For those who scour junkyards for salvaged parts to rebuild classic cars and collectibles, crushing cars seems like a waste. The truth is that the supply of old car parts outstrips demand, if the massive inventories of salvaged auto parts online are anything to go by.
⚠️ If It's Broken, Don't Fix It - Get Paid Cash for Your Vehicle ⚠️
Another truth is that junkyards cannot survive on income from reusable auto parts, and there is only so much space to store junk.
Most junkyards crush cars to save space, but there is a much more important reason. Scrap steel is a valuable resale commodity.
Read on to find out about car recycling, and how cars are recycled.
Removal of Reusable Parts
Most often, when a car arrives at a junkyard, it is inspected. Oil, gas, antifreeze, transmission and brake fluids are drained and disposed of appropriately or filtered and used.
The vehicle engine and transmission are removed and cleaned. Tires and batteries are also removed for resale or recycling.
Smaller parts such as headlights, taillights, and trim might be saved, depending on the model and make of the car.
What's left – all the iron and steel, including the car body, is then crushed flat.
Why Crush Cars for the Metal?
The short answer is that ferrous and non-ferrous metals do not lose their properties when recycled. They can also be recycled repeatedly. Almost 40 percent of worldwide steel production uses recycled steel.
From that, it is easy to see that scrap metal has a monetary value the entire length of the supply chain. Scrap vehicles — crushed cars, in other words — make up the largest source of scrap ferrous metal in the U.S.
About 65 percent of a car that lands up at a junkyard is made from steel, with other metals, glass, rubber, and upholstery making up the rest). Although the price fluctuates, scrap steel and iron sells for about $250 per ton.
Recent economic expansion in Asian markets has led to greater demand for scrap steel, bolstering the global market. According to the ISRI (the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries), the United States is the world's largest exporter of ferrous scrap. The USA exported more than 13 million metric tons of ferrous scrap—valued at $4.1 billion—was exported in 2017 to approximately 75 countries. Some of its biggest buyers include China, South Korea, Turkey, Taiwan, Mexico, and India.
The fact that auto recycling is a multibillion-dollar industry is also good for the environment for several reasons.
Environmental Benefits
ISRI data say that carbon dioxide emissions are reduced by 58 percent by using ferrous scrap rather than virgin materials in iron and steel production. This is good news, in an industry traditionally known for its high carbon dioxide emissions.
Not only are CO2 emissions reduced, but there is also a huge energy saving too. Some 60 percent less energy is required to recycle steel compared to producing steel from iron ore. Using ferrous scrap is, therefore, a cost-efficient way to produce new steel.
To give you an idea of what that means, the energy saved this way would be enough to power about 18 million households for a year.
Car recycling saves an estimated 85 million barrels of oil annually that would otherwise have been used to manufacture new or replacement parts.
Recycled steel reduces the need for new iron ore to be mined, thus reducing the impact mining has on the environment, including groundwater pollution.
Recycling Begins at Home
The recycling process begins at scrap metal yards and the auto junkyard. We service the Chicago metropolitan area where we are based, but Cash Cars Buyer pays cash for your car anywhere in the U.S.
By making it easier for people to sell their junk cars, and paying cash upfront for them, we're ensuring local collection, and using the point in the recycling network closest to you.
Free Collection
In the old days, you had to flip through the Yellow Pages, phoning one auto junk dealer after another trying to find the best price. There is no need to waste time with that anymore. We have designed a simple online form to make everything as convenient as possible.
All you have to do now is fill out our form, providing a few details about your junk car. After that, our trained junk car specialists will contact you, and arrange to come to your home or place of work. We do this to make your selling experience easier.
We offer free junk car removal. After providing a few details about your junk car, we'll send you a free estimate in less than a minute.
After that, we’ll schedule a convenient date and time within the next 24–48 hours for our trained junk car removal specialists to do a quick on-site inspection and make sure everything looks good. After the quick run-down, we’ll pay you cash for your junk car right away!
What Types of Auto Junk Do We Collect?
Our tow trucks can collect any of the following:
- Wrecked or totaled accident cars
- Water-damaged or fire-damaged cars
- Old cars and trucks, even if they don’t run
- Any other unwanted junk car that you need to get rid of!
On-the-spot Payment
We don't believe in haggling or going back on our word at the last minute. Upon collection, we'll pay you the cash we offered in our estimate. It's that straightforward. 100% guaranteed.
Taking Care of the Paperwork
We take care of all the paperwork. And if your junk car is so old that you don't have the papers for it, we can legally take care of that as well. We relieve you of this hassle – which is one of the main reasons people procrastinate about selling their junk cars in the first place!
Where Do All the Crushed Cars Go?
Once we have reduced the vehicle to what is essentially a metal shell, it is crushed flat. This makes it easy for bulk transportation to an industrial shredder or hammer mill.
At this stage of the process, the vehicles are further reduced to fist-sized chunks of metal. Any residual glass, plastic, and rubber are removed from the mix, and the metal is sold in batches of several tons to steel mills for recycling.
Metals are then shredded to promote the melting process. Smaller pieces have a larger surface to volume ratio and can be melted using comparatively less energy.
Scrap metal is melted in a large furnace. The electrolysis method is commonly used to purify the metal. Molten metal is then cooled and solidified, normally in specific forms, such as bars.
The metal bars are then transported to various factories where they are used as raw material for the production of brand new products.
The metal recycling process cycles again, years later, when the new products themselves come to the end of their useful life.
So you see, the end of life of your car, and so many other crushed cars, is the beginning of life for something new. Tha's a great reason to sell your junk car!
How to Prepare to Get Rid of Your Junk Car
We've covered the basics about getting in touch with us to get cash money for your car. But what are the things you can do beforehand to help the process along?
We've provided all the details about the easiest way to prepare to get rid of your car in this handy step-by-step guide.
Your main concerns should be ensuring you have left no personal belongings in the old car, and that you have all the available paperwork ready for our visit. You've already found the right buyer – Cash Cars Buyer!
What Are You Waiting For?
Getting cash for your junk car has never been easier. Just think, your yards could soon be clean and tidy, and you'll have cash in your pocket. You'll also have peace of mind that somewhere on the planet, your old junk has been transformed into something useful for someone else.
Now that you've read this article, we are sure you've realized some of the reasons why junkyards crush cars. They provide jobs for people along the entire supply chain, feed recycled material into the steel industry, and boost U.S. exports.
In the meantime, what you need to do is explore our website, and read our other blog posts such as the one telling you whether you can sell a junk car without the title in your name.
If you have any questions at all, we're more than happy to help you. All you have to do is give us a call. You'll find the number on the same page as our simple contact form.
There's no point in waiting any longer: do it today!
For those who scour junkyards for salvaged parts to rebuild classic cars and collectibles, crushing cars seems like a waste. The truth is that the supply of old car parts outstrips demand, if the massive inventories of salvaged auto parts online are anything to go by.
Another truth is that junkyards cannot survive on income from reusable auto parts, and there is only so much space to store junk.
Most junkyards crush cars to save space, but there is a much more important reason. Scrap steel is a valuable resale commodity.
Read on to find out about car recycling, and how cars are recycled.
Removal of Reusable Parts
Most often, when a car arrives at a junkyard, it is inspected. Oil, gas, antifreeze, transmission and brake fluids are drained and disposed of appropriately or filtered and used.
The vehicle engine and transmission are removed and cleaned. Tires and batteries are also removed for resale or recycling.
Smaller parts such as headlights, taillights, and trim might be saved, depending on the model and make of the car.
What's left – all the iron and steel, including the car body, is then crushed flat.
Why Crush Cars for the Metal?
The short answer is that ferrous and non-ferrous metals do not lose their properties when recycled. They can also be recycled repeatedly. Almost 40 percent of worldwide steel production uses recycled steel.
From that, it is easy to see that scrap metal has a monetary value the entire length of the supply chain. Scrap vehicles — crushed cars, in other words — make up the largest source of scrap ferrous metal in the U.S.
About 65 percent of a car that lands up at a junkyard is made from steel, with other metals, glass, rubber, and upholstery making up the rest). Although the price fluctuates, scrap steel and iron sells for about $250 per ton.
Recent economic expansion in Asian markets has led to greater demand for scrap steel, bolstering the global market. According to the ISRI (the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries), the United States is the world's largest exporter of ferrous scrap. The USA exported more than 13 million metric tons of ferrous scrap—valued at $4.1 billion—was exported in 2017 to approximately 75 countries. Some of its biggest buyers include China, South Korea, Turkey, Taiwan, Mexico, and India.
The fact that auto recycling is a multibillion-dollar industry is also good for the environment for several reasons.
Environmental Benefits
ISRI data say that carbon dioxide emissions are reduced by 58 percent by using ferrous scrap rather than virgin materials in iron and steel production. This is good news, in an industry traditionally known for its high carbon dioxide emissions.
Not only are CO2 emissions reduced, but there is also a huge energy saving too. Some 60 percent less energy is required to recycle steel compared to producing steel from iron ore. Using ferrous scrap is, therefore, a cost-efficient way to produce new steel.
To give you an idea of what that means, the energy saved this way would be enough to power about 18 million households for a year.
Car recycling saves an estimated 85 million barrels of oil annually that would otherwise have been used to manufacture new or replacement parts.
Recycled steel reduces the need for new iron ore to be mined, thus reducing the impact mining has on the environment, including groundwater pollution.
Recycling Begins at Home
The recycling process begins at scrap metal yards and the auto junkyard. We service the Chicago metropolitan area where we are based, but Cash Cars Buyer pays cash for your car anywhere in the U.S.
By making it easier for people to sell their junk cars, and paying cash upfront for them, we're ensuring local collection, and using the point in the recycling network closest to you.
Free Collection
In the old days, you had to flip through the Yellow Pages, phoning one auto junk dealer after another trying to find the best price. There is no need to waste time with that anymore. We have designed a simple online form to make everything as convenient as possible.
All you have to do now is fill out our form, providing a few details about your junk car. After that, our trained junk car specialists will contact you, and arrange to come to your home or place of work. We do this to make your selling experience easier.
We offer free junk car removal. After providing a few details about your junk car, we'll send you a free estimate in less than a minute.
After that, we’ll schedule a convenient date and time within the next 24–48 hours for our trained junk car removal specialists to do a quick on-site inspection and make sure everything looks good. After the quick run-down, we’ll pay you cash for your junk car right away!
What Types of Auto Junk Do We Collect?
Our tow trucks can collect any of the following:
- Wrecked or totaled accident cars
- Water-damaged or fire-damaged cars
- Old cars and trucks, even if they don’t run
- Any other unwanted junk car that you need to get rid of!
On-the-spot Payment
We don't believe in haggling or going back on our word at the last minute. Upon collection, we'll pay you the cash we offered in our estimate. It's that straightforward. 100% guaranteed.
Taking Care of the Paperwork
We take care of all the paperwork. And if your junk car is so old that you don't have the papers for it, we can legally take care of that as well. We relieve you of this hassle – which is one of the main reasons people procrastinate about selling their junk cars in the first place!
Where Do All the Crushed Cars Go?
Once we have reduced the vehicle to what is essentially a metal shell, it is crushed flat. This makes it easy for bulk transportation to an industrial shredder or hammer mill.
At this stage of the process, the vehicles are further reduced to fist-sized chunks of metal. Any residual glass, plastic, and rubber are removed from the mix, and the metal is sold in batches of several tons to steel mills for recycling.
Metals are then shredded to promote the melting process. Smaller pieces have a larger surface to volume ratio and can be melted using comparatively less energy.
Scrap metal is melted in a large furnace. The electrolysis method is commonly used to purify the metal. Molten metal is then cooled and solidified, normally in specific forms, such as bars.
The metal bars are then transported to various factories where they are used as raw material for the production of brand new products.
The metal recycling process cycles again, years later, when the new products themselves come to the end of their useful life.
So you see, the end of life of your car, and so many other crushed cars, is the beginning of life for something new. Tha's a great reason to sell your junk car!
How to Prepare to Get Rid of Your Junk Car
We've covered the basics about getting in touch with us to get cash money for your car. But what are the things you can do beforehand to help the process along?
We've provided all the details about the easiest way to prepare to get rid of your car in this handy step-by-step guide.
Your main concerns should be ensuring you have left no personal belongings in the old car, and that you have all the available paperwork ready for our visit. You've already found the right buyer – Cash Cars Buyer!
What Are You Waiting For?
Getting cash for your junk car has never been easier. Just think, your yards could soon be clean and tidy, and you'll have cash in your pocket. You'll also have peace of mind that somewhere on the planet, your old junk has been transformed into something useful for someone else.
Now that you've read this article, we are sure you've realized some of the reasons why junkyards crush cars. They provide jobs for people along the entire supply chain, feed recycled material into the steel industry, and boost U.S. exports.
In the meantime, what you need to do is explore our website, and read our other blog posts such as the one telling you whether you can sell a junk car without the title in your name.
If you have any questions at all, we're more than happy to help you. All you have to do is give us a call. You'll find the number on the same page as our simple contact form.
There's no point in waiting any longer: do it today!