Americans love their cars. So much so that there are almost 300 million cars in the entire country; that’s nearly one car per person.
Naturally, that means a lot of cars are seeing their final days with each passing year. Every single one will break down to the point where practically no one wants them. That is, except for one type of business: scrapyards.
What do people who buy junk cars do with vehicles that seem so utterly useless? Believe it or not, there’s a fair bit of money to be made in this business.
Let’s discuss just a few of the reasons someone might purchase a junk car.
People Who Buy Junk Cars Sell Parts
When you head to your local self-serve junkyard, take a look at the vehicles. Many of them, from the outside, appear fine. It’s usually just one unfixable problem, like a busted transmission.
An old car may never be roadworthy again. Yet even vehicle scrap is a goldmine for spare parts. Despite a dead engine, many small components still work perfectly.
Scrap value comes in the form of used headlights, blinkers, tires, radios, and more. It doesn’t take much effort to remove these items from an old car. Then, a junkyard can sell them used to recoup the loss from the purchase.
They Sell Scrap Metal
Metals of all kinds are a precious resource. It takes a ton of resources to get them out of the earth and a ton more to refine them. Recycling, though, tends to be cheaper.
Sure, there’s a lot of rust, paint, and plastic to remove. But once you strip away those things, you have viable metal. Scrap yards will often sell metal from vehicle scrap for a decent return.
This is especially the case for high-value metals, such as copper. Taking the effort to rip out old copper wiring is a headache most aren’t willing to endure. Scrapyards excel in doing so cheaply while still making a profit.
They Restore the Car
In some rare cases, your junkyard wants to return the car to its former glory. Namely, big-name brands or classic vehicles with timeless value.
Say, for example, a rusted, broken Corvette rolls onto the lot. It would take thousands of dollars to renovate and restore it. That’s not an investment most people are willing to make.
A junkyard has connections. They can find someone who is willing to take the effort to refurbish a vehicle. You’d be surprised how much one could ask for a restored vehicle–even one previously rusting in a landfill.
Sell Your Vehicle Scrap Today
People who buy junk cars can do a lot to make money off of them. In most cases, they resell leftover components or raw materials in the form of recycled metal. The rest of the time, they give over classic vehicles to professionals for restoration. Have more burning questions on your mind? Follow our blog for interesting articles to sate your curiosity.