Vehicle Registration Document (V5C)
If you are looking to sell an End of Life Vehicle (ELV) and you don’t have the log book, this information is invaluable for you. What we are about to divulge could save you £25 and help you avoid some of the less honourable scrap car dealers in the market.
By law, you don't need the V5C document to scrap a car. Ordinarily, to get a new V5C document, you would need to apply to the DVLA and pay a fee of £25. However, when it comes to scrapping your vehicle, you simply need to notify the DVLA that you have sold the vehicle as scrap. This service is free of charge, so if a dealer tries to deduct £25, they are not being entirely truthful!
All you have to do is provide the DVLA with your details, the details of the company that bought the ELV (like Take Scrap Car), the registration number, make and model of the car, and the date of the transaction. They will update their records and remove you as the registered keeper of the car.
Simply because they can. Most people don’t sell ELVs often and aren’t well-versed with DVLA requirements, so they tend to believe whatever the dealer tells them. But now, equipped with this information, you won’t fall for such scams.
Some companies may not buy your scrap car if you don’t have the log book. Historically, this requirement was due to local authorities pressurising the dealers to maintain documentation of sales and purchases. However, the importance of the log book has diminished, as the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 requires dealers to obtain photo ID and proof of address from sellers, ensuring better traceability.
Unfortunately, some scrap dealers still persist with old practices and insist on having the log book. When you sell your vehicle to Take Scrap Car, it is very unlikely that you’ll face this issue. Almost all our partners are willing to accept ELVs without log books.
If you live in one of the few areas where our partners require log books, and you don’t have one, we will do our best to help. On the rare occasions when this has happened, we have been successful in convincing our partner to accept the scrap car or have arranged for an alternative solution that is agreeable to all parties. Rest assured that we will do everything within our means to buy your car.
Having the log book can be useful, but it is not compulsory. What we are legally required to ask for, however, is a photo ID and a utility bill of the person selling the car.
The £25 log-book trick is just one way some scrap dealers exploit to make more money at your expense. They may resort to other dishonest tactics – you can learn more about these on our Deceptive Practices of the Scrap Car Industry page.
