How Do I Get the Best Scrap Value for My Car?

When your COE expires after 10 years, it means that your car has come to the end of its legal lifespan. This is applicable for all cars in Singapore. As the owner of the vehicle, you can then decide if you would like to forgo the redemption of the preferential additional registration fee (PARF) value on your vehicle and renew your COE by paying the prevailing quota premium. If you would prefer the option of scrapping your car in Singapore, you will have to go through a process with LTA to get rid of your car with a LTA-approved scrap yard or exporter. You might even sell your car to a motor dealer who will pay you upfront for the car - after which you do not need to care how the dealer handles the car. Whichever is the case, getting the best scrap value for your car is always a desirable thing. Here are some ways that you can get a good price on your car.

If your car isn’t a discontinued model at the point of scrapping your car, you might want to do a little research on which LTA-appointed scrapyard actively deals in reconditioned car parts for your particular vehicle make and model. There was a point in time where scrap yards were paying a premium on Toyota Estimas / Toyota Previas, as many of them were being renewed for use beyond their original 10 year lifespan, which meant that there was also good demand for used and reconditioned Estima / Previa parts.

By finding a scrapyard who deals with these used and reconditioned parts, you might be able to get a higher scrap value from that particular scrapyard. That said, it's easier said than done, with many of these scrap yards still running very traditional setups. This means that it is actually pretty hard to find this sort of information online, and you’ll likely have to call each one up to get a quote. It's quite a bit of work, but if you’re keen to squeeze out a couple of thousand dollars more on your scrap value, this might be a good way to look if you own a vehicle that is mainstream in nature and is of a popular make and model.

When I was scrapping my old Opel Insignia a couple of years back, many local dealers couldn’t be bothered with the car, as its parts weren't really in demand. As such, I got pretty lousy quotes from car dealers and local scrap yards alike. Fortunately though, I met a car exporter who was keen to buy my car for a couple of thousand above market value, as they would be able to export the car to New Zealand or Latvia, places where the Opel Insignia was popular for day-to-day use. Once again, this process can be a little difficult to conduct online, and will likely require numerous phone calls to be made in order to establish the best quote - which can yield a higher scrap value for your car, but may consume some time in the process. This is a good way to go if you are driving a car that is of a more niche nature, and is not really popular here in Singapore, but possibly popular in another country or another part of the world.

Truthfully, the process of deregistering your car in Singapore can be a rather painful one, with the process requiring quite a few steps to be completed correctly in order for you to properly deregister your vehicle in Singapore. From settling any possible outstanding loans on the car before even being able to start the de-registration process, to selecting whether or not you’ll be scrapping your car or exporting your car, to choosing an approved scrapyard or exporter, to finally redeeming your PARF value - it can all be a little time consuming, not to mention the amount of time you’ll spend sourcing the best scrap value from the various scrap yards or exporters.

Instead of going through all that, there is a good case to be made to put your vehicle up on a bidding platform instead, where your vehicle details will be circulated for 24 hours, before the car dealer with the highest quote gets matched with you. In this process, you are essentially selling your car to a car dealer instead of undertaking the deregistration process yourself. Of course, the dealer might still end up scrapping your car, but there is also the chance that if your car is in great condition, the dealer might deem it viable for COE renewal, in which case, your car could be worth more to a dealer than a scrap yard. Either way, the process is obligation free, and does not cost you anything to try - but could potentially save you a lot of time. Try it out right here.

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