Search “scrap car prices per ton” and you’ll find yard price boards, dated lists and calculators that multiply a ton price by a weight. They look precise. Used the wrong way, they set you up to be disappointed, or to turn down a fair offer.
What “a ton” means on a price board
Price boards use one of two tons. A net ton (also called a short ton) is 2,000 pounds. A gross ton (a long ton) is 2,240 pounds, 12 percent more. Iron and steel scrap is often quoted per gross ton, while plenty of yards post net tons, so the same dollar figure can mean two different amounts of money. Look for “NT” or “GT” on the board, or ask.
A typical sedan weighs well under two tons, so “per ton” is never what you’ll be paid for one car. It’s a rate.
The rows you’ll see
Yard boards usually split cars into a few lines. The labels vary, but the idea is the same everywhere:
| Board label | What it usually means | Why the rate differs |
|---|---|---|
| Complete car | Engine, transmission, wheels and converter still on it | More metal types and parts per ton |
| Incomplete car | Missing the engine, transmission or other major parts | Mostly body steel |
| Shred or sheet | Loose sheet steel, body panels | Lowest value per ton |
| Catalytic converter | Priced separately, by type | Precious metals, not weight |
Some yards price the converter separately and buy the car without it. In Illinois, selling a converter that’s been removed from the car is restricted by law; we explain that in the catalytic converter guide.
Drop-off price versus a picked-up offer
This is the part that trips people up. A yard’s posted price is for a car that someone else has already delivered to its scale. Getting a dead car onto that scale costs money: a tow, a driver’s time, a truck. If you have to arrange that yourself, the posted price minus the tow is what you actually keep.
Our offer works the other way. We quote the whole car where it sits, the tow is free, and the number we give is the number you’re paid at pickup. So comparing our offer to “ton price times weight” will always look off, because one includes the trip and the other doesn’t.
A worked example, without the dollars
We don’t publish prices, so here’s the arithmetic with letters:
- A car weighs W tons (curb weight, not the door-label rating).
- The board shows a complete-car rate of R per ton.
- The yard would pay about W × R at its scale.
- Getting it there costs T (tow, time).
- What you keep from the drop-off route: W × R − T.
Now add the adjustments in how scrap car value works: a missing converter or engine lowers R, and a newer car with good parts can raise the offer above W × R. Finding W correctly is a guide of its own: how to find your car’s weight.
Why the rate changes
Scrap rates follow what steel mills and metal buyers are paying, and those move with demand. A price list dated last month may already be off. That’s why we don’t pin a number to a page, and why “we pay $X for any car” claims deserve a second look.
Trucks and vans get the same treatment, just with a bigger W. See the page on scrap trucks, vans and SUVs.