Used Car Desposal: Your Guide

If you're about to drop off your vehicle at an auto wrecking facility, and you have never sold a car to this type of business before, these are the key tips you must try to remember.

Ensure that the car is hygienic and free from bad odours

You do not need to deep-clean every inch of your vehicle before taking it to the auto wrecker because businesses like this are accustomed to buying vehicles that are in a neglected state. It does not, for example, matter if the windows are dusty or if there is some dirt on the tyres.

However, it is a good idea to make sure that the vehicle is in a reasonably hygienic state and that it is free from any pungent odours. If the vehicle features quite a few parts that can be reused, the employees of the auto-wrecking facility will need to climb into the car and retrieve these. In order to show some consideration for these people and to not make this job not highly unpleasant for them, you should try to ensure that the car is somewhat sanitary.

If for instance, your dog urinated in the car a few times, and the odour from these accidents still lingers on the car seats, or if you spilt a milkshake on the floor, and it now smells of sour milk, you should get some car interior shampoo and scrub the upholstery until these smells are gone. Likewise, if there are any mouldy wrappers from half-eaten snacks, you should remove these. Whilst the presence of these smells and rubbish will not result in the auto-wrecker declining to buy the vehicle, it would be discourteous to give it to them in such an unsanitary condition that their employees have to wear masks and gloves to avoid getting ill whilst removing parts from it.

Remove any fluids from the vehicle if the caps on the reservoirs are missing

If the car you'll be handing into the auto-wrecker hasn't been driven for months or years and is, as a result of this, missing a few items, including some of the caps that seal the reservoirs which hold its transmission, engine oil, brake or coolant fluids, then you should siphon the fluids out of these unsealed containers before handing the car over. If you cannot do this, you should at least tell the auto-wrecker employees about this issue so that they can do the siphoning for you.

The reason for this is that if these fluids are left in these open reservoirs when the auto-wreckers take the car and use their crane to stack it onto an existing pile of vehicles, the fluids might seep out of these containers during the stacking process and either drip onto the people near the pile or onto the other cars. The former could leave these people with irritated skin or even injured eyes (if the drops land on their faces) whilst the latter might increase the chance of the other vehicles catching on fire (if the fluids that happen to fall on them are flammable or combustible).

To learn more about selling your car to a wrecking facility, contact auto wreckers in your area.