Scrap car removal with Cash For Cars works in five straightforward steps - free vehicle estimate, partner-network pickup confirmation, ownership transfer paperwork, vehicle pickup, and cash on collection. The full process typically completes within one to three business days, with same-day pickup standard in major Canadian urban areas. Here's exactly how it works.
Scrap car removal with Cash For Cars works in five steps: get a free estimate using the scrap and junk car value calculator, confirm pickup details with your local partner, prepare your vehicle ownership paperwork (Ontario green permit or BC pink slip), partner network picks up the vehicle from your address, and you receive cash on collection. Pickup is free across Canada; the typical process completes within one to three business days.
Use the scrap and junk car value calculator to receive an instant estimate. Enter your vehicle year, make, model, condition (running or non-running), and location. The calculator returns a price range based on vehicle weight, current Canadian steel rates ($0.08–$0.12 per pound depending on province), parts demand, and catalytic converter status. Typical Canadian scrap car values range from $150–$800 for sedans, $300–$1,500 for SUVs, and $500–$2,500 for trucks. The estimate reflects the vehicle details you've provided; if major parts are missing or the condition differs significantly at pickup, the offer may be adjusted before transfer paperwork is signed.
After you accept the estimate, your local Cash For Cars partner contacts you to confirm pickup details - exact address, driveway or street access, your preferred date and time window, key availability, and any pickup constraints such as tight parkade stalls, low-clearance entries, or back-lane parking that affect routing or tow-truck access. The partner network operates across Canada, with primary pickup density in the Surrey BC home base and through partner coverage across British Columbia and Ontario.
In BC, have your ICBC vehicle pink slip ready to sign over at pickup, and cancel ICBC coverage on your own timing once the vehicle leaves. If your vehicle is ICBC-written-off, you retain the pink slip after the write-off - written-off vehicles are accepted routinely, and the cash offer is independent of any ICBC settlement you've already received. BC owners may also qualify for the BC Scrap-It Program incentive, which is administered separately by the Scrap-It Society and is independent of the cash offer. In Ontario, prepare your green ownership permit - detach the plate portion (yours to keep; Ontario plates are owner-linked) and sign the vehicle portion at pickup. In other provinces, prepare the equivalent provincial ownership document.
The partner network picks up the vehicle from your address - driveway, street, parkade, or commercial property. Free towing is included with every accepted offer, and no pickup fees are deducted from your cash offer. Pickup is typically same-day in major Canadian urban areas (Toronto, Vancouver, Surrey, Hamilton, the GTA, and the Lower Mainland); rural and remote areas may have one- to three-business-day windows depending on partner-network routing. Winter weather, soft gravel driveways, and narrow back lanes can occasionally shift pickup windows by a few hours, especially outside major urban centres.
Payment is handed over - cash or e-transfer, depending on the partner - when the vehicle is taken. The transaction is complete at that moment: no follow-up paperwork, no waiting for cheque processing, and no holdbacks. The partner network handles all downstream paperwork with licensed Canadian auto recyclers.
How much you receive depends on four main factors: your vehicle's weight (heavier vehicles contain more recyclable metal), current provincial steel rates ($0.07–$0.10 per pound depending on province), vehicle condition (running vehicles are 30–50% more valuable than non-running due to parts demand), and whether the catalytic converter is intact (adding $100–$500 to total value).
Provincial pricing reflects regional recycler density and steel rates. In Ontario - the highest-demand province in Canada - sedans typically yield $250–$600 and SUVs and trucks $400–$1,200; see scrap car prices in Ontario for the full breakdown. In British Columbia, sedans yield $200–$500 and SUVs and trucks $350–$1,000; see scrap car prices in BC for the provincial detail. Alberta sits at $200–$450 for sedans and $350–$900 for SUVs and trucks. Smaller provinces (Saskatchewan, the Atlantic provinces) range $150–$700 by vehicle class.
Junk cars with intact engines, transmissions, alloy wheels, or other high-demand parts can exceed standard scrap ranges - reaching $5,000 or more for trucks with significant parts value. Many sellers assume newer vehicles automatically produce higher scrap offers, but heavily stripped newer vehicles can sometimes yield less than older trucks with intact drivetrains and catalytic converters. The scrap and junk car value calculator returns a range based on your specific vehicle's actual condition and components; use it for a personalized estimate before pickup.
Scrap car removal is free for vehicle owners because the partner network recovers value from the vehicle itself - recyclable metal, intact parts, and the catalytic converter - that significantly exceeds the cost of towing and processing.
When a partner picks up your vehicle, they take it to a licensed Canadian auto recycler. The recycler processes the vehicle: draining fluids, recovering reusable parts (engine, transmission, alloy wheels, doors), removing the catalytic converter, and recycling the remaining steel body. Typical individual part recovery values are engines $200–$500, transmissions $150–$400, doors $50–$200, and alloy wheels $25–$75 each. The recycler pays the partner network for the vehicle; the partner network passes a portion to you as the cash offer; pickup and processing costs are absorbed in the margin.
There are no pickup fees, no hidden charges, and no holdbacks - the offer you accept in Step 1 is the cash you receive in Step 5.
Cash For Cars operates from a Surrey, BC home base with a partner-recycler network spanning all of Canada.
British Columbia is the densest service zone - Surrey home base plus partner-network coverage across 17 additional BC cities including Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, Coquitlam, Abbotsford, and Squamish. Same-day pickup is the standard in Lower Mainland urban areas; the Sea-to-Sky corridor and Fraser Valley East may have next-day windows.
Ontario is the second-largest service zone, with partner-network coverage across ten cities - Toronto, Hamilton, Mississauga, Brampton, Vaughan, Richmond Hill, Oakville, Oshawa, Ottawa, and London. Toronto and the GTA deliver same-day pickup as standard; Ottawa and London operate within regional partner zones.
Other provinces - Alberta, Manitoba, Quebec, Saskatchewan, and the Atlantic provinces - are served through the partner network on a regional basis. Confirm coverage at scheduling for your specific address.
The scrap car removal process starts with a free, no-obligation estimate. Enter your vehicle details below - partner pickup, ownership transfer, and cash on collection follow within one to three business days. You can also contact the Cash For Cars team to ask about your vehicle.
