You just sold your old car to a junk car buyer and it’s headed to the junkyard, so what happens to it now?
When a vehicle is towed to a junkyard the first step after it is dropped off is to file the necessary paperwork with the state to officially salvage the vehicle. Once the paperwork is filed, you will no longer be the legal owner of the car, truck or SUV you just sold for cash.
Junkyards Recycle Vehicles
After the junkyard gets a notification from the DMV that the vehicle’s title has been salvaged, it can begin to inspect it to determine which parts are worth keeping before preparing the vehicle to be crushed. The EPA estimates 19.2 million tons of ferrous metals were recycled in 2018 and more than 80 million tons of steel are recycled each year in North America. Salvaging your junk vehicle also helps to create new materials from salvaged precious metals, steel and resellable parts.
What Happens To Vehicle Remains At Junkyards?
Once the vehicle is stripped down, the frame of the vehicle is placed into a crusher to make it as compact as possible. Some crushers will flatten like a pancake while others will create a perfect cube which makes it really easy to stack and transport away on a flat semi-trailer bed.
How Are Cars Junked?
A junkyard will remove every valuable piece from the exterior body panels like fenders and bumpers to engine parts and accessories. These parts are resold in used car parts stores or online.
When the junkyard has removed what they feel is valuable to them, they’ll send the vehicle off to the next recycling facility that may only specialize in recycling catalytic converters. Once they have their catalytic converter, they’ll hand the vehicle over to an iron smelting company that will extract any remaining metals including silver, iron, copper, and other base metals.