If a vehicle has stopped being worth repairing, we will buy it from you. Engine and gearbox failures, accident damage, MOT failures with a bill attached, cars that have sat on the drive for years, insurance write-offs, non-runners with no keys — all of it.
Tell us the registration and roughly what is wrong, and we will give you a price on the phone. If you are happy with it, we collect free of charge, running or not, and handle the paperwork so you can stop thinking about it.
What we buy
- Engine and gearbox failures — head gaskets, timing chains, seized engines, failed automatics
- Accident damage, including insurance write-offs (Category S and N)
- MOT failures where the repair costs more than the car is worth
- Non-runners, no keys, seized, or long-term SORN vehicles
- End-of-life and scrap vehicles of any make or age
- Vans and light commercials as well as cars
How the price is worked out
It comes down to the parts still worth having and the weight of what is left. A five-year-old car with a blown engine but straight panels, good wheels and a clean interior is worth considerably more than the same car after a front-end shunt. That is why we ask what is wrong rather than just taking the registration.
Every vehicle is different, so we quote each one individually. There is no obligation and we will tell you honestly if you would do better selling it repaired or on the open market.
Doing it legally
It has been illegal to pay cash for a scrap vehicle in England and Wales since 2013, so we pay by bank transfer. Any firm offering you notes is not operating within the law, and if the vehicle is not properly handled at an Authorised Treatment Facility you can remain liable for it long after it has left your drive.
Where a vehicle is scrapped, you get a Certificate of Destruction and the DVLA is notified. Where it is bought for parts or resale instead, we make that clear and the change of keeper is registered. Either way, your liability ends properly and in writing.
Before we collect
Take out everything personal — check the glovebox, boot, door pockets and under the seats. Remove a private plate first if you want to keep it, as you cannot do it afterwards. Have the V5C log book to hand, and cancel your insurance and any direct debits once the vehicle has gone. Any remaining vehicle tax is refunded automatically by the DVLA once we notify them.
Available across our whole coverage area
Questions we get asked
I searched for vehicle recovery near me — how close are you?
Our yard is at Standard Wharf, 189 Manor Road in Erith, DA8 2AD, and every truck starts from there. If you are in Bexley, Dartford, Greenwich or anywhere in that belt we are usually with you inside half an hour. Further into London or out towards Medway and Maidstone it is closer to an hour. Ring us with your postcode and we will give you a real number rather than a hopeful one — and if somebody closer would genuinely reach you faster in an emergency, we will say so.
Do you do MOTs and servicing as well as recovery?
Yes, and it is a bigger part of what we do than most people realise. We MOT, service and repair vehicles at our own workshop in Erith, and we collect and deliver free of charge across London and Kent — so you do not need to take a morning off to sit in a waiting room. If the MOT turns up work, we can do it there and then rather than sending you somewhere else, and we stock new and used parts ourselves.
Can you fit a tyre at the roadside, or only tow the car?
Both. If you have a serviceable spare we will change the wheel where you are. If you have no spare — and most new cars are sold without one — we can bring a replacement tyre out and fit it on the spot. Tell us the tyre size when you ring; it is on the sidewall, something like 205/55 R16. The exception is a fast road or a motorway, where we recover the car somewhere safe first, because kneeling beside a live carriageway is how people get hurt.
How quickly can you get to me?
Across our home patch — Erith, Belvedere, Bexleyheath, Crayford, Welling and Dartford — we are typically with you inside 30 to 60 minutes. Further out across London it depends on distance and traffic, and we are honest about that: when you ring, we give you a realistic arrival window based on where our nearest truck actually is, rather than an optimistic guess. If traffic changes it, we call you and tell you.
Are you really available 24 hours?
Yes. We operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, including Christmas Day and bank holidays. There is always a real person answering 07961 100260 — no call centre, no queue, no automated menu.