St Albans · East of England
Between the historic centre and the lettered parking zones, a dead car is awkward to keep in St Albans. A licensed buyer covering AL1 to AL4 can value it online and collect it free.
Prefer to talk? Call 0800 058 8087, free from UK landlines and mobiles.
Start with the registration and the postcode where the car is.
St Albans is a cathedral city built beside the Roman town of Verulamium, and its core keeps an old street pattern of narrow roads and conservation areas. Around the centre, on-street parking is divided into lettered permit zones, with St Albans City and District Council managing them under arrangements with Hertfordshire County Council and limiting how many resident permits each household can hold.
In some zones the rules have recently tightened. Zones M and N, for example, moved to enforcement every day until 10pm from January 2026, with the household permit allowance cut. A car that has stopped running still uses up one of those permits and one of those spaces, which is reason enough to have it collected and recycled.
No motorway runs through St Albans, but three junctions are close. The A405 North Orbital Road links junction 6 of the M1 with junction 21A of the M25, the A1081 heads south past London Colney to junction 22, and the A414 runs east towards Hatfield. The A5183 follows the line of Roman Watling Street through the city and on to Redbourn.
For owners in Harpenden, Redbourn or Wheathampstead, the steps are identical: the registration, the postcode and a convenient slot.
The city’s postcodes reach well beyond the centre. AL4 takes in Marshalswick, Jersey Farm and Colney Heath; AL2 covers Chiswell Green, Park Street, London Colney and Bricket Wood; AL3 runs out to Redbourn and Markyate. Whether the car is on a driveway in Jersey Farm or a permit street off the Hatfield Road, tell the buyer exactly where it stands.
Permit parking is still spreading. In March 2025 the council made an order adding residents’ bays at Thirlestane in Bernards Heath, and a permit scheme for Goldsmith Way went out for comment later that year. If your street has just joined a zone, a car you no longer use is worth clearing before the new rules begin.
St Albans 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.
Yes. A car that is SORN or has failed its MOT can be collected from wherever it is parked. Keep the permit valid until the car has gone, then cancel it with the council.
Yes. London Colney is in the AL2 district and within St Albans City and District, and collection there is free.
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.