Why You Should Finally Junk Your Old Car

Deciding to junk your old car isn't easy, especially if you put a lot of work into it over the years or have years of happy memories driving it. But once a vehicle stops running and is too expensive to fix, there's not much to do with it. Instead of letting your broken-down car sit outside and rust, search for scrap yards where it can be recycled. The following guide illustrates the junking process and how it benefits you. 

What Happens at the Scrap Yard?

Pre-Treatment

Before a car at a salvage yard can be processed and disassembled, it needs to be stripped of hazardous materials and drained of fluids—such as coolant, oil, and gasoline—which might otherwise leak and pollute the area. The process of stripping potentially toxic components from the car is called "pre-treatment." At this point, the technicians will also remove the gas tank, tires, and battery. All these materials can then be sold, recycled, or disposed of safely. Most old cars that don't make it to a junkyard don't undergo this process. Their hazardous materials are left to pollute the storage area, and their salvageable parts are wasted instead of being recycled. 

Disassembly & Compaction

After pre-treatment, the scrappers remove any remaining interior fixtures in preparation for recycling. Some scrap yards will evaluate cars for spare parts that can be sold, and other yards go straight into the recycling process. The recyclable body and frame of the car are crushed in a massive compactor to save space before the car's steel can be processed. 

How Do You Benefit From Junking Your Car?

Getting that old vehicle out of your backyard and into a scrap yard saves you space and time, but it's also environmentally friendly. The steel from the frame and body can be reused, which saves energy that would go into processing new steel. You also don't risk polluting your lawn with old fuel, oil, coolant, metal scrap, and broken glass. 

You can also benefit monetarily. Scrappers will pay to take an old vehicle off your hands, but they determine the amount by the weight of recyclable materials. If you're mechanically savvy, you can strip the car for parts to sell at a higher rate than the yard will offer you. Anything from tires to starters and mufflers—as well as any aftermarket addition, like a stereo—can be sold, as long as it's in good shape.

If it's time to get rid of a car you can no longer use, call Rudy's Towing & Auto Salvage for help. Located in Philadelphia, PA, and serving Bucks and Montgomery counties, this honest and reliable business prides itself on exceptional service and fair, transparent rates on every transaction. Learn more about their mission and call (267) 235-9421 to get your car towed to the junkyard for free.