Buying a vehicle with a car loan is a practical solution if you’re looking to get a car with a lower initial cost; however, when it then comes to selling or scrapping that car, things can get complicated.

In this blog post, we will explore the complexities of scrapping a car with a lien and discuss how to get a clear title for the vehicle you no longer need.

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What is a Lien?

A car lien is essentially an insurance policy for lenders. When a borrower takes out a loan to purchase a car, the lender retains a security interest in the property until the loan is repaid in full. In other words, the lien is collateral that give the lender the upper hand in the legal battle if you fail to repay your loan payments.

Mechanics also sometimes place a lien upon a vehicle if the owner can’t pay the services that the car needs. Governmental agencies also have the authority to place a lien on a car to redeem unpaid taxes, sometimes seizing and selling the car if needed.

Can I Scrap a Car With a Lien?

No, you can only scrap a car if the lien is resolved. In order to proceed with scrapping, you must either pay off the remaining debt, or negotiate with the lienholder for approval.

Before you scrap your car, it’s crucial that you verify its lien status. By reviewing the title you should be able to see whether there’s an active lien. The lienholder should be listed, so you can contact them to confirm the loan status and request a lien release if the debt is repaid.

Once the dispute is resolved, ensure the DMV has updated your car’s title so that it reflects that it is lien-free. Keep any paperwork from this process so that you can show the scrappers proof that the lien has been addressed before they accept your vehicle.

Can I Sell a Car With a Lien?

No, selling a vehicle with a title lien without the lender’s approval is illegal. This is because the car isn’t entirely yours if the debt isn’t fully paid off.

If you have any questions regarding liens or the car scrapping process, please don’t hesitate to contact us and a member of our team will be happy to help.

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To sell your car for parts you’ll need to figure out which parts are most valuable, remove them from your vehicle, and find a buyer. The guide below will help you figure out if this is the right option for you.

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Selling a Car for Parts

If your car has reached the end of its journey and you just can’t drive it any longer, then you have a choice to make.

Option one is to just sell the car, but it can be hard to find a buyer and the resale value may not be worth the effort.

Option two is to scrap your car. This is often the easiest option, and one that many people go with, as you can get good money for your vehicle without the fuss.

Option three is to sell your car for parts. Since you’re reading this article, this is probably the option you are most interested in – perhaps because you suspect that you can get more money for the individual parts than anyone would pay for the car as a whole.

Is It Difficult to Sell a Car for Parts?

Most cars can be stripped down and sold for parts, as long as your car isn’t a Category-A write off. However, stripping a car down for parts is no easy task, especially if you haven't done servicing, maintenance, or repairs on a car in the past.

You’ll need to be able to take your car apart carefully without damaging anything. Damage will lower the value of the individual parts, which will make the whole process less worthwhile. It’s not too late to learn how to strip a car and sell it for parts, but if you don’t have a lot of DIY experience, you may wish to consider some of your other options.

For more information, check out our blog How to Strip a Car for Parts.

Before you go to the effort of stripping your car, be sure to check the resale and scrap value of the full car – some old or vintage cars can actually go up in value over time and it may not be worth your time to strip the car down if you could get a good price out of scrapping it.

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Selling Your Car for Parts

If you’ve managed to successfully dismantle your car, then it’s time to sell it for parts! Believe it or not, your hard work isn’t done yet, as finding a buyer for a car part can be just as exhausting as finding a buyer for your car. Here are some suggestions to get you started:

• Motorists: There’s a good chance that there’s somebody out there who wants to repair or improve their vehicle with the parts you have. See if anyone on social media or a car forum is looking for your car part.

• Online Marketplaces: Facebook Marketplace might seem like the most obvious option, but you could also try websites like eBay or Gumtree. Just remember to be wary of scammers.

• Scrap Buyers: For parts that can’t be reused, you could sell the metal for scrap. There are entire companies dedicated to buying scrap and car parts. Here at A&L, we can recycle your scrap ethically, and pay you for it!

READ MORE: Our Scrap Metal Prices

How Much Money Will I Get If I Sell My Car for Parts?

The amount of money you will make from this process is highly dependent on demand. Some car makes and models will have parts that are in very high demand. The state of the economy will often determine what people are willing to pay for car parts.

If you are willing to play the long game, and wait for the optimal time to sell each car part, you could end up making more money. However, this is reliant on having space to store these parts, as well as knowing the right time to sell. 

Is It Worth Selling My Car for Parts?

If you already have many of the supplies needed, and you are confident in your abilities to safely dismantle, store, and sell the parts of your car, then it might be worth it for you. However, for many people this would be a massive effort and very time consuming.

If you aren’t confident about stripping your car, consider your other options. You can get an instant free quote from us, and we can come collect your car from you. Plus, if you have already started scrapping your car, we are happy to accept damaged vehicles!

Scrap Your Car

The value of your car depreciates every year. In fact, it’s often said that a car depreciates in value the moment you drive it away from the dealership. If you drive your car a lot, or if it becomes damaged, you can expect it to depreciate in value pretty quickly.

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What is Car Depreciation?

If you’re wondering how quickly cars depreciate, you first need to understand what depreciation is.

Car depreciation is when the value of your car goes down from the original price it was purchased at. Most cars lose value over time, resulting in a big difference between the price you paid for the car and the price you could sell the car for.

People usually consider depreciation by looking at the depreciation rate. This indicates how quickly the car is depreciating over time.

How Quickly Do Cars Depreciate?

According to Auto Express, you should generally expect a UK car to depreciate by around 15% each year over a period of 20 years. The rate of depreciation changes over time, with the first twelve months of car ownership usually showing the highest rate of depreciation.

However, even a new car will depreciate if you drive it a lot. You can always expect the value of your car to go down if it’s particularly worn or damaged.

Depreciation is usually most relevant when you are looking to sell your car. This is because a "used" or "second-hand" car is almost always sold at a lower price point than a brand new car. However, there are some situations where this won't be the case.

Some cars are in high-demand and won’t depreciate as quickly. Very rare cars may even go up in value over time! For most cars, though, the age is the biggest factor when it comes to how quickly the car will depreciate.

How Old is My Car?

If you bought your car second-hand, you might not know how old it is. The easiest way to check is by reading your car’s original number plate. With a current style UK number plate, the third and fourth characters of your registration will indicate the year that the car was first registered.

The second two characters on your registration will often be the last two numbers of the year it was registered. For example, if your registration says 18, then it was registered in 2018.

There are two ways these date indicators will appear on a current style plate, so if your registration doesn’t have an obvious year on it, use the following rules instead:

• A car registered in the 2000s will have a 5 as the third character
• A car registered in the 2010s will have 6 as the third character
• A car registered in the 2020s will have a 7 as the third character.

Put simply, find the number, and take away 50! Your plate may say 68 instead of 18 — but it was still registered in 2018.

With how quickly cars depreciate, many cars from 2018 have already depreciated in value by now. So, what can you do with them?

Can’t Sell? Scrap!

If your car has depreciated so much that it is no longer worth selling, you might want to consider scrapping it. This is particularly relevant if your car is damaged. Some old cars can’t be fixed because replacement parts are difficult or impossible to find.

You can get money for scrapping your car, without the hassle of trying to sell a car that has already greatly depreciated in value.

Get a free quote on the value of your car instantly! Click the button below to visit our homepage and use our checker tool.

Scrap Value Checker

LEARN MORE: How Does Mileage Affect a Car?

We can now confirm that the most scrapped car in 2024 was the Ford Focus!

You may recall that the same model also topped our most scrapped car list in 2023. Now that 2024 has come and gone, new data has shown that the Ford Focus is still the king of the scrapyard.

The reason so many of them were scrapped this year is probably because there were so many on the roads to begin with! Supposedly, 2.71% of all UK vehicles are Ford Focuses – or should it be Ford Foci? Either way, the Ford Focus is destined to be discontinued later in 2025 after nearly 30 years in production, so it might not hold onto this top spot for much longer.

Even though the Focus was the most scrapped car of 2024, the most scrapped brand was actually Vauxhall. They took second and third place for most scrapped cars this year, resulting in an overall win for the brand. Or loss, depending on how you look at it.

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Most Scrapped Car 2024 Rankings

The top ten most scrapped cars from this year are shown below.

Rank            Car Model

This list is a bit different to last year’s top scrapped cars. The previous number 10, the BMW 3 series, has dropped off the list completely. And the Ford Mondeo, which took spot number 8 in 2023, is now nowhere to be seen.

Many of the cars in the above list are still quite popular vehicles in the UK, but there’s more than one reason to scrap a car. It could be that the car was damaged, or that the owner was just looking to make some money.

How To Scrap Your Car

Help knock Ford Focus out of that top spot and earn extra cash by scrapping your car! We offer a free, no-obligation quote, so you can find out how much your car could be worth right now. Use our free quote generator if you’re curious.

If you want to move forward with that offer, we can then help you to organise a drop-off or a collection. We’ve made the process super simple for your convenience.

For further information, or to get started, click on one of the buttons below.

Scrap My Car           Scrap FAQS

Have you ever wondered what happens to your tyres after your car is scrapped? This blog will unpack how Authorised Treatment Facilities – like us at A&L – break down and recycle old car tyres and why proper disposal of car tyres is so important for the health of our environment.

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1) Removal

When you scrap your car, the tyres are typically removed before the car is dismantled. They can be removed by hand or by using equipment like hydraulic lifts and tyre changers. The tyres are then inspected to see if they are still in usable condition. If the tyres are worn but still in relatively good condition, they can be retread and reused.

2) Shredding and Granulation

The tyres that are too damaged for retreading or resale are then shredded into small pieces and further granulated to separate the rubber, steel and fabric materials. These materials are then sorted based on their properties and recycled.

3) Recycling

Recycled tyre materials can be used for a wide variety of products. For example, tyres that are shredded into fine rubber particles (called ‘crumb rubber’), can be used in making playground surfaces and sports tracks or melted down to make rubber products like mats and seals. Crumb rubber is also sometimes mixed with asphalt and used to create more durable road surfaces.  

In some cases, old tyres can be used as a fuel source for cement kilns and power plants because of their high energy content. This process involves burning the tyres in controlled conditions to produce heat and electricity. While this process recovers energy, it must be done in regulated, high-temperature furnaces to help minimise the harmful substances released.

Why Is Proper Tyre Recycling Important?

While the disposal of car tyres may seem like a small part of scrapping a vehicle, proper recycling of tyres is crucial for protecting the environment. Tyres are made from materials that don’t break down easily in the environment, so when dumped illegally in landfills or outdoor areas and not disposed of properly, they can create significant environmental issues like fires and pollution.

This is why when you scrap your car, it’s important to make sure that the tyres are handled responsibly by professionals at an Authorised Treatment Facility – like us at A&L.

If you have any questions about our tyre recycling process or if you are looking for a quote price for your scrap car, reach out and contact A&L Recycling today. 

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