If you have an old and broken-down vehicle, taking it to a junkyard allows you to trade it for cash and have it taken off your hands. When looking for a salvage yard to accept your automobile, you may wonder what type of junk car you have and what factors will impact its value. Some can be used for parts, while others are only suitable for recycling. To decide which you have, look at these three criteria.

3 Ways to Tell If You Have a Scrap or Salvage Car

1. Can It Be Fixed?

Salvage cars have a limited set of fixable problems which leave many parts of the car and engine in usable condition. It may not be financially worth it to fix them, but it is doable. Scrap cars, on the other hand, are completely broken down; repairing them would require replacing too many major structural elements or internal components to make sense.

2. Does It Have Usable Parts?

Junkyards rely on reselling parts from the salvage cars they accept. Among your car's doors, body panels, engine parts, electrical components, and other parts, they’re looking for elements that are lightly worn, not damaged by collision, and able to be installed in other cars. If your car doesn't have many parts in good condition, it's only useful as scrap.

3. How Valuable Is It?

A salvage car is still a functional used car which can be made roadworthy, meaning that whichever junkyard buys it has options regarding how to use it. Newer cars with fewer problems are most likely to fall into this category. Scrap cars, on the other hand, aren't ever going to be useful as vehicles again, so their value is limited to the price of their metal.

If you have a scrap or salvage car that needs to be taken to the junkyard, call Roadrunner Recycling in San Marcos, TX. Serving Hays County and surrounding areas, they offer top prices on cars and other scrap metal. They also sell used cars at affordable prices under $10,000. For questions, contact them at (512) 353-4511. Learn more about their services online.