If you are searching for a scrap price, you are probably expecting a weight calculation. That is one way vehicles get priced — but it is usually not the one that pays you most, and it is worth understanding why.
How a Pure Scrap Price Works
A scrap operation weighs the car and multiplies by the current rate per ton for shredded automotive steel, less their processing margin. That is the whole model.
Rough curb weights:
| Vehicle | Typical weight |
|---|---|
| Compact sedan | 2,600 – 3,000 lbs |
| Midsize sedan | 3,100 – 3,500 lbs |
| Crossover / small SUV | 3,500 – 4,200 lbs |
| Full-size SUV | 5,000 – 5,800 lbs |
| Full-size pickup | 4,500 – 6,000 lbs |
This is most of the reason a truck pays so much more than a sedan even when it is in worse mechanical shape — there is simply twice as much of it.
Why Scrap Rates Move
Scrap steel is a traded commodity. Its price responds to mill demand, construction activity and export markets, and it can shift week to week.
Two practical consequences:
- A quote from three months ago is not a quote today.
- Anyone who gives you a fixed price without asking anything about the vehicle is guessing, and that guess will be revised downward when they arrive.
Where a Recycler Prices Differently
We are a licensed recycler, not a weigh-and-crush operation, and that changes the arithmetic.
Before the shell is scrapped, the components with resale demand come off: engine, transmission, alternator, starter, catalytic converter, doors, headlamps, electronic modules, sometimes seats and glass. Those are worth considerably more as parts than as shredded steel.
So the sequence is parts first, metal second — and for any vehicle with a usable drivetrain, that produces a higher number than weight alone.
Where the two converge is on a car that has already been stripped, or one whose drivetrain is gone. At that point there is little left but the metal, and a scrap quote and ours land in much the same place.
The Catalytic Converter
Worth separating out, because it is the single biggest line item people overlook.
The converter contains platinum, palladium and rhodium, and it has its own market. A vehicle missing its converter is worth $150 to $500 less — and that is true whether you are selling to a scrap yard or to us.
If yours was stolen, which is common across Chicago, say so when you call. The quote you are given will account for it, and the number will not change when the driver arrives.
What We Pay
| Vehicle type | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Compact sedan, 2000–2010 | $500 – $900 |
| Midsize sedan, 2005–2015 | $600 – $1,400 |
| SUV or crossover | $700 – $2,200 |
| Full-size pickup | $900 – $3,500 |
| Late-model, rebuildable damage | $2,500 – $15,000 |
More on the market side in our guide to scrap metal prices in Chicago.
Call (773) 939-3333 with the year, make, model and what is missing. Firm number on the call, cash at pickup, free towing.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How is a scrap price for a vehicle calculated?
A pure scrap operation weighs the vehicle and multiplies by the current price per ton for shredded auto steel, minus their processing margin. A typical sedan runs 2,800 to 3,500 lbs, a full-size truck 4,500 to 6,000 lbs, which is most of why trucks pay so much more.
Why is your quote higher than a scrap yard's?
Because we price recoverable parts first and metal second. If your engine, transmission or catalytic converter have resale demand, those are worth more as components than as shredded steel. A weight-only quote ignores that entirely.
Do scrap prices change?
Yes, sometimes weekly. Scrap steel is a traded commodity and it moves with demand from mills and with export markets. That is why a quote from three months ago is not a quote today, and why anyone giving you a fixed price without asking about the vehicle is guessing.
Does my car need to be complete to scrap it?
No, but completeness matters to the price. A vehicle missing its engine or transmission has lost both recoverable-part value and a meaningful amount of weight. Missing a bumper or a door barely registers.
Do you charge for towing a scrap vehicle?
No. Towing is included, and the quoted number is the cash you receive.