Stop buying on scrap value.
Know what every scrap car is worth in parts to you, in real time, while its quote request is still open. You can then bid more on the cars worth breaking and win more of the cars that carry margin.
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Every yard prices a scrap car the same way.
When someone asks for a scrap car quote, every yard works it out from the car's weight and the metal in it. That is why the quotes on a comparison site all look much the same, and why the car often goes to whichever yard can collect it soonest.
Some of those cars are worth far more to a breaker than their scrap value, because their parts sell. Until now there has been no quick way to tell those cars apart from the rest before the quote has to go out, so they are bought and sold as scrap like everything else.
Each quote request, valued in parts to you.
The Breaker Value API values each quote request in parts, in real time. You send the registration or VIN, and it decodes the car, matches the OEM part numbers that fit it, and prices each part from recent UK sales, along with how quickly that part sells.
If your online store is connected, it also shows which of the car's parts you already have in stock, so you can leave them out. It then tells you what the parts are likely to make over the next 12 months, counting only the parts expected to sell in that time. Take off your selling fees and allow for the parts that may not sell, using your own figures, and you have what the car is worth to you.
So you bid more on the cars worth breaking, quote scrap value on the rest, and win more of the cars with margin.
- The car. The reg or VIN from the quote request is decoded to the model, engine and gearbox.
- OEM part numbers. The part numbers that fit that car are matched.
- Demand and prices. Each part is priced from recent UK sales, with how fast it sells.
- Your stock. Parts already in your connected online store are flagged.
- 12-month value. What the parts expected to sell should make over the next year.
- Your quote. Your fees and sell-through turn that value into a bid.
One quote request: a 2011 Ford Focus 1.6 TDCi.
Other yards quote this car at £250 to £300, which is what it is worth as scrap. In parts it is a very different car, because its 39 parts are worth £2,823 at the low end of the last 12 months of UK sales.
Say you already have a door, the bonnet, a wing, a headlight and an alloy wheel in stock. Leave those out and £2,467 of parts is left. Allow 25% for parts that may not sell and 18% for selling fees, and the car is worth £1,517 to you over 12 months, which is more than five times its scrap value.
So you quote £350, £50 over the best scrap quote, and you win the car.
| 39 parts at the low end of 12 months of UK sales | £2,823 |
| Already in your stock (5 parts) | −£356 |
| Parts you need | £2,467 |
| 25% may not sell | −£617 |
| Selling fees (18%) | −£333 |
| Worth to you in 12 months | £1,517 |
| Scrap value quotes | £250 to £300 |
| Your quote | £350 (£50 over the top scrap quote) |
Illustrative example. The part values are real POXA figures for this model from the last 12 months of UK sales, at the low end. The stock shown, the scrap values and the quotes are made up, and the 25% and 18% are example figures you would swap for your own.
Do it on every quote request.
Here is the same idea across six quote requests. Where a car's parts are worth £1,000 or more to you, you quote £50 over its scrap value, and where they are not, you quote scrap value as usual.
| Quote request | Scrap value | Parts value to you | Your quote | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 Ford Focus 1.6 TDCi | £300 | £1,517 | £350 | Won |
| 2003 Ford Ka | £150 | £279 | £150 | Quoted scrap value |
| 2011 VW Golf 1.6 TDI | £280 | £1,489 | £330 | Won |
| 2002 Renault Clio | £160 | £481 | £160 | Quoted scrap value |
| 2013 Ford Fiesta 1.0 EcoBoost | £240 | £1,659 | £290 | Won |
| 2011 Nissan Qashqai 1.5 dCi | £310 | £1,172 | £360 | Won |
4 cars won, £1,330 paid, £5,837 parts value to you.
Illustrative example. Each parts value to you is worked out the same way as the Focus, from real POXA figures for that model and with no stock taken off. The scrap values, quotes and results are made up.
For anyone who quotes on scrap cars.
- Scrap car buyers. See which cars are worth more than scrap before you quote, so the good ones stop going for scrap money.
- ATFs. Know which cars are worth dismantling before you agree a price, while it can still change what you pay.
- Breakers. Bid harder on the cars whose parts will pay you back within the year, and let the rest go to scrap.
- Quoting and comparison platforms. Add a parts value to every quote request, so the yards you work with can send stronger offers.
One request per quote.
- Send the reg or VIN. Your quoting system sends one request for each quote request, with the car's registration or VIN.
- Get the parts value back. The reply lists the parts with their values, the totals at 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months, how fast the parts sell, and any stock you already hold.
- Quote with your own numbers. Apply your selling fees, your sell-through and your margin, then send the quote.
Keys are self-service: sign in, open Breaker Value and then API, and start in the sandbox. Live requests use your monthly Breaker Value searches. If you quote at volume, talk to us.