# Car Scrap Rate in India Today, 20 October 2026: What Your Old Car Is Worth in Scrap

The car scrap rate is worked out from weight: an old car is worth its recoverable metal weight multiplied by today's per-kg rates. A small hatchback weighs 650–750 kg, most of it steel and iron fetching ₹38–42 per kg on 20 October 2026, so the body metal alone comes to roughly ₹25,000–29,000, before the battery, copper and aluminium are added.

Metal prices move every day, so a quote from last month can already be out of date. For the metal-by-metal list behind every figure in this article, check today's live scrap rates, updated for this morning, 20 October 2026.

Car Scrap Rate Today, Part by PartWorked Example: Applying Today's Car Scrap Rate to a 700 kg HatchbackWhat Decides the Price a Yard OffersScrappage Policy Benefits and the Safe Way to Scrap

Car Scrap Rate Today, Part by Part

A scrapyard does not pay one flat price for a whole car. It dismantles the vehicle, weighs each material separately, and pays the going rate for each stream. Four streams make up nearly all of the money: the steel and iron body, the battery, the copper in the wiring loom, and aluminium parts such as the radiator and wheels. The part-wise guide published by Carbasket prices a scrap car the same way, stream by stream.

PartTypical weight in a small carToday's rate (₹/kg)Indicative valueBody shell, chassis and panels (steel and iron)650–690 kg₹38–42₹25,000–29,000Battery, whole and usedAbout 14 kg₹64.27About ₹900Copper wiring and windingsAbout 6 kg₹618.73About ₹3,700Aluminium parts (radiator, wheels, casings)About 20 kg₹154.20About ₹3,100

All figures in this table are indicative estimates from today's reference rates; actual quotes vary by condition, city and buyer.

Worked Example: Applying Today's Car Scrap Rate to a 700 kg Hatchback

Take a 12-year-old hatchback with a kerb weight of about 700 kg. Once glass, plastic trim, tyres, seats and fluids come out, roughly 650–690 kg of steel and iron goes on the weighbridge. At ₹38–42 per kg, the body pays ₹25,000–29,000 at today's car scrap rate.

The battery adds about ₹900 on its own, since a whole used battery fetches ₹64.27 per kg today. Copper wiring adds roughly ₹3,700 and aluminium parts about ₹3,100. Added up, a complete small car in average condition lands near ₹33,000–37,000 before any towing or dismantling deduction.

What Decides the Price a Yard Offers

Two cars of the same model can bring different offers on the same day. The car scrap rate sets the starting point, and the car's condition decides where the final figure lands. Four things move the number most.

Weight. Every quote starts on the weighbridge. The body rate tracks the steel scrap rate, with steel at ₹41.80 per kg and iron at ₹38.13 per kg today. A heavier car simply has more to sell.

Catalytic converter. The converter holds platinum, palladium and rhodium, so it is the most valuable single part after the body. A car with its original converter intact earns far more than one where it was cut out or replaced with a cheap unit.

Battery. A battery that is still in the car is paid by weight at the battery scrap rate of ₹64.27 per kg. A missing battery is a straight deduction from the offer, usually around ₹900 on a small car.

Running parts. A car that starts and drives earns a premium, because its engine, gearbox, alternator and AC compressor can be resold as working parts. A dead car with a seized engine is priced as metal alone.

Scrappage Policy Benefits and the Safe Way to Scrap

Scrapping through the Vehicle Scrappage Policy pays over and above the metal value. Hand the car to a Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facility and you receive a Certificate of Deposit. That certificate earns a road-tax rebate of up to 25% on a new personal vehicle and a waiver of the registration fee, and most manufacturers add a discount of around 5% against it.

Two warnings matter here. Scrap only through an authorised facility, never an informal yard that offers cash with no paperwork: the car can stay registered in your name and leave you liable for challans, or worse, if it is misused. And once the car is scrapped, make sure the registration certificate is cancelled at the RTO and keep the Certificate of Deposit safe. Spinny's guide to the scrappage process sets out the paperwork step by step.

Rates change daily, and the figure you are quoted follows the market on the day the car is weighed. Before you accept any offer, check the live car scrap rate and today's full metal rates on scrapratetoday.com.