On the 18th August 2021, Scrap Local starred in Channel 5’s documentary on the removal of abandoned cars and vans in the UK.
As an award-winning network of trusted scrap yards, Scrap Local is proud to remove all kinds of nuisance vehicles and are keen to show more people what we do to clean up Britain’s roads.
In our quick guide, we’ll show you how to get rid of abandoned cars. We’ll discuss what a nuisance vehicle is, how to report an abandoned car or van, and what happens to these vehicles once they’re removed.
You’d be surprised what can be considered a nuisance vehicle in the UK. Any abandoned car or van will be classed as a nuisance vehicle if they pollute the environment, obstruct private or public land, or are classified as unroadworthy.
A nuisance vehicle can also be:
If your set of wheels falls into any one of these categories, then it could be categorised as a nuisance vehicle and targeted for removal by trusted scrap yards and local authorities.
How you remove an abandoned car or van depends on whether you own the vehicle in question.
How To Remove Your Abandoned Car
If your old set of wheels is too costly to repair and drive, then the best thing you can do is remove it yourself by putting it up for scrap!
To scrap your nuisance car, just submit an enquiry to Scrap Local’s trusted team.
We’ll connect you directly to a reliable scrap yard and will quote you a great scrap price for your end of life vehicle with no hidden fees!
How To Remove Someone Else’s Abandoned Car
If the vehicle owner can’t be found, then you will need to contact your local council to have an abandoned car removed.
It’s important that you contact an appropriate local council. Fortunately, you can find which local council to report to on the GOV.UK website.
Following your report, the local council will try to get in touch with the vehicle owner and will remove the abandoned car if it isn’t claimed.
If you’re looking to remove a nuisance vehicle which doesn’t belong to you, then you should avoid using a towing firm or another third party as this could be a criminal offence.
Always contact your local council to remove abandoned cars near you!
If reported by a third party, then the local authority will need to determine whether a vehicle is abandoned or not before removing it.
If at least one of the following points applies, then the local authority can class the vehicle as abandoned and remove it:
Following its removal, the local authority can choose how they want to dispose of a nuisance vehicle.
More often than not, abandoned cars and vans will be sent to an Authorised Treatment Facility (ATF) to be de-polluted and scrapped. This is because most abandoned vehicles are only fit to be destroyed.
Here are some key points to keep in mind when a nuisance vehicle is removed:
If a vehicle has no number plates or no tax disc, then it can also be scrapped immediately after its removal.
Local authorities may need to find the vehicle owner before disposing of a removed abandoned car.
7 days written notice must be given and the vehicle must be returned if the owner claims their car and pays the authorities’ costs for removal and storage.
Yes you can! It’s better to scrap your car rather than leave it by the road-side.
If you abandon your vehicle, then you could receive a fixed penalty notice or be prosecuted. Alternatively, you could be penalised for driving your nuisance vehicle if it has an invalid MOT, is untaxed or uninsured.
Luckily, Scrap Local is an award-winning network who proudly partners with Authorised Treatment Facilities (ATFs) to scrap all vehicles without any trouble.
From our TV debut on Channel 5’s Car Pound Cops: Give Me My Car Back, Scrap Local’s founder, Martin Handley, has made it clear that we value honesty in the scrap metal industry and work hard to remove abandoned cars as quickly as possible and for the best scrap car prices.
If you’re looking to remove your car for scrap, then submit an enquiry to Scrap Local.
We’ll connect you directly with a local agent and will offer you a genuine scrap price with no hidden admin or transaction fees.
Choose a service & we’ll search our network to find you the best scrapyard for your enquiry!
We have hundreds of scrap car buyers waiting to buy your scrap car.
