12 car parts that get recycled or reused

When a junk car leaves your driveway, it isn’t headed for a hole in the ground. Some of it gets reused as it is, some gets rebuilt, and the rest is broken down into materials. If you’re about to sell, that’s useful to know for one practical reason: the parts are part of the price. Our guide to selling a junk car covers the sale itself; this one follows the car after it’s gone.

The twelve parts

1. Lead batteries

Lead batteries are the standout. Battery Council International’s national recycling rate study found a 99 percent recycling rate for lead batteries in the U.S., with the lead and plastic recovered and used again in new batteries. Leave it in the car unless it’s a newer battery you want to keep for another vehicle; if you take it out, say so when you ask for an offer.

2. The catalytic converter

The converter’s coating holds platinum-group metals: platinum, palladium and rhodium. Recyclers grind converters down and send the material to refiners, who extract the metals. That’s why converters are valuable, and why one that’s missing changes what a car is worth.

3. Tires

Scrap tires have real markets. The U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association’s 2023 end-of-life tire report found that 79 percent of scrap tires went to end-use markets that year, with about a third burned as tire-derived fuel in places like cement kilns and paper mills, and about 28 percent ground into rubber for uses such as rubber-modified asphalt.

4. Glass

Side and rear windows are tempered glass, and windshields are laminated with a plastic layer between two sheets, which makes them harder to recycle. Recyclers who can separate the layers turn the glass into material for new products.

5. Fluids and refrigerant

Engine oil, transmission fluid, coolant and fuel are drained before the car is crushed. Used oil is worth recovering: the EPA notes that one gallon of used motor oil provides the same 2.5 quarts of lubricating oil as 42 gallons of crude, and re-refined oil is equivalent to new.

The air-conditioning refrigerant is regulated. Before a car’s air-conditioning system is scrapped, the refrigerant has to be recovered, and EPA rules make the last person in the disposal chain responsible for making sure that happens (EPA, motor vehicle air conditioning). It’s not something to vent or cut into yourself.

6. Alternator and starter

Both are commonly rebuilt. Rebuilders replace the worn internal parts and sell the unit again, which keeps a lot of copper and steel in use.

7. Wheels and rims

Aluminum and steel wheels are both straightforward to recycle, and good ones are often resold as they are.

8. Seats and interior parts

Seats, mirrors, trim and other interior parts in decent condition are pulled and resold as used parts, especially for common models.

9. The steel body and frame

Steel is the bulk of a car’s weight. Once the reusable parts and fluids are out, the shell is crushed, shredded and the steel is separated magnetically, then melted into new steel.

10. Aluminum parts

Engine blocks on many newer cars, transmission housings, wheels and some body panels are aluminum, which is separated from steel after shredding and remelted.

11. Copper wiring

A car carries a lot of wiring, and the copper in it is recovered and sold on as scrap copper.

12. Plastics

Plastics from bumpers, dashboards and trim are harder, because they’re many different types, but some are sorted and reprocessed.

What to take out before pickup

Take out your belongings, nothing else:

• Papers and personal items from the glove box, console, door pockets and trunk.
• Garage door openers, toll transponders, phone mounts and chargers.
• Child seats.
• Your license plates, which in Illinois and Indiana stay with you.

The one thing you can’t carry out by hand is data. Phone pairings, saved addresses and garage codes stay in the car’s system until you clear your personal data from it.

Leave the battery, wheels, catalytic converter and other parts in place. A car that arrives stripped is a different car from the one you described, and the offer can change.

Why it’s better for the environment

A junk car left to sit leaks. Oil, coolant and fuel can reach the ground, and a car abandoned outdoors rusts down over time. Sold and processed, the same car has its fluids drained and handled, its refrigerant recovered, its battery recycled and most of its metal turned into new metal.

If you’re still deciding what to do with the car, our guide to getting rid of a junk car compares every route. When you’re ready, Junk My Car Inc buys junk cars across Chicago’s suburbs and tows them free. More guides are on our advice page.