Once your car is on the truck and you’ve got cash in hand, it’s easy to stop thinking about it — but a lot happens to that vehicle afterward, and most of it is more useful than people expect.

Step 1: Fluids and hazardous materials come out first

Before anything else happens, engine oil, transmission fluid, coolant, brake fluid, and the battery are drained and removed. These are handled separately so they don’t contaminate the metal recycling process or leach into the ground — this is one of the real environmental benefits of scrapping through a proper channel instead of letting a car sit and rust.

Step 2: Usable parts are pulled

Depending on the vehicle’s condition, working parts get pulled for resale — engines, transmissions, alternators, starters, body panels, wheels, and catalytic converters are the most common. This is the part of the process that actually keeps good parts in circulation instead of manufacturing new ones from raw materials, and it’s a meaningful chunk of the used auto parts market in the Lower Mainland.

Step 3: What’s left gets recycled for metal

Once the useful parts are removed, the remaining shell — mostly steel, aluminum, and other metals — goes to a metal recycler to be shredded and processed into raw material for new steel products. Cars are one of the most heavily recycled consumer products that exist; the vast majority of a typical vehicle’s weight ends up back in the metal supply chain rather than in a landfill.

Why this matters beyond “getting rid of a car”

Recycling steel uses significantly less energy than mining and processing new ore, and keeping used parts in circulation cuts down on manufacturing demand. If you’ve been holding onto an old vehicle out of guilt about “wasting” it, scrapping it properly is actually the more responsible option compared to letting it sit and slowly leak fluids into your driveway or a field.

What we do differently

We handle the fluid removal and downstream recycling as part of every pickup — it’s not an extra step you need to arrange yourself. You get a cash offer, we tow it, and everything after that is on us.

Curious what your car is actually worth before it goes through this process? Try our price estimator for a same-day number.

Why This Matters for the Environment

Cars left to sit and rust leach fluids into the ground over time, and scrapping them properly is one of the more effective ways to keep that from happening. Draining and separating fluids at pickup, pulling reusable parts before the shell goes to the shredder, and recycling the recovered steel and aluminum all reduce the need for new raw materials. It’s a big part of why very little of a properly scrapped car ends up as waste — most of it gets a second life, either as a part in someone else’s repair or as recycled metal.

Short answer: yes, a lien needs to be cleared before we can take your vehicle. This is really the only ownership issue that stops a sale — everything else about your car’s condition or title status is fine.

What a lien means

A lien means a lender (a bank, credit union, or dealership finance arm) still has a legal financial interest in the vehicle, usually because there’s an outstanding loan balance against it. Even if you’re the registered owner and have the paperwork in hand, the lender technically has a claim on the car until that loan is paid off.

Why this matters for scrapping

Because a scrap sale involves dismantling the vehicle for parts and metal, we’re not in a position to take on a car that a lender still has a legal claim against — there’s no way to “give it back” if the lien turns out to be an issue later. This is different from a car with a rough or “not clean” title from an accident or write-off, which is completely fine for us to take — a rough title on its own has never been the problem. A lien is the one thing that is.

How to check if your car has a lien

If you’re not sure whether there’s still a lien registered against your vehicle, you can check through the Personal Property Registry (PPR) in BC, or simply contact the lender you originally financed through and ask for a payout balance and lien release. Most lenders can tell you over the phone.

What to do if there’s still a balance owing

If there’s an outstanding balance, you’ll need to pay it off (or arrange for the lender to release the lien) before we can complete the pickup. Once you have confirmation the lien has been released, you’re clear to go ahead — the rest of the process (paperwork, quote, pickup) works exactly the same as any other vehicle.

Bottom line

Rough condition, no MOT, an accident history, a salvage or rebuilt status — none of that is a problem for us. An active lien is the one thing to sort out first. If you’re not sure where your car stands, give us a call and we can talk through it before you go through the trouble of checking — often it’s a quick answer.

How to Check If There’s a Lien on Your Vehicle

If you financed the car and aren’t sure whether it’s fully paid off, you can check with your lender directly, or look up the vehicle through ICBC’s lien search (a small fee applies). A registered lien means the lender still has a legal claim on the vehicle until it’s paid out, and that has to be cleared before any sale — private or scrap — can go through cleanly. If there’s no lien, the rest of the process (branded title, accident history, cosmetic condition) doesn’t affect our ability to buy the car.

One of the most common questions we get is “what paperwork do I need?” — the good news is it’s a short list, much shorter than selling a car privately.

What you need

• Your BC owner’s certificate (registration) — this shows you’re the registered owner
• Government-issued photo ID that matches the name on the registration
• Your license plates — removed before we arrive, since these go back to ICBC, not to us

That’s it for a standard pickup. We provide the bill of sale on our end when we pay you.

What if the registration is in someone else’s name?

This comes up more than you’d think — inherited vehicles, cars bought from a family member that were never formally transferred, or a car registered to a company. If you’re not the registered owner, let us know when you call so we can walk you through what’s needed (usually some form of proof you’re authorized to sell it, like an estate document or a signed release from the registered owner).

What about a lost registration?

If you’ve lost your owner’s certificate, you can usually still proceed — mention it when you call and we’ll let you know what alternative proof of ownership works. It’s rarely a dealbreaker, just something to flag ahead of time so pickup day goes smoothly.

What you don’t need

You don’t need a safety inspection, an emissions test, or a mechanic’s report — none of that applies to a scrap sale. You also don’t need to fill out an ICBC transfer form the way you would selling to a private buyer, since the vehicle is being retired rather than re-registered to a new driver.

After the paperwork: what to remember

The one step that’s still on you afterward is cancelling your ICBC insurance and returning your plates — see our full breakdown on notifying ICBC when you scrap a car for exactly how that works.

Ready to get a number? Try our price estimator, and have your registration and ID handy when we come by.

What If You’ve Lost Your Registration

It happens more often than you’d think, especially with older vehicles that have changed hands a few times. If you don’t have your BC owner’s certificate on hand, call us anyway — we can usually still work something out using your photo ID and a signed bill of sale, and in some cases ICBC can reissue a lost registration if needed. The one document we can’t work around is your government-issued photo ID, so make sure you have that ready regardless.

Yes — when you scrap a car in BC, you still need to deal with ICBC, even though you’re not transferring the car to another driver. Here’s what that actually involves.

1. Take the plates off before pickup

Your license plates stay ICBC property and don’t go with the car. Remove them before the tow truck arrives — it’s much easier to do this at your own pace than to try to retrieve them from a scrap yard later.

2. Get a bill of sale

When we pick up your vehicle, you’ll get a bill of sale documenting the transaction. Keep this — you’ll want it on hand when you go to cancel your insurance, and it’s your record that the vehicle changed hands.

3. Visit an Autoplan broker to cancel your insurance

Unlike a lot of ICBC business these days, cancelling insurance on a scrapped vehicle typically needs to happen in person at an Autoplan broker — bring your ID, your plates, your owner’s certificate, and the bill of sale from us.

4. Don’t wait too long

ICBC refunds unused premium time, but the refund shrinks the longer you wait — roughly 8% less for each month you delay on an annual policy. If you’re on a monthly payment plan, cancel at least a day before your next withdrawal to avoid getting charged for a car you no longer own. A cancellation fee may also apply, so it’s worth asking your broker about the exact numbers for your policy.

Replacing the vehicle soon?

If you’re buying another car shortly after, ask your broker about transferring your existing insurance to the new vehicle instead of cancelling outright — it can save you both a cancellation fee and a new-plate fee. (Note that this option has some restrictions for leased vehicles under policies from January 2025 onward, so double-check with your broker if that applies to you.)

What we handle vs. what’s on you

We handle the vehicle pickup, payment, and your bill of sale. The ICBC insurance cancellation and plate return are steps you’ll need to do yourself at a broker — we can’t do that part for you, but it’s a quick in-person visit once you have your documents together.

Have more questions about the process? Check our FAQ page, or just give us a call before we come pick up the car.

This is general information, not legal or insurance advice — for anything specific to your policy, your Autoplan broker or ICBC directly will have the most accurate answer.

What Happens If You Skip This Step

If you don’t formally cancel your insurance and transfer the vehicle out of your name, ICBC still considers you the registered owner — which means you could keep getting billed for insurance on a car you no longer own, and in rarer cases end up connected to it if it’s ever misused. It’s a five-minute stop at an Autoplan broker with your ID, plates, and the bill of sale we give you at pickup, so there’s no reason to skip it.

We fill out our half of the paperwork on-site during pickup specifically so this step is quick and straightforward on your end.