Junkyard vs scrap yard
People use the words for the same place, but they are two different businesses. One sells used parts from vehicles. The other buys metal by the pound and ships it off to be melted.
The short answer: a junkyard deals in vehicles and the parts on them. A scrap yard deals in metal. A car often passes through both. It goes to a junkyard first, where its useful parts are sold, and its stripped body goes to a scrap processor at the end.
What a junkyard does
A junkyard, also called an auto salvage yard, auto wrecker, auto recycler, dismantler or boneyard, buys wrecked, worn-out and unwanted vehicles. Its business is the parts.
- It takes in vehicles from owners, insurance companies, auctions, tow companies and other sources.
- It drains and removes hazardous parts, such as fuel, oil, coolant, refrigerant and batteries, as environmental rules require.
- It sells the parts. At a pull-your-own yard, cars go out in rows on wheel stands and customers remove parts themselves. At a full-service yard, staff pull parts, store them and sell them at the counter or ship them. Some yards do both.
- It sells what's left as scrap. After a while, a car is pulled from the rows, crushed and sold to a scrap processor for its metal.
Some junkyards specialize in trucks, motorcycles, RVs, boats or heavy equipment. Others take anything with wheels.
What a scrap yard does
A scrap yard, or scrap metal recycler, buys metal by weight. Its customers bring in old appliances, pipes, wire, gutters, radiators, cans, construction scrap and car bodies. The yard sorts the metal by type, since copper, brass, aluminum and steel are worth different amounts, then bales or shreds it and sells it to mills and foundries that melt it down.
Many scrap yards also accept whole cars. Some ask that the car be drained of fluids first, or have their own rules on titles and paperwork. To a scrap yard, though, a car is mostly a pile of steel and other metals. It is weighed and paid for as metal, not for its working parts.
Scrap yards rarely sell used auto parts. If you need a part, a junkyard is the place to look.
Which one do you need?
| You want to… | Go to |
|---|---|
| Buy a used part for your car | A junkyard: pull your own or full-service |
| Sell a whole car that doesn't run | A junkyard that buys cars, or a scrap yard. Compare offers. |
| Sell a car that still has good parts | A junkyard that buys cars; parts can add to the offer |
| Get rid of an old washer, pipes or copper wire | A scrap yard |
| Find parts for a truck, motorcycle, RV or boat | A specialty yard |
Selling a car: junkyard or scrap yard?
Both may buy your car, and they look at it differently. A scrap yard mostly looks at weight and the metal markets. A junkyard that sells parts also looks at what it can pull and resell, so a car with a good engine, transmission or body panels may be worth more to it. A car that is stripped, burned or crushed is worth about the same to either one.
The way to know is to ask. Call one or two of each, describe the car the same way, and get the offers in writing with towing included or not. Our guide on how to sell a car to a junkyard covers what affects the offer and the paperwork most yards ask for and why we don't quote prices.
Other names you'll hear
- Salvage yard / auto salvage: the most common formal name for a junkyard.
- Auto wrecker / wrecking yard: another name for the same business.
- Auto recycler / dismantler: the industry's own terms, often used by full-service yards.
- U-pull, pull-your-own, pick-your-own-parts: self-service junkyards where you remove the part.
- Boneyard: slang for a junkyard, and for yards of old planes, buses or equipment.
- Scrap yard / scrap metal recycler: buys metal by weight; not a parts source.
What this directory lists
autosalvageyards.net lists junkyards only: yards of vehicles or used parts. There are 5,296 in 50 states and DC. A place is listed only when Google files it as a salvage yard, junkyard, auto wrecker or used auto parts store and its name, customer reviews or own website confirm it is a yard of vehicles or parts. Scrap metal recyclers, towing companies and cash-for-cars buyers are left out unless their reviews or website show a yard of vehicles or parts.
In the directory · proof shown
Each claim on a listing, like pull your own or buys junk cars, is shown with the review sentence or the website note behind it. Numbers by state are on junkyards by the numbers.
Quick answers
- Is a junkyard the same as a scrap yard?
- No. A junkyard, or auto salvage yard, keeps vehicles and sells their used parts. A scrap yard buys metal by weight, sorts it and sends it on to be melted down. Junkyards sell the leftover car bodies to scrap processors once the useful parts are gone.
- Should I sell my junk car to a junkyard or a scrap yard?
- Either may buy it. A salvage yard can value the parts as well as the metal, so call both kinds and compare written offers. Ask whether towing is included and what paperwork they need.
- Can I buy used car parts at a scrap yard?
- Usually not. Scrap yards process metal and rarely sell parts. For used parts, go to a junkyard: a pull-your-own yard where you remove the part, or a full-service yard that pulls it for you.
General information, not legal or safety advice. Yard rules, title and paperwork rules vary by yard and by state, so ask the yard and check with your state's DMV. We don't quote prices or payouts: what a yard charges for parts or pays for a car changes daily.
