What should I take out of my car before it is scrapped?

Take out everything that belongs to you rather than the car: personal belongings, documents, parking permits, gadgets and anything with your details on it. Leave the car's own parts where they are, especially the engine, gearbox, wheels and catalytic converter, because a yard can charge or reduce the price if essential parts are missing.

What personal items should I clear out?

Once the car is crushed, anything left inside is gone for good. Give it a proper search, not just a glance:

• Glovebox, door pockets and the centre console
• Under the seats and down the sides of them
• Seat-back pockets and sun visors
• The boot, including under the floor where the spare wheel sits
• Roof boxes and bike racks, if fitted

Paperwork is the thing people forget most often. Old service books, parking tickets and letters can carry your name and address, so take them with you.

Which gadgets and accessories should come out?

Anything you fitted yourself or might use again:

• Dashcam, including the memory card and the windscreen mount
• Sat nav, phone holder and charging cables
• Child seats and booster seats
• Toll tags for roads or bridge crossings, and update any auto-pay account (such as a congestion or crossing charge account) that has the registration saved
• Garage door remote or gate fob
• Aftermarket stereo if you want to keep it, though leave the wiring tidy

If the car has a built-in system that has paired with your phone, it is worth deleting your phone from it and clearing any saved addresses before it goes.

What about permits and badges?

Remove resident parking permits, work car park passes and any Blue Badge. Most councils ask you to return or cancel a permit you no longer need, and some will refund the unused part. A Blue Badge belongs to the holder, not the car, so keep it.

Should I take the number plates off?

Not usually. The plates stay with the car on a normal scrapping, and our driver checks them against the paperwork at collection.

The exception is a private or personalised registration. If you want to keep it, you must apply to the DVLA to take it off the car before it is scrapped. Once the car has been destroyed, the number cannot be saved. Our guide on private number plates explains how to do it.

What should I leave in the car?

Leave the car complete. The DVLA's guidance says a treatment facility can charge a fee if essential parts such as the engine, gearbox, bodywork or wheels have been taken off. Missing parts also change the weight and the metal in the car, which can bring the price down from your quote. In particular, leave:

• The engine and gearbox
• All four wheels and tyres, so the car can be loaded safely
• The catalytic converter, which makes a real difference to scrap value
• The battery, unless you have told us it has been removed

You do not need to drain the fuel. A little in the tank is normal, and we deal with fluids safely as part of the depollution process at our yard.

What paperwork should I have ready?

Have these ready for when our driver arrives:

• The V5C logbook, if you have it. You give it to us and keep the yellow "sell, transfer or part-exchange your vehicle to the motor trade" slip
• Photo ID and proof of address, especially if the logbook is missing
• All the keys you can find, including spares

What do I do after the car has gone?

A few loose ends to tie up:

• Keep your Certificate of Destruction. We issue it ourselves as an Authorised Treatment Facility, and it is your proof the car was legally scrapped.
• Cancel your insurance. Insurers are not told automatically.
• Check your road tax refund. The DVLA refunds any full months left automatically once it knows the car has been scrapped, and cancels any Direct Debit.
• Cancel breakdown cover if it was tied to that car.

We pay by bank transfer on the day we collect, never cash, and collection by our own drivers is free.

Quick answers

Do I need to remove the number plates before scrapping? No, unless it is a private plate you want to keep. That has to be taken off through the DVLA before the car is scrapped.

Should I take the battery out? Leave it in unless you have told us. We remove it safely during depollution.

Do I need to empty the fuel tank? No. We handle fuel and other fluids at the yard.

Can I take parts off to sell? Removing major parts like the engine, wheels or catalytic converter can lower your price or bring an extra charge, so tell us first.

Car cleared out and ready to go? Get a quote with your registration and postcode.