Where to Find Precious Metals in Your Junk Car

How to ScrapPlatinum ScrapRecycle Precious Metals

Oct 27

It’s easy to junk a car. You call a local company that runs ads that say, “We buy cars” and they come and tow your car away.

Yes, that’s easy. But if you dispose of your old car that way, chances are good you will be giving away gold, silver and other valuable materials that can be worth $100.00 or more. So . . . pull them out before you junk that car and talk to us about recycling them.

Here are some places to find gold, silver, and other valuable metals in that junker . . .

Aluminum, a white metal that is currently selling for about $2.50/lb., is found in the housings that surround electronic components, in seat frames, and many other places too. Remember that a magnet will not stick to aluminum because it is a non-ferrous metal. That makes it easy to identify.
Gold, which is currently trading for $1659.90 on the London Fix, can be found in every printed circuit board in your junk car: in engine monitoring systems, antilock braking systems, audio systems, cruise control units and elsewhere. You might not be able to find a full ounce of gold in your old car, but you can find some of it. And whatever you find is worth money.
Copper, which is currently selling for about $4.50/lb., is found in many wires including spark plug cables. It is not uncommon to reclaim five pounds or more of copper from junk cars. Pull it out and take it to a local scrap metal buyer to cash in.
Fiberglass, which is found in insulation, decorative glass fiber panels, and many places in cars, can be worth as much as $.25/lb. It looks like white or yellowish wool.
Rare earth metals, which are trading for as much as $500.00/lb. and in some cases much more, are found in the touch screen displays that are becoming more and more popular in modern cars. So pull out those screens, set them aside, and call Specialty Metals Smelters and Refiners so we can tell you what you need to know about recycling them.
Titanium, a white metal that does not tarnish or oxidize, is currently selling for about $.35/lb. A magnet will not stick to it. It can be found in some intake and exhaust valves and other engine components.
Platinum, another white metal that does not corrode, is found in small amounts in catalytic converters. Note that we are not currently processing reclaimed cat converters because it takes a tremendous amount of them for recycling to be possible or worthwhile.