Quick answer
To scrap your car in the UAE, the car must be collected, deregistered with the traffic authority and its plates returned. Before you accept a weight-based scrap price, get an offer that values the engine, gearbox and parts. We collect for free, deal with the deregistration and pay by cash or bank transfer.
We buy any car you're thinking of scrapping
If you're from the UK, "scrap my car" probably means ringing a scrap dealer and getting paid by the tonne. In the UAE there's a better first step: find out what the car is actually worth as a car. Non-runners, MOT-style failures (here, a failed RTA or Tasjeel inspection), cars that have sat through a summer and cars with expensive repair quotes all regularly turn out to be worth more than their metal.
Non-runners
Won't start, won't crank, or dies at the lights.
Accident write-offs
Including cars an insurer has declared a total loss.
Failed inspection
Cars that failed the annual test and won't re-register.
End-of-life
Very old, very high mileage, or simply worn out.
How scrapping a car works in the UAE
Scrapping isn't just crushing. A car registered in the UAE stays your legal responsibility until its registration is cancelled, so the paperwork matters as much as the tow truck. In broad terms the process looks like this:
- Any outstanding traffic fines on the car are cleared.
- If there's a bank loan, it's settled and the bank issues a clearance letter so the mortgage can be removed from the registration.
- The vehicle registration is cancelled with the traffic authority (RTA in Dubai, or the authority in the emirate where the car is registered), and the plates are returned.
- The car goes to a licensed facility for dismantling and recycling.
Requirements and fees change, so check the current rules with your emirate's authority. Our RTA car deregistration guide walks through the Dubai process step by step.
Scrap price vs a real offer
Scrap metal prices move with global markets, and a scrap yard's quote is mostly a function of the car's weight minus their towing and handling costs. That's fair for a genuinely dead car. It's poor value for a car with a healthy engine, a working gearbox, a catalytic converter and clean panels, all of which are worth more as parts or as a repairable car.
For a deeper look, read how much a scrap car is worth in the UAE and how to scrap a car in Dubai.