We Answer Your Most Common Scrap Car Questions (Part 1)
14th Jul, 2017
We’ve been in the business a while here at Scrap Car Network, which means we’ve get quizzed a lot on the finer details behind car scrapping. Whether it concerns paperwork or road tax or car insurance, you can be sure we’ve got the answers. To save you having to hunt for the answers yourself, we’ve taken the opportunity to answer some of the most common ones here, in the first of a two-part series.
Common Questions When Scrapping Your Car
1. What do I need to scrap my car?
Not much! It’s mainly just:
- V5C registration document
- The car keys
- Proof of ID
- A locking wheel nut key if your car has alloy wheels
2.Why do I need proof of ID?
Under the laws that came in under the Scrap Metal Dealer’s Act 2013, if you’re scrapping your car in England and Wales, you’ll need to prove your identity while doing so. The Act’s main aim was to make everything more transparent and accountable in the world of car scrapping, so that it was easier to trace back both parties in sales of scrap vehicles – which would in turn, make it easier to cut down on rogue traders and sellers.
So for your part, you’ll need to show photo ID (such as a driving licence or passport) and a proof of address (like a utility bill). By law, we’ll copy and store this information for three years. This is purely for legal purposes, not marketing; we won’t sell your data to third parties, and keeping it safe in meantime is a top priority.
3.What is a V5C document?
Basically, the V5C (you might have seen it referred to as simply a V5 – it’s the same thing) is issued by the DLVA to the car’s owner, or the person/organisation responsible for it. When it comes to scrap your car, it helps to have a copy to hand over to us. Make sure you first detach and retain Section 3: Notification of Sale or Transfer of a Vehicle.
4.What if I don’t have a log book/V5c registration document?
Don’t worry too much about it – you mainly need to prove to us that you’re the legal owner of the car, which you can do quite easily just by showing us your ID.
If you still owned and drove the car, you’d normally need to replace the V5C by applying to the DVLA and paying a fee of £25. But if you’re scrapping the car anyway, it just takes a quick message (in writing) to the DLVA to let them know you’ve sold your car as scrap. That’s free to do, incidentally, so you shouldn’t have to pay the fee in that case.
What you will need to do is provide them with your information, the details of the company that bought the ELV, the registration number and model of the car, and the date of the sale.
5.What’s an ATF?
You might have seen this abbreviation around, including on some of our own local area pages. An ATF stands for Authorised Treatment Facility, which are dealerships that have been licenced and are continually monitored by the governmental Environment Agency. A scrap car breaker without a licence isn’t lawfully permitted to operate – in other words, ATFs are the only legal place to scrap your car. At Scrap Car Network, we make sure that every single one of our partners is an ATF, so we can guarantee you quality service at an affordable price.
Have You Got More Questions About Scrapping Your Car?
Don’t worry! It would be a very lengthy post if we packed them all into one, so we’ll continue answering your questions in our very next post. If you’re already clued up on all the information you need to scrap your car, well then what are you waiting for? Just enter your car reg and postcode into our homepage to get an instant quote, and you’ll be on your way in no time!
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