Small car motors weigh 2 to 6 pounds each and grade as mixed motors at roughly $0.20 per pound, so a single window motor is worth under a dollar. The number that matters is the threshold: some yards want 100 pounds minimum, and the same 100 pound lot can bring $5 or $20 depending on which buyer you call.
The bucket question
Every scrapper who strips cars ends up with a bucket of small motors. Windows, seats, mirrors, wipers, blowers, and on modern cars a surprising number more.
They feel like they should be worth something, because they are motors and motors contain copper. The power window motor scrap value is almost nothing individually, and the interesting question is not the price per motor but how many you need before the trip pays.
Copper per motor, weighed
The copper is real and it is measurable, but the share is smaller than people assume.
The small electric motor scrap price rests on copper share, and published figures put it at 7 to 18 percent of total weight, varying by type:
- Small motors: 9 to 10 percent copper
- Medium appliance motors: 10 to 13 percent
- DC motors: 15 to 18 percent
- Automotive starters and alternators: 10 to 16 percent
Steel makes up about 90 percent of the remaining mass, forming the casing and rotor laminations. That is why a motor is priced as a mixed commodity grade rather than as copper.
So how much copper in a window motor? On a 3 pound unit at the small-motor rate, roughly 4 to 5 ounces. Real, and worth about the same as a cup of coffee.
The aluminium winding trap
One check before you collect anything, because it decides whether the whole exercise is worth starting.
Small motors from tools, fans and appliances are described as often aluminium-wound and low value. Automotive motors are usually copper, but not always.
Scratch a winding with a file. Copper shows reddish; aluminium appears white. It takes seconds and it separates a bucket worth collecting from one that is not. The EV motor page uses the same test at much larger scale.
Today's rates and the buyer spread
Route or component Basis Notes Value today (USD) Measurement What the figure is based on What changes it Computed from the live rate unless marked a reference Working window regulator and motor, used part Per unit The only route that beats pennies $20 to $90 100 lb collected lot to a copper-paying recycler About 30 motors The same lot a general yard values at about $5 $15 to $20 100 lb collected lot to a general yard About 30 motors Mixed grade, roughly $0.20 per lb $5.00 to $5.00 Blower or wiper motor, single 3 to 6 lb The heaviest of the small motors $0.60 to $1.20 Window or seat motor, single 2 to 5 lb Mixed grade; cents each $0.40 to $1.00 Mirror motor, single Under 1 lb Not worth handling individually $0.10 to $0.20
The two lot rows in that table are the whole argument, and they come from a published example.
A yard quoting the mixed electric motor rate pays around $0.20 per pound. A recycler who prices closer to copper value pays substantially more for identical material. One recycler put it in figures: the same 50 pound motor is worth about $5 at a yard that lumps it into mixed scrap, or $15 to $20 at a recycler who pays closer to copper value.
That is a three to four times spread on one phone call. On a bucket of small motors it is the difference between the trip being worth making and not.
The trip break-even threshold
Here is the arithmetic nobody publishes, worked from the figures above.
Some yards require a minimum of 100 pounds of material before they will weigh motors at all. A car window motor runs 2 to 5 pounds, so:
- 100 pounds is roughly 25 to 40 small motors, which is the output of five to ten stripped cars.
- At the general-yard rate that lot is worth about $20.
- At a copper-paying recycler it might reach $60 to $80.
So the honest threshold is: do not make a special trip under 100 pounds, and do not make one at all without calling two buyers first. Below that, the motors ride along with a larger load or they stay in the bucket.
One recycler states the small-motor case directly: fractional units under 20 pounds may net minimal returns, and the advice is to collect until you hit a weight threshold. On car motors that means a lot of collecting.
Seat, wiper, blower: the cousins
The same grade, different weights, so the collecting order is worth knowing.
- Blower motor, the heaviest at 3 to 6 pounds, and the easiest to reach on most cars.
- Wiper motor, 3 to 5 pounds, usually a single unit with a linkage attached. Wiper motor copper content follows the same small-motor band as the rest.
- Seat motors, 2 to 5 pounds each, and there can be four or more per seat on a powered car.
- Window motors, 2 to 5 pounds, one per door.
- Mirror motors, under a pound, and genuinely not worth the minutes.
If you are collecting for weight, take blowers and wipers first and leave mirror motors alone.
Strip them or sell them whole?
The verdict from the trade is unusually consistent, and it is the opposite of what people expect.
Most electric motors are not worth dismantling. The copper content is not a high enough share to justify the time it takes to separate it from the casing and laminations. Larger motors change that calculation, since more copper sits behind the same amount of cutting.
Small car motors are the extreme case: the least copper, the fiddliest casings, the worst return per minute. Sell them whole.
That is the same conclusion the alternator page reaches on a much bigger motor, and the ignition coil page reaches on a part where separating actually lost the seller money.
The route that beats all of this
Worth stating plainly, because it dwarfs everything above.
A working window regulator and motor is a used part with real buyers, since window failures are common and replacement assemblies are not cheap. One tested working unit can be worth more than the entire bucket as scrap.
So the sorting rule when a car comes apart: test the motor, and if it runs, it goes on the parts shelf rather than in the scrap bucket. Only dead ones belong in the collection.
Small motor prices around the world
Copper and steel settle in US dollars, so the metal in a motor is worth the same everywhere. Currency and local buyer depth are what change.
Market Equivalent range Local market note United States $0.10 to 90.00 Deepest buyer pool. Even within the US, state to state runs $50 to $60 per ton apart. United Kingdom £0.07 to 63.91 Strong processing capacity. Battery and PGM material reported 20 to 40 percent above thin markets. Canada C$0.13 to 120.74 Similar structure to the US; thinner in the prairies and the north. Australia A$0.13 to 118.65 Good coastal capacity, long hauls inland. Distance is the main discount. Germany €0.09 to 79.05 Dense processing and strict documentation. Good grades pay well; paperwork matters. India ₹8.70 to 7,829 Large volume, but black mass export restrictions have compressed local payables. Bangladesh ৳10.82 to 9,736 Ferrous depth is good. Specialist converter, PGM and battery buyers are scarce. United Arab Emirates AED0.35 to 314.00 Re-export hub with real processing depth. Among the better-paying markets outside the West. Saudi Arabia SAR0.35 to 313.88 Growing capacity; specialist PGM and battery buyers still limited. Turkey ₺5.04 to 4,536 Major ferrous importer, so steel grades hold up better than non-ferrous here. South Africa R1.36 to 1,221 Reported below UAE and UK on battery material; processing infrastructure is the constraint. China CN¥0.66 to 592.65 Aggressive bidder on imported battery material; 2026 recycling rules moved payables down.
Treat these as an anchor rather than a local quote. The buyer spread described above exists in every market, so calling two yards matters more here than the metal price does.
The same pattern repeats across the vehicle. The buyer routing guide sets out what a general yard pays against a specialist, part by part.
Questions people actually ask
"Is hoarding scrap motors worth it?"
Only to a point. Collect until you have 100 pounds or a load going anyway, then sell. Beyond that you are storing pennies, and copper prices move enough that waiting is a gamble rather than a strategy.
"What is the mixed motors bucket price?"
Around $0.20 per pound at a general yard, which puts a 100 pound bucket near $20. A recycler paying closer to copper value can triple that for the same material.
"What is the electric motor price per pound today?"
The mixed grade runs about $0.20 per pound. Clean stripped copper is many times that, which is why the temptation to dismantle exists, and why the labour rarely justifies it on small units.
Common mistakes
- Making a special trip with a partial bucket, when some yards want 100 pounds minimum.
- Taking one price without calling around, when the same lot can differ threefold between buyers.
- Dismantling small motors for copper, where the share is 9 to 10 percent and the casings are fiddly.
- Collecting aluminium-wound motors without checking, when a file test settles it in seconds.
- Scrapping a working window regulator, which is worth more as a used part than the whole bucket.
- Bothering with mirror motors, which weigh under a pound each.
- Hoarding indefinitely, since copper prices move and stored pennies stay pennies.
Figures on this page are indicative buyer references rather than futures-linked rates. Mixed motor rates, minimum weights and the buyer spread are published 2025 and 2026 market references and vary by yard, so call before hauling.
Frequently asked questions
What is the window motor scrap price today?
A single window motor weighs 2 to 5 pounds and grades as mixed motors at roughly $0.20 per pound, so it is worth well under a dollar. The meaningful figure is the lot price: 100 pounds is about 25 to 40 motors and brings roughly $20 at a general yard.
How much copper is in a window motor?
Small motors run 9 to 10 percent copper by weight, so a 3 pound unit holds roughly 4 to 5 ounces. Steel makes up about 90 percent of the remaining mass, which is why motors are priced as a mixed commodity grade rather than as copper.
Is it worth stripping small motors for copper?
No. The trade view is consistent that most electric motors are not worth dismantling, because the copper share does not justify the time. Small car motors are the extreme case: least copper, fiddliest casings, worst return per minute.
How many motors do I need to make a trip worthwhile?
Some yards require 100 pounds minimum before they will weigh motors at all. At 2 to 5 pounds each that is roughly 25 to 40 small motors, or the output of five to ten stripped cars. Below that, let them ride with a larger load.
Why do two yards quote such different prices?
Because they grade differently. One recycler's published example puts the same 50 pound motor at about $5 at a yard that lumps it into mixed scrap, against $15 to $20 at a recycler who prices closer to copper value. That is a three to four times spread on one phone call.
How do I tell copper windings from aluminium?
Scratch a winding with a file. Copper shows reddish, aluminium appears white. Small motors from tools, fans and appliances are often aluminium-wound and low value, so the check is worth doing before you collect a bucketful.
What is the blower motor scrap value compared to a window motor?
Slightly more, because it is heavier at 3 to 6 pounds against 2 to 5. Both grade the same way, so if you are collecting for weight, blowers and wipers are the ones to take first and mirror motors are the ones to skip.
What is a seat motor scrap value?
The same mixed grade as a window motor at 2 to 5 pounds each. The difference is quantity, since a powered seat can carry four or more motors, which makes seats a better source than doors on a car that has them.
Should I sell a working window motor separately?
Yes. Window failures are common and replacement regulator assemblies are not cheap, so one tested working unit can be worth more than an entire bucket of dead motors as scrap. Test before the bucket.
Is hoarding scrap motors worth it?
Up to a point. Collect until you have 100 pounds or a load going anyway, then sell. Beyond that you are storing pennies, and copper prices move enough that holding longer is a gamble rather than a strategy.