

Not my experience.

There are companies that will come and collect your car and give you £200-300.

Did one last year and had another priced up recently.

Contact some scrappers.

Redcorn

Scrapmycar

nationalscrapcar

scrapcarcomparison

etc.

I got £450 for a 20 year old Berlingo that wasn't drivable due to no clutch, so he got it on the lorry in 2nd gear using the starter motor.  I was slightly worried the engine would start and propel him right off the end of the ramp!

Whoever takes it, make sure they fill out the relevant section of the V5 that says the car has been destroyed.

Takes 2min online to get the prices, pick the highest and they collected it within 48h.

Surely its worth 5 mins time to call 2 or 3 local scrap merchants.  Actually, your brother surely has access to a phone and laptop.  Get him to lift a finger and sort it.  Not your problem

I got £450 for a 20 year old Berlingo that wasn’t drivable due to no clutch

Your Berlingo would have maybe been Ok with a new new clutch though, or it would have had some parts that could be resold - I bet a flooded vehicle has very little that could be re-used.

Your Berlingo would have maybe been Ok with a new new clutch though, or it would have had some parts that could be resold – I bet a flooded vehicle has very little that could be re-used.

Every panel had been beaten back into shape at some point, the interior was "tired", the axle was rusty, I'd cut chunks out of the soundproofing to bodge / fix a leak, I'd removed the airbag.

Their only concern on collection was did I still have the airbag (yes, it's in the boot).

It probably needed a new clutch release bearing anyway,  but the main problem was the engine needed taking out to get at the bulkhead panel to replace the clutch pedal.  If all it needed was a clutch I wouldn't have scrapped it.

I got similar for an insurance write off C-max.

They genuinely didn't seem to care what condition it was in.  The only exclusion in the FAQ is that car's newer than 2013 must have an MOT and run because they send them to auction rather than scrap.

You don’t really get any money for scrapping now.

There are companies that will come and collect your car and give you £200-300.

Did one last year and had another priced up recently.

'Now' is a difficult term to use if your referring to your own experience as scrap values (and second hand car values) tend to be very volatile. So unless you've scrapped a car this week your experience isn't 'now'.

If your 'now' was in the locality and aftermath of a major flood when hundreds if not thousands of vehicles are being recovered/ written off / scrapped at the same time then the economics would have been very different to the situation for the OP.

Dont be paying a company for some special recovery just because its in an underground car park, just tow it out with another car!

Dont be paying a company for some special recovery just because its in an underground car park, just tow it out with another car!

You can sit the OP's exam for he while he does that 🙂

if the carpark flooded I'd be considering the flat management company responsible for pulling the flooded cars out - but that might be a fight that's tricky to have.

if the keys are around I'd be surprised if it doesn't start and drive. If it doesn't, it can probably be pushed to the bottom of the ramp and depending on the carpark layout might just be towable by the scrappers truck from there.

Thanks all.

OP here and yes there are several updates to the OP above ^^^.

In short, a local scrapper now appears to be offering <me> £200 to take it away but I will get some proper details off him (and find out if this is too good to be true or one of us has misunderstood) when my brothers logbook arrives in the post and I make a proper request to him with all the details.

Unfortunately yes I have an exam this week so really can't spare the time to be towing cars out of car-parks, plus tbh I would really have no idea how to do this anyway. My brother is overseas and the property company are badgering everyone to shift their useless flooded cars out of the car-park.

Think that covers it! I'll update everyone whatever happens, I promise.

J Davidsons are good. My son got £200 for a mates car.  Which one did you find OP for collection

High peak autos on yt use a Stockport based scrappy, he gets 250 i think.  He quotes the name but I can't remember.

J Davidson just quoted me £200 collected (need to sell my old car soon, all working). WBAC are quoting £320 but there is a £50 fee. Might get my son to list it on marketplace next week. I can't be arsed with the idiots.

‘Now’ is a difficult term to use if your referring to your own experience as scrap values (and second hand car values) tend to be very volatile. So unless you’ve scrapped a car this week your experience isn’t ‘now’.

If your ‘now’ was in the locality and aftermath of a major flood when hundreds if not thousands of vehicles are being recovered/ written off / scrapped at the same time then the economics would have been very different to the situation for the OP.

I just put in the details of the oldest Volvo C30 I could find on auto trader and a random multistorey car park in Manchester's postcode into one of the sites I suggested and it offered me £255.

Sounds like the OP's got it sorted now anyway.

J Davidsons are good. My son got £200 for a mates car.  Which one did you find OP for collection

Cheers! Yes, it was these guys who quoted me.

Have you actually asked your local breakers/pikey?

 I would really have no idea how to do this anyway. My brother is overseas and the property company are badgering everyone to shift their useless flooded cars out of the car-park.

The answer to that question is - "you allowed your carpark to flood - the debris left behind is your (or your insurers) problem?

J Davidsons are good. My son got £200 for a mates car.

Was it in good nick nick?

the property company are badgering everyone to shift their useless flooded cars out of the car-park.

If it's free parking and they're being bellends about it, I'd be tempted to SORN it and just leave it there.

As above, the first response to the property company should be 'I'm dealing with this on my brother's behalf as he's out of the country. I have an exam on Thursday so will be unable to look into it until next week'.

Last time, I just stuck it on FB marketplace with a good description and said "£150, you will need a trailer" and it was gone 2 days later. That was a part-stripped shell with no engine, gearbox or cats and some crash damage, so the actual value of the car was buttons, but it was still worth it to the guy who bought it, IIRC he just wanted the interior and was going to scrap it after.

I'd definitely try this first, in your position, even a flooded car still has specific value to the right person that could easily be more than the scrap value. BUT remember that selling for end-of-life is different from selling as a car, in this case I was selling it as a car and so all the V5 and stuff reflected that. (only legal breakers can now do real end-of-life stuff but it's possible to have middle stages, ultimately it doens't make any difference to you but you've got to get the paperwork right. Oh yeah and FB marketplace rules apply, even with the main picture being the engine bay with no engine in it, I got about 10 people asking "what engine is it" "Is it Mot" etc.)

Time before was kind of a fiasco, went with a reputable scrap dealer but they just somehow misunderstood the car's condition, it was a 100% stripped shell without even wheels or subframe and with repair panels cut out, literally just junk steel and rust and I told them so. They offered me £400 which was obviously ridiculous, then when they turned up didn't want to take it at all because they were somehow expecting a complete car, then finally after a lot of pissing and moaning dragged it onto a flatbed but then it took ages to get the end of life paperwork through and I think they were about an inch from just driving off and leaving it. I never got a penny but tbf I really care, all I wanted was the shell gone. But it was hassly, I was totally happy with zero money but in return I wanted an easy life and I didn't really get it. TBH it wasn't dishonesty or negligence or anything, it was 100% capability, I'm pretty sure the guy who did the collection couldn't read any of the stuff he was getting me to sign... Scrappies, always a joy.

Never had a good experience with WBAC but then I only usually am selling complete pieces of shit. Their "make an offer then beat it down on collection" approach can really get out of hand with shitboxes, so frinstance here I'd be wondering if they're actually quoting for a flooded car.