Junkyard

A junkyard is a business that buys old, wrecked or unwanted vehicles, sells usable parts from them, and sends what’s left to be recycled as scrap. In everyday use the word overlaps with salvage yard, auto recycler and wrecking yard. Many states license these businesses and require them to keep records of the vehicles they buy.

For a seller, a junkyard is usually the simplest buyer for a car that doesn’t run or isn’t worth repairing. Prices depend mostly on weight, metal prices, and parts demand for the model.

Federal highway law defines a junkyard as a place used for storing, keeping, buying or selling junk, or for operating an “automobile graveyard,” meaning a place that stores, buys or sells wrecked, scrapped, ruined or dismantled motor vehicles or their parts.¹