The Scrap Merchant

It is good money, but you need good money to set it all up in the first place, so I don't begrudge scrappies or anyone else for profiting from scrap vehicles.

mrcheerful

What else are they *supposed* to do? Since when have scrappies been a charity?

well dont pay the 30 quid and break it yourself then.

You patently have no idea how much it costs to become an officially recognised vehicle dismantler these days, or how difficult it can be to get permission to set up as one in the first place.

That, and you left the stereo in... 'Stupid boy, Pike'

Eh, well they could give people a *little* bit more for their old cars? Is that not possible?

That really doesn't make sense. It's good money but you need good money so it's ok. Well that's that cleared up then. Not.

neutron (neutron(abcde)@f.off.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

It does to me.

OK, so you've spotted a niche in the market with excellent profit margins - why don't you exploit it, and set up in competition to that yard? After all, you think you can pay more for the raw materials and charge less for your sales, so you'll have no shortage of business, right? And still make an excellent profit, you reckon.

Odd how it makes perfect sense to those of us With Clue.

I'll explain a bit more then: To set up a legal, decent scrap yard in a sensible area you would need a minimum of about 200,000 pounds, therefore you can reasonably expect to get a large amount of return on your money, which is why they charge for bits and no doubt the total income from some cars is quite good.

Do you or anyone you know, work or invest and NOT expect a good return?

mrcheerful

Give *more* for an older car that's far *less* likely to make them any money?

Do you think these people do it for love?

Scrapping cars is a funny thing though - you can tow it to a scrap metal merchant, who'll weigh it in and pay you the scrap value (which these days can apparently be around 20-25 quid), but if you take it to a breaker's yard, they'll charge you £25-30 to take it in - quite often even if you get it there yourself, on the basis of all the new environmental laws regarding disposal of fuel/brake fluid etc.

So do the scrap metal people have different laws apply to them, or is it often to do with the type of ground that it's on (some scrap metal places I've seen have got big concrete floors, possibly meaning stuff like brake fluid doesn't sink into the ground and pollute the soil etc, so easily, who know) ?

Peter

It's a simple concept called running a business. You have setup costs to bear, and you expect to run at a worthwhile profit.

Peter

Well... I'm sure it doesn't cost *that* much, but a breakers yard generally takes more care of a vehicle - one of the main ones round here, has a really expensive looking 'racking' system they slot all the cars into. Your average scrap merchant just throws the cars onto of one another.

The other thing is, most breakers allow the public to remove parts themselves - this means liability insurance etc., all of which costs money.

Not that much money, mind, I'm sure.

It's a dirty s***ty job. It deserves a fair return. If they could buy the =A320 headlamps new from Ford they wouldn't need the= =20 scrappy.

--=20 Carl Robson Car PC Build starts again.

On the contrary, they provide a valuable service to people who run older cars, where the cost of some new replacement parts can be more than the value of the car. Like when recently a bleed nipple snapped off one of my brake callipers. Like when I needed an engine after one dropped its valves. Or when it was easier to swap a driveshaft than replace the CV joint. I've haunted the scrapyards since I was a teenager - couln't have run a car through uni without them. That was in the days of "that engine's £25, it smokes a bit, or you can have a good 'un for £40" - and it was the £25 engine that went in!

The same laws apply. But the metal dealers value it just as that - metal. And they won't take them (at least not the ones I use) unless you've drained the car yourself. You have to sign a form to confirm it. Neither will they take tyres.

OTOH the last two cars I weighed in netted me over £40 each scrap value!

I never throw metal away. I pile it all together until I have enough to weigh in. There's an engine block and stuff sitting there now - as soon as I'm confident I don't need the head there I'll pay another visit to Mr Payne!

Welcome to a capital society. ITS CALLED RUNNING A BUSINESS.

A scrappie I worked at in sales employed nearly a dozen people. It was one of those ones that dismantles the car, cleans the parts and shrinkwraps them. We were taking in excess of £1000 a day and it wasn't enough to meet the bills.

What I find really strange is that people are unwilling to spend a couple hundred quid a year to maintain their car, and will even shop around for the cheapest price, and then moan like f*ck if the workmanship is s*it.

But, they will go and spend £100 per week in the supermarket to buy food and other stuff and simply accept the prices, and will they complain if something is crap - not often.

How about next time you go shopping you ask the shop manager to give a discount because they made a £100 million profit last year?

No?

Then why not let a garage make a few thousand.

well said Andy that's a similar analogy we use at work, telling the customers try going to Sainsbury's fill yer trolley up till's its bursting take it to the check-out and ask for discount or try and pay for it in a weeks time !

That's business, you should try it sometime. Nothing wrong with making a buck.

Yes, unfortunately I've been using it for years, and indeed into decades now.

Unfortunately I see with an open mind that the issues involving the motor trade work from both sides of the counter. There's an equal level of hypocrisy from both the garages and and the customers alike IME.