Selling My Car for Scrap Metal

I had an old car and was tired of paying for repairs and insurance. I ended up not driving very much- only a few hundred miles in the last year. When it came time to renew the tags I had to make a decision. Do I keep this car or get rid of it?

I really considered selling it as junk, for scrap metal. There are quite a few places and ads in the paper for selling your car. The ads say things like " We buy cars. Any Shape",etc.

I found it actually made more sense ( for me) to sell my car on eBay since it was running. It had a lot of problems, but was drivable. I thought maybe the scrap metal dealers would be able to offer me more, but it turns out I got a few hundred dollars more selling it to a driver.

In Yuma Arizona Thieves Endanger Lives for $20 Metal

As I posted before, metal thieves are doing a lot of damage for a small amount of money.

These thieves will damage your car and even rob graves- for scrap metal that might only yield a few bucks. I just got done reading a story about how in Yuma Arizona thieves are stealing manhole covers. Obviously this is very dangerous for motorists and pedestrians. Someone could walk into one and fall, possible die. It could cause a car accident ( presumably after the catalytic converter has already been stolen).

Talking serious bodily and/or property damage. And for how much? Maybe 15-20 dollars. Petty theft of scrap metal can be tempting in rough times, but I hope people think about the damage they can be doing, and don't do it. It's only a few bucks. It's not worth it.

Unfortunately, The Value of Metals is inviting to Thieves

As a sign of how bad the economy is and just how valuable certain metals are, theft of scrap metal seems to be a serious issue. just today I heard on my local news that many thieves are stealing catalytic converters and this is not the first time. Apparently thieves will go to large employee parking lots and cut the converters right off while people are working.

Some auto part dealers are knowingly buying stolen catalytic converters and other scrap metal. The precious metal contained in catalytic converters, of course, platinum. The reality is that some of these scrap parts may only fetch 25-50 bucks at salvage, yet it can take several hundred dollars to replace. Criminals are costing hardworking people hundreds of dollars for small change. This is immoral, illegal, and unproductive.

We would just like to say that while speculating in precious metals can be a legitimate enterprise please do not participate in actions that infringe on the rights of others. With the way the economy is going it is pretty sad that some people want to hurt others by damaging their property. Many people depend on cars, for example, that are worth less than their scrap parts. Yet these people depend on these vehicles to work and provide for their families.

If you want to make money legally and ethically in scrap and other metals, we encourage that.