If a car is badly damaged in an accident or it is of no economic benefit, it must be disposed of. Whereas in the past it was common to simply park old cars in the scrap yard, today a complex recycling process takes place. In the course of modern car recycling, valuable spare parts are removed and environmentally harmful substances are disposed of safely.

Read more: Mileage: This is how mileage affects used spare parts

What happens to a vehicle during car recycling

When a wrecked car is delivered to the car recycler, it goes through various steps in the course of recycling. Depending on the vehicle, the type of vehicle and the recycling company, the processes may differ slightly. As a rule, however, the recycling of end-of-life vehicles proceeds as follows:

• Removing the batteries and gas tank: The first step is to remove the batteries from the car to be disposed of in order to dispose of them in an environmentally correct manner. For vehicles with a gas tank, this is emptied or removed in accordance with the applicable safety regulations. Furthermore, the pyrotechnic components such as airbags are removed or rendered harmless by the trained personnel.
• Drain liquids: Cars contain various liquids, some of which are environmentally hazardous or flammable. The various liquids must be drained or extracted before the vehicle can be recycled further. These include, for example, fuels such as diesel or petrol, but also the cooling water, refrigerant from air conditioning systems or any remaining windscreen sprinkler liquid. All liquids must be carefully collected so that they can be disposed of separately afterwards.
• Removing spare parts: The third step in end-of-life vehicle recycling is the removal of spare parts. Every vehicle consists of thousands of individual parts, many of which can be reused without any problems. Also, some components, such as the catalytic converter, contain valuable raw materials like precious metals that can be recovered in the course of further recycling. Many recyclers mark the car parts immediately after removal and assess the condition and quality of the removed parts.
• Pressing the car: Once all fluids have been drained and all recyclable parts have been removed from the car, the vehicle is pressed. Most recyclers have their own scrap press for this purpose, which presses the body of the vehicle together with high pressure. The result is a cuboid block easy to transport. Since most car recycling companies do not have their own shredder, another transport step becomes necessary.
• Shredding the vehicle: In the fifth step, the remaining part of the worn-out vehicle is shredded. Since the shredding equipment required for this is expensive and complex in design, this step is usually not carried out at the car scrap yard itself. Instead, there are special companies that offer shredding in large-scale facilities. In the process known as fractionation, the remaining components of the vehicle are smashed into small pieces. This shredded material is then sorted by fully automated equipment. In this process, metal components such as the steel of the car body are separated out by magnets. The modern systems can also sort out other metals such as aluminium, as well as plastics, electronic components or rubber.
• Making spare parts available for purchase: The sixth and final step involves the car recycler once again. Here, the employees have meanwhile checked, sorted and often photographed the removed spare parts. The parts can be offered for sale directly afterwards, to be installed in another car. This is how a second life begins for the car parts. Customers have the opportunity to buy original car parts at a particularly favourable price.

The difference between car recycling and scrapping

The terms car recycling and car scrapping are sometimes used interchangeably, but this is not entirely correct. Especially in earlier times, old cars often ended up in a scrap yard without being disposed of in an environmentally suitable manner or recovered as raw materials. At the car scrap yard, however, car drivers and mechanics could dismantle spare parts themselves at low cost.

What remained of the old car was then scrapped in some way. Modern car recycling has a different approach. Here, the aim is to remove as many intact parts and raw materials from the car as possible and to feed them into a further life cycle. Scrapping in the actual sense only takes place after these steps. Even then, materials and raw materials are again separated by type.

Advantages of modern car recycling

• Environmental protection: In the course of environmentally correct car scrapping, all hazardous liquids are collected and disposed of in accordance with regulations. The remaining components are also subdivided according to material and type and recycled in an environmentally friendly manner in each case.
• Spare parts: Car recyclers also reduce the burden on the environment by removing spare parts that are still intact. These parts can be installed in other cars without any problems. Drivers thus have the opportunity to acquire original car parts – g. an engine – at a favourable price.
• Proof of recycling: Certified car recyclers will issue proof of the environmentally correct disposal of the car upon request. In Germany, such a certificate of destruction is required in order to be able to finally decommission the vehicle at the registration office.
• Collection: Many car recyclers offer free collection of the worn-out vehicle. Especially in the case of vehicles that are no longer roadworthy after an accident or engine damage, this is a great advantage.

How car recyclers offer used spare parts on Autoparts24

Numerous car recyclers from all over Europe now offer their spare parts on Autoparts24, and new recyclers are added regularly. A prerequisite for selling car parts on the Autoparts24 platform is registration as a dealer. Only reliable and certified car recyclers are admitted as partners and are allowed to present their car parts on the sales platform.

As soon as all requirements have been met, the range of used car parts can be entered into the system. For each spare part, important information such as the condition, the OEM number and, of course, the corresponding vehicle model is stored.

Important details such as the mileage of the car when the car parts were removed, or the colour are also listed. All information, as well as numerous original photos of the spare part, are later available to the customer. This makes it much easier to select the desired car part at Autoparts24.

Buy cheap parts from car recycling at Autoparts24

At Autoparts24 you can easily buy used spare parts without first having to contact various car recyclers. The parts you need are conveniently placed in the shopping basket at the click of a mouse and delivered promptly to your home or workshop once the order has been completed.

To make sure that you order the right part, you should compare the OE number or original number of the part in question. The detailed photos attached to each spare part also enable a good comparison between the existing car part and the one on offer.

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