Selling Your Scrap Car? Here’s What Happens Next

When your car breaks down because it is too old or damaged, you will find it difficult to sell or you might spend a lot on repairs. Your next option is to sell it to businesses that buy scrap cars.

Scrapping your car is a form of recycling that provides numerous environmental benefits, such as reduced greenhouse gas emissions and conserved natural resources. Energy is also conserved, as would otherwise be expended in the manufacturing of virgin metal.

Selling your scrap car also gives you extra income. Once you bring your car to the recycling facility, you receive your profit and leave. But do you know what happens to your scrap car once it’s sold? Here are the basic stages.

Step #1. De-Pollution

Before a scrap vehicle is taken apart, the fluids need to be completely drained. Cars contain numerous fluids that are hazardous to the environment, such as antifreeze, oil, petrol and different kinds of lubricants. The drained liquids are stored and shipped to processing plants.

Other parts like batteries and tyres are removed, cleaned and restored. The facility will issue a certificate of destruction to the owner of the vehicle.

Step #2. Shredding

After the issuance of a certificate of destruction, the facility feeds the remaining parts of the vehicle into the crusher to compact the metal. Then, the compacted metal is fed to the shredder.

Step #3. Separation

The materials are separated using the following processes:

• Magnet: Once the shredded metal falls onto a conveyor belt, magnets pull off the steel, separating it from other materials.
• Vacuum: Lighter materials such as fabric, plastic and rubber are removed via vacuum. .
• Heavy Media: The remaining materials are submerged in water with a different density to determine which materials float and which sink.

Step #4. Reuse and Recycle

The scrap metal is melted down in a furnace, after which it undergoes purification to make sure the final product is of high quality and doesn’t contain impurities. After being melted, it is carried to a conveyor belt, where it is cooled and solidified. The solidified metal is then sold to manufacturers to be reused as new metal.

Other materials in the scrapped vehicle are also recycled and reused. For example, plastics are changed into pellets for moulds. Light materials like foam and rubber are turned into gas, which is then converted into steam to produce electricity.

 

When selling a car for scrap, there is a lot of work involved in breaking down its complex machinery into materials that can be reused and recycled. With the majority of the car’s components being scrapped, there is less energy involved in making new materials, leaving minimum impact on the environment.

Efficient and Professional Vehicle Recycling by LKM Recycling

When your car is at the end of its life, bringing it to an authorised treatment facility ensures that it will be disposed of in an eco-friendly manner. If you’re looking for a facility where you can sell your car for scrap, go to LKM Recycling. We are registered under the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, ensuring that your car is disposed of through environmentally friendly means. We also pay you fair market value for your vehicle.

For more information or enquiries, get in touch with our team by calling 01795 439393