Has This Car Been Scrapped?

Has The Vehicle Ever Been Scrapped?

It's not straightforward to determine if a car has been scrapped. And sometimes it's impossible.

But you can try a couple of methods.

First: Try The DVLA's Website

On the previous Car Tax and MOT page you could check to see the status of a vehicle. The DVLA Vehicle Enquiry Service tells you when the car was last taxed and MOTd. Now if that date was a long time ago (perhaps 4 or more years), and the car is also not currently insured then there's every chance it has been scrapped. The only feasible alternative to this is that it is stored in someone's garage or barn, and hasn't been declared SORN.

Next: Consider A Car Report

Commercial car reports offer much more detailed information.

They can tell you if a car has definitely been scrapped.

You can spend from £2 to £20 on a car report. Compare them before buying as different companies offer different levels of information.

If a vehicle is listed as not scrapped, bear in mind that scrappage data was only mandatorily collected from 2003, and from the late seventies onwards an owner could notify the DVLA if a vehicle was scrapped (via the V5 document) but was not required to. So if a car was scrapped before the late seventies, there is no record of it having been scrapped.

If it was scrapped between the late seventies and 2003 there MAY be a record of it being scrapped. Post 2003 if it has been scrapped it will be listed as such.