Enter a curb weight and what is still attached. The tool deducts 500 pounds for tyres and fluids, then applies the tracked shred rate as the floor and the complete-vehicle rate as the ceiling. Converter value is added separately, because it is priced by code rather than by weight.
The calculator
Today the tracked shred rate is $300 per ton and the complete-vehicle rate is $360. A quote lands between the two depending on what is still attached.
| Paid weight, after tyres and fluids | |
|---|---|
| Vehicle, shred floor to complete rate | |
| Converter, priced by code | |
| Aluminium wheels | |
| Indicative range |
Yards deduct roughly 500 lb for tyres and fluids before applying a rate. A car with the engine and gearbox out is quoted at the shred floor rather than the complete-vehicle rate. Converter values are set by the stamped code, not by weight. This is an estimate, not an offer.
Why this junk car value calculator gives a range
Every car scrap value estimator you will find online multiplies weight by a single rate. That produces a confident figure and a disappointed seller, because a yard is not working from one rate.
There are two, and both are tracked live on this site:
- The shred rate, which is what steel is worth. This is the floor. A stripped shell earns roughly this and nothing more.
- The complete-vehicle rate, which is what a buyer pays for a car that still has its engine, gearbox and converter. This is the ceiling.
A real quote lands between them, depending on what is still bolted in. Showing one number would mean picking a side and hiding the other, so the tool shows both.
The 500 pound deduction
The single biggest reason estimates come in high.
Yards subtract roughly 500 pounds for tyres and fluids before any rate is applied, because that is material they pay to dispose of rather than sell. On a 3,400 pound car, a sixth of the vehicle disappears before the arithmetic starts.
The weight page covers where to find your curb weight, including the two manufacturer methods for working it out when your model is not listed.
Why the converter sits on its own line
Because it is not priced by weight at all.
A catalytic converter is valued from its stamped code, which identifies the exact unit and its precious metal loading. Two converters of identical size and weight can differ by hundreds of dollars. The converter hub explains how the codes work.
The options in the tool reflect the broad bands rather than pretending to price your specific unit:
- Aftermarket, built to meet minimum emissions requirements at lower cost, so lower loadings.
- Standard OEM, the common case.
- Hybrid or high-grade, which carry the heaviest loadings on the road.
If yours is still fitted, get it quoted by code before accepting any whole-car offer.
What the tool deliberately does not do
Three things, and each omission is a decision rather than an oversight.
It does not price your postcode. Rates differ by around $50 to $60 per ton between the best and worst US states, driven by how many buyers can economically reach you. That is covered on the per-ton page, and no calculator can know your local buyer depth.
It does not add every part. Alternator, starter, wheels, radiator and the rest all have their own value, and adding them all would produce a fantasy total that assumes you strip the car and find a buyer for each piece. The parts ranking covers what is genuinely worth removing.
It does not promise anything. It is an estimate built from published benchmarks, not an offer.
How much is my car worth in scrap? Using this before you call a yard
The practical sequence.
Find your curb weight from the manufacturer's figure, or work it out as GVWR minus payload capacity from the door jamb labels.
Run the numbers with the engine and gearbox still fitted, which is how most cars are sold. Any scrap car price by weight calculator is only as good as the weight you feed it, so use your actual trim rather than a model average.
Call three buyers. Competition is what moves a quote, and the spread between yards is usually larger than any refinement this tool could add.
Compare their figure to the range. A quote below the shred floor means they are pricing a stripped car, and a quote near the top means they are paying for completeness. Either way you now know which conversation you are having.
What a yard is doing while you wait
Worth knowing, because it explains why quotes differ between two places that look identical.
A yard buying your car is making three judgements at once. What does it weigh, which they will verify on their own scale rather than take your word for. What is still on it, since a converter, engine and gearbox move the price from the shred floor toward the complete-vehicle rate. And what can they resell, because a yard with a busy parts counter can pay more than one that only shreds.
That third factor is the one no calculator can model. A dismantler who can sell your alternator, your wheels and your doors has more room in their offer than a shredder who cannot. It is also why the parts ranking matters even when you are selling whole: knowing what is valuable tells you whether a buyer is pricing it in.
When the estimate will be wrong
Three situations where the range above will not hold.
A rare or in-demand vehicle. If parts are scarce, a dismantler may pay well above any metal calculation, and the core value page covers why that market exists.
A hybrid or electric car. The battery changes the arithmetic entirely, sometimes upward and sometimes downward, and the hybrid pack page works through it.
Damage that stops it rolling. Collection costs come out of your figure, and a car that needs specialist recovery is quoted accordingly.
Before removing anything, the whole versus part-out guide works out which parts beat the drop to shred rate and which cost you money to pull.
The whole or part-out calculator runs this on your own vehicle: tick what you would pull and it works out whether it beats selling complete.
Rates around the world
Steel settles in US dollars, so the metal in a car is worth broadly the same everywhere. Currency and local buyer depth are what change.
Market Equivalent range Local market note United States $146.00 to 360.00 Deepest buyer pool. Even within the US, state to state runs $50 to $60 per ton apart. United Kingdom £103.68 to 255.65 Strong processing capacity. Battery and PGM material reported 20 to 40 percent above thin markets. Canada C$195.87 to 482.97 Similar structure to the US; thinner in the prairies and the north. Australia A$192.47 to 474.59 Good coastal capacity, long hauls inland. Distance is the main discount. Germany €128.23 to 316.19 Dense processing and strict documentation. Good grades pay well; paperwork matters. India ₹12,700 to 31,314 Large volume, but black mass export restrictions have compressed local payables. Bangladesh ৳15,794 to 38,944 Ferrous depth is good. Specialist converter, PGM and battery buyers are scarce. United Arab Emirates AED509.38 to 1,256 Re-export hub with real processing depth. Among the better-paying markets outside the West. Saudi Arabia SAR509.18 to 1,256 Growing capacity; specialist PGM and battery buyers still limited. Turkey ₺7,358 to 18,144 Major ferrous importer, so steel grades hold up better than non-ferrous here. South Africa R1,980 to 4,883 Reported below UAE and UK on battery material; processing infrastructure is the constraint. China CN¥961.41 to 2,371 Aggressive bidder on imported battery material; 2026 recycling rules moved payables down.
Treat these as an anchor rather than a local quote. The same competition logic applies internationally: dense processing markets pay closer to metal value.
Frequently asked questions
How accurate is a scrap car price calculator?
As accurate as the rates behind it and the assumptions it hides. This one uses two live benchmarks and shows a range rather than a single number, because a stripped shell and a complete car are quoted differently even at identical weight.
Why does the calculator subtract 500 pounds?
Because yards deduct roughly that much for tyres and fluids before applying any rate. That material costs them money to dispose of rather than earning them anything, so your paid weight runs below the published curb weight.
Why is the result shown as a range?
Because two rates apply. The shred rate is the floor, earned by a stripped shell, and the complete-vehicle rate is the ceiling, paid for a car that still has its engine, gearbox and converter. Real quotes land between them.
Why is the catalytic converter on a separate line?
Because it is priced by its stamped code rather than by weight. Two converters of the same size can differ by hundreds of dollars, so folding it into a per-pound calculation would be misleading.
Does the calculator account for where I live?
No, and no calculator honestly can. Rates differ by around $50 to $60 per ton between the best and worst US states, driven by how many buyers can economically reach you. Calling three local buyers settles that faster than any tool.
Should I strip the car before selling it?
Usually not. Removing the engine, gearbox and converter drops you from the complete-vehicle rate to the shred floor, and the tool shows that shift directly when you change the engine setting.
Where do I find my curb weight?
From the manufacturer's published figure for your year and trim, or by subtracting payload capacity from GVWR using the labels in the driver's door area. Both methods are covered on the weight page.
Is this an offer or a guarantee?
Neither. It is an estimate built from published benchmarks that move daily. Use it to judge whether a quote is reasonable, not as a figure to hold a buyer to.