Northampton · East Midlands
Northampton’s council, roads and university have all changed shape in recent years. Scrapping a car here stays simple: a registration, a postcode and a free collection.
Prefer to talk? Call 0800 058 8087, free from UK landlines and mobiles.
Start with the registration and the postcode where the car is.
Since April 2021 Northampton has been run by West Northamptonshire Council, one of two unitary authorities that replaced Northamptonshire County Council and the district and borough councils beneath it. Northampton Borough Council no longer exists, so older guidance about who to call for parking, waste or abandoned vehicles may be out of date.
The town is broad and spread out. It runs from Kingsthorpe and Boothville in the north to the Hunsburys and Grange Park south of the River Nene, and from Duston and Upton in the west to Weston Favell and Lings in the east. Wherever the car stands in NN1 to NN5, or in the villages of NN6 and NN7, a licensed buyer covering that district makes the offer.
The M1 passes the south-west side of Northampton with three junctions. Junction 15 feeds the A45 Nene Valley Way towards the town and the east, junction 15A at Rothersthorpe carries the A43 south towards Towcester, and junction 16 joins the A45 heading west towards Daventry. That arc of fast roads lets a truck reach Brackmills, Sixfields or the western estates without crossing the centre.
Cosworth, the engine firm founded by Mike Costin and Keith Duckworth in 1958, has its headquarters in Northampton. The University of Northampton moved to its Waterside campus by the Nene in 2018, bringing students into the town centre, and some leave older cars behind. A registered keeper can arrange collection before moving out rather than leave the car for a landlord. Silverstone, home of the British Grand Prix, is a short drive south-west near Towcester.
Abandoned vehicles in West Northamptonshire are dealt with through ELVIS, the End of Life Vehicle Impound Scheme run with Northamptonshire Police; the council’s abandoned vehicles page has the contact details. The keeper of a car that is removed can be charged for its storage and disposal.
Northampton 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. Northampton, Daventry and Towcester are in West Northamptonshire, while Kettering, Corby and Wellingborough are in North Northamptonshire. Collection is free in both.
Yes. Brixworth, Long Buckby, Bugbrooke and Roade are among the villages in those districts, and the process is the same as in town.
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.