Cardiff · Wales
The Welsh capital mixes long Victorian terraces with quick routes to the M4. Here is how scrapping a car works in Cardiff, from Cathays to St Mellons.
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Start with the registration and the postcode where the car is.
Cardiff grew fast in the late nineteenth century on coal shipped through its docks, and the terraced streets of that era still define Roath, Splott, Canton, Grangetown and Cathays. They were built for a city that walked. Today the same streets carry a row of parked cars on each side, and residents’ permit schemes cover much of the inner city.
Cathays is largely student housing for the city’s universities, so cars change hands, break down or get left behind at the end of each academic year. On the outskirts, the M4 passes between junctions 29 and 33, the A48(M) brings traffic in from the east, and the A470 heads north towards the valleys. A collection can reach a terrace in Adamsdown as readily as a drive in Rhiwbina.
Wales moved to a default 20mph limit on most residential roads on 17 September 2023. In Cardiff that covers almost every street in the inner suburbs, though some main roads stayed at 30mph. None of this changes collection, which still runs to your timetable.
On air quality, Cardiff Council decided against a clean air zone with charges and took other measures instead, including changes to Castle Street beside the castle. Older cars pay nothing to enter the city centre, and scrapping here usually follows a failed MOT, a write-off or a car the household no longer needs.
Start with your plate and a CF postcode, for instance CF24 in Roath or CF5 in Canton and Ely. The details go to a licensed buyer covering south Wales, who normally replies within about an hour. Say yes, and collection is free, with the car ending its days at an ATF.
Cardiff at a glance
Neighbourhoods
How it works
Four stages take an unwanted car from your drive to a new life as recycled material. Here’s what happens at each one.
Enter the registration and the postcode where the car is parked. The details go to a licensed buyer who covers that area, and they come back with an offer.
Agree the offer and pick a day. The car is collected free of charge from a drive, a street, a car park or a garage, wherever it happens to be.
The car goes to an Authorised Treatment Facility, where fluids, the battery and hazardous parts are removed safely and the paperwork is completed.
Reusable parts are recovered, and the shell is shredded so the steel, aluminium and other materials can be made into something new.
Questions
Straight answers to what people ask before scrapping a car.
Can’t see your question? Read every answer or call 0800 058 8087.
No. Mention them, and any tight access, when booking, so the driver comes prepared.
Yes. Penarth and Barry are covered, as are Caerphilly, Pontypridd, Newport and the rest of Wales.
No. Collection is free wherever the car is in the UK, there are no admin or hidden fees, and turning down an offer costs nothing.
No. Since the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013, scrap metal dealers in England and Wales can't pay cash for scrap vehicles. Payment is made by bank transfer or another traceable method.
Get an offer from a licensed local buyer in minutes, with free collection whenever suits you.