Cash for Scrap Cars Geelong

A scrap car is not always a wreck. Plenty of the vehicles we buy around Geelong drove into the driveway under their own power and never came back out, usually because a repair quote came in higher than the car was worth. From that day on it stops being transport and starts being a tonne of steel, aluminium and reusable parts taking up space. That is still worth money to the right buyer.

All Geelong Car Removal buys scrap cars right across the region. We tow at no cost, pay by instant bank transfer before the truck leaves your street, and hand you a written disposal receipt on the spot. We are a licensed motor car trader working out of our own yard at North Geelong, so your car is processed here rather than passed on to someone else’s operation two hours away.

Call 0403 433 113 for a quote on what you have.

Most cash for cars sites promise top dollar and leave it there. Here is what a scrap quote is genuinely built from, so you can judge any offer you get, including ours.

Weight

The body shell is steel and steel sells by the tonne. A small hatchback sits around 1,000 to 1,200kg. A mid size sedan is closer to 1,400kg. A large ute, van or 4WD can push past 2,000kg. Heavier vehicles start from a higher base before anything else is counted.

Non-ferrous content

The shell is ferrous metal. The parts worth more per kilo are the non-ferrous ones: aluminium in the engine block, cylinder heads, alloy wheels and the air conditioning condenser, copper through the wiring loom, alternator and starter motor, and copper and brass in the radiator core. A car still wearing its alloys with a complete engine bay is worth noticeably more than the same model sitting on steel rims with parts missing.

The catalytic converter

The converter holds small quantities of precious metals and is one of the highest value single components on an ordinary car. If it has already been cut off, the quote drops accordingly, and any buyer who does not mention this is either not checking or not being straight with you.

Parts demand and condition

Some models are far more common on Geelong roads, so their doors, panels, mirrors, lights and mechanical parts move faster. A Corolla, a Commodore or a Hilux has a queue of people wanting bits for it. A rare import does not. An engine and gearbox that still turn over are worth more than seized ones, even in a car that will never be registered again.

Access

A car on a flat driveway takes about fifteen minutes to load. One wedged behind a carport with three flat tyres and no key takes longer and needs different gear.

This is why two identical-looking Commodores can be quoted differently. One is complete. The other has been picked over.

We get calls from people who have already sold the wheels, the battery and the converter, then find the offer is lower than the one their neighbour got. That is why. Nothing wrong with parting a car out first, but the price afterwards reflects what is left. If you are weighing that up, tell us what you planned to pull off and we will say honestly whether it is worth the effort.

An end of life vehicle cannot simply be crushed as it sits. It has to be depolluted first. Fuel is drained, along with engine oil, coolant, brake fluid and transmission fluid. The battery comes out. Air conditioning refrigerant is recovered rather than vented. Tyres come off, and airbag units and gas struts are handled separately because both are pressurised.

Only then does the useful material come off: panels, glass, lights, engines, gearboxes and anything else with life left in it. What remains is a bare shell that goes for metal recovery.

This matters for a practical reason. A car battery, several litres of engine oil and a sump full of coolant sitting on a driveway is a real liability. Handing the vehicle to a licensed buyer means that side of it is documented and dealt with properly.

This is where most sellers get stuck. In Victoria there are two jobs after you sell a scrap car and both are yours.

1. Take the number plates off

Do it before the truck loads the car. The plates stay with you, not with the vehicle.

2. Cancel the registration with VicRoads

The quickest way is through your myVicRoads account online or in the app. You no longer have to hand plates in at a Customer Service Centre.

If there is time left on the rego you can claim a refund of the unused portion on the same form. VicRoads asks for supporting evidence: for a written off vehicle, an insurance report or a wrecker’s receipt, and for any other reason, a photo of your plates cut in half, or a statutory declaration if the plates have gone missing.

That wrecker’s receipt is the disposal receipt we give you on the day. Keep it. It backs your refund claim and proves the date the vehicle left your possession.

1.   Call or message with the make, model, rough year and condition. Whether it runs, whether it is complete, whether it is registered.
2.   We quote. Most scrap cars can be priced over the phone without an inspection.
3.   We book a time that suits you, usually same day or next day.
4.   The driver checks the car matches the description, you sign the disposal paperwork, the money moves by instant bank transfer, and the car goes on the truck.

No towing fee, no inspection fee, and no last minute deduction for something that was obvious in the photos.

What we take

Cars, utes, vans, 4WDs, SUVs and light commercials, any make and any age. Non-runners, rust buckets, engine failures, blown transmissions, cars that have sat under a tree since 2014. Registered or not, complete or half stripped. Offers go up to $9,999 depending on the vehicle.