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What is an Automotive Salvage Yard vs a Metal Scrap Yard?

September 23, 2015

Do you have a junk car that you want to sell but don’t know whether to take it to an automotive salvage yard or a metal scrap yard? There are several distinctions between each yard, and knowing where to take your car can put more money in your pocket. Let’s check out the differences between the two.

What is an Automotive Salvage Yard?

Automotive salvage yards are also known as junkyards, auto recycling centers, scrap yards or parts yard (just to name a few), and many of these operate in similar ways. Salvage yards buy wrecked cars, whether they be not running or beyond repair, to sell the parts in their yards. The cars provide much more value to the yard than what they originally paid, because they can sell all of the parts individually, meaning they can buy the car for a higher price than metal scrap yards.

Many yards drain the fluids from the vehicles and place the cars in a lot for their customers who then come and pull the used auto parts from the cars themselves for much lower prices than buying new parts from an auto part store. Some salvage yards even go as far as taking all of the usable parts off the cars themselves and selling them to the public at their facility.

Once all of the usable parts have been picked from the vehicles, the cars are crushed and the scrap metal is sold to a metal recycling center or refinery. These processes ensure that all the parts on the vehicles are recycled, even the gas and motor oil, as automotive salvage yards are some of the most eco-friendly businesses. Using all of the parts on the vehicle and recycling the metal reduces the pollution and expense from making new parts and reduces emissions from the making of steel.

Looking to sell your junk car? Check out GO Pull-It’s Sell Your Car Tool for an instant quote.

What is a Metal Scrap Yard?

At a metal scrap yard, the yard buys scrap metal from various sources, usually by the pound but some by the ton, and pays based on the type of metal being recycled. The metal can come from all kinds of places, ranging from a construction site or from industrial waste, and does not have to be all metal. Types of metal usually consist of copper, aluminum or cast zinc and can come in any form, such as old appliances, aluminum cans, copper wire or cars.

These metal scrap yards essentially buy small quantities of different types of scrap metal, which is then gathered together to sell at a premium to refineries. The refineries will usually only buy in large volume from a well-established supplier, so contracts are important to metal scrap yards who want to make money off the metal they buy.

All of the metal is recycled in the end process, making these scrap yards equally as eco-friendly as their salvage yard counterparts.

If you are looking to sell your scrap metal, make sure to sort out your metals into categories, ask questions to make sure you are bringing in the proper metals, then get your metals weighed by category and get paid.

Wondering where to find the best scrap yard? You can easily find a metal scrap yard in your area by Googling “metal scrap yards near me” for the best results.

Category: salvage yard

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