This scrap car value calculator estimates what a scrap yard will pay for an old or wrecked car. It multiplies the weight the yard pays for by the price your local yard quotes, adds anything extra for the catalytic converter or parts, takes off towing and paperwork, and shows how much the payout swings if the price moves.
It also lines the yard’s payout up against a junk car buyer’s offer or a private sale. Below, you will find each input and result explained, a worked example, and the paperwork and tips that help you get the most for a car at the end of its life.
Scrap Car Value Calculator
Enter the car’s weight and the price your local yard quotes, add any extras and costs, then press Work Out Payout.
Vehicle type weights are rough class averages; the yard pays on its own scale weight. The price is an example; scrap prices change often and differ between yards.
What Is a Scrap Car Value Calculator?
A car headed for the crusher is worth roughly what its metal is worth. Steel and iron make up the largest share of a typical car’s weight, with aluminum, copper and other metals adding smaller amounts. Yards buy whole cars by weight, at a price that follows the scrap metal market.
A scrap car value calculator does that sum for you. It takes a weight and a price, adds and subtracts the few extras that change what you actually take home, and gives a figure you can check against the yard’s offer.
Why Work Out Scrap Value Before You Call
Many people accept the first number a yard or a cash-for-cars company gives them. Knowing the metal value first tells you whether an offer is fair, whether paying for a tow makes sense, and whether a private buyer or a junk car buyer would pay more. It also shows how much prices can move: scrap steel is a traded commodity, and yards update their buying prices often, sometimes daily.
Inputs Used in the Calculator
Vehicle Type and Curb Weight
Choosing a vehicle type fills a rough class weight. Curb weight is the weight of the car with standard equipment and full fluids but no people or cargo. You can find your car’s exact figure in the owner’s manual or on the manufacturer’s specification pages. The class weights are starting points only:
| Vehicle type | Typical curb weight |
|---|---|
| Subcompact car | About 2,500 lb |
| Compact car | About 3,250 lb |
| Midsize or crossover | About 3,750 lb |
| Full-size car | About 4,500 lb |
| Small pickup | About 4,000 lb |
| SUV | About 4,750 lb |
| Full-size pickup | About 5,000 lb |
Do not use the gross vehicle weight rating on the door jamb label. That is the most the vehicle may weigh when loaded, not what it weighs.
Weight of Missing Parts
If the engine, transmission, wheels or other heavy parts have been removed, the car weighs less and the yard pays less. Some yards also lower their price for incomplete cars. Enter the approximate weight of anything missing.
Price Quoted and Price Unit
Yards usually quote per ton, and in the US that normally means a short ton of 2,000 pounds. Some quote per metric tonne, per 100 pounds or per pound. Pick the unit and the calculator converts it. Use the price for a whole car, often called a car body or end-of-life vehicle price, not the higher price for clean, sorted steel, because a car also contains glass, plastic, rubber and fluids the yard has to deal with.
Extra for the Catalytic Converter
Converters contain small amounts of platinum, palladium and rhodium, so they can be worth far more than their weight in steel. Some yards pay extra for a car with its original converter; others build it into the whole-car price. Enter an amount only if the yard pays it on top.
Parts You Sell Separately
Good tires, alloy wheels, a newer battery or clean body panels can sometimes bring more on their own. Enter what you expect to get and subtract their weight from the car’s.
Towing Charge and Title or Paperwork Costs
Many buyers tow for free; some charge. A duplicate title from your DMV, if you lost the original, also costs money. Both come off the payout.
Junk Car Buyer’s Offer and Private Sale
Optional figures for comparison. Enter 0 to leave either out.
How the Calculator Works
Scrap payout = (curb weight − missing parts) × price per pound + converter extra + parts sold − towing − paperwork
Price per pound is the quoted price divided by the pounds in the unit: 2,000 for a US ton, about 2,205 for a metric tonne, 100 for a hundredweight quote, or 1. The range under the headline repeats the sum with the metal value 20% lower and 20% higher, keeping your extras and costs the same.
What the Calculator Shows You
What the Scrap Yard Pays You
The headline is the amount you keep after extras and costs. A negative figure means towing and fees cost more than the metal is worth.
Price Swing Range
The line beneath shows the payout if the yard’s price were 20% lower or higher. It is a sensitivity check, not a forecast.
Weight the Yard Pays For and US Tons
Curb weight minus missing parts, also shown in short tons so you can match it with a per-ton quote.
Price per Pound and Metal Value
Every quote turned into dollars per pound, so you can compare yards that quote in different units, and the value of the metal alone.
Extras Minus Costs and Best Route
The net effect of the converter, parts, towing and paperwork, and which of your options pays most.
The Offer Bars and the Best Route Box
The bars compare the scrap payout with any junk buyer or private sale figure you entered, drawn to the same scale. The longest, green bar is the best payout. The box under the cards starts with “Best route” and the winning option, then adds the check that matters for that route: confirming a yard’s price on the day, getting a junk buyer’s offer in writing with towing included, or selling privately as is with a bill of sale. If costs push the scrap payout below zero, the box turns amber and says so.
How to Use It Step by Step
- Choose the vehicle type, or enter your car’s exact curb weight.
- Enter the weight of any heavy parts already removed.
- Call two or three yards, and enter the best whole-car price and its unit.
- Add any converter extra and parts income, then towing and paperwork costs.
- Enter other offers you have, if any.
- Press Work Out Payout and read the headline, the range and the best route.
Example: A Complete Midsize Car
A complete midsize car weighing 3,750 lb, at an example price of $150 per US ton, with free towing. The price per pound is $150 ÷ 2,000 = $0.075, and the metal value is 3,750 × $0.075 = $281.25. A 20% price swing either way gives about $225 to $338.
A junk car buyer has offered $350 with free towing, which is $69 more than the scrap estimate, so the best route is the junk buyer. If the yard charged $75 to tow instead of collecting for free, the scrap payout would drop to about $206 and the gap would widen.
Who Should Use It
Owners of Cars That No Longer Run
When repairs cost more than the car is worth, the metal value is the floor for any offer you accept.
Anyone Comparing Junk Car Quotes
Instant-offer services and local buyers quote differently. Turning each into a single figure makes them easy to compare.
Owners Thinking About Donating
Donating does not put cash in your pocket, but it can lower your taxes if you itemize. Under IRS rules, if the charity sells the car for more than $500, your deduction is generally limited to the sale price on the Form 1098-C it sends you. If it sells for $500 or less, you can generally deduct the lower of fair market value or $500. IRS Publication 4303 explains the rules. The saving is roughly the deduction times your tax rate, which is often less than a yard pays.
Common Mistakes and Tips
- Using a sorted-steel price. Ask for the price for a complete car.
- Stripping the car without a buyer for the parts. Removed parts lower the weight, and some yards lower the rate for incomplete cars.
- Selling a converter on its own to anyone. Many states restrict who may buy detached converters and require records. Sell only to a licensed buyer, or leave it on the car.
- Not having the title ready. Most buyers want it signed over; rules for cars without a title vary by state. You will also need a lien release if a lender is listed.
- Forgetting the paperwork afterward. Handle the plates, tell your DMV the car was sold or junked, and cancel the insurance once the car is gone. Licensed yards also report the vehicles they take in to the federal NMVTIS database.
- Leaving personal data behind. Remove toll transponders and clear stored addresses and paired phones.
Related Car Calculators
- Used Car Value Calculator
- Trade In Value Calculator
- Car Depreciation Calculator
- Diminished Value Calculator
- Car Repair Cost Calculator
- Transmission Repair Cost Calculator
- HP to Weight Ratio Calculator
- DMV Fee Calculator
Frequently Asked Questions
How is scrap car value calculated?
Multiply the weight the yard pays for by its price per pound, which is the price per ton divided by 2,000 for a US ton. Then add any extra for the converter or parts and subtract towing or fees.
How much is a ton of scrap car worth?
Prices change often with the scrap metal market and differ between yards. Call local yards for today’s price for a complete car and enter it in the calculator.
Do scrap yards pay by curb weight?
Most weigh the car on their own scale when it arrives and pay on that weight. Curb weight is a good estimate for a complete car.
Is a US ton the same as a metric tonne?
No. A US short ton is 2,000 pounds and a metric tonne is about 2,205 pounds. The calculator converts either one.
Can I scrap a car without a title?
It depends on your state. Some allow older vehicles to be scrapped with other proof of ownership, while others require a title. A duplicate title from your DMV is often the easiest fix.
How much is a catalytic converter worth for scrap?
It varies widely by vehicle and converter type and moves with precious metal prices. Ask your yard or a licensed converter buyer for a quote for your car.
Is it better to donate or scrap a car?
If you itemize, compare the tax saving with the scrap payout. The saving is roughly your deduction times your tax rate, which is often less than a yard pays unless the charity sells the car for a good price.
Do junk car buyers pay more than scrap yards?
Sometimes, especially for cars with resellable parts, and many include free towing. Get the offer in writing and confirm it will not drop on pickup.