Scrap car price per ton, explained
A scrap car's price per ton is the rate a buyer pays for each ton the car weighs. It's the starting point, not the offer. At Cash for Scrap Junk Cars NWI we work from the same arithmetic for every car we buy in north Lake County: weight first, then the rate, then whatever is missing from the car.
Last reviewed September 30, 2026
By Cash for Scrap Junk Cars NWI
How is a scrap car priced per ton?
A scrap car is usually priced by weight: its weight in tons times the buyer's per-ton rate for whole cars. A gross ton is 2,240 pounds and a net ton is 2,000 pounds, so ask which one a quote uses. Missing parts, towing and the steel market then move the final number.
Per ton sounds simple. It isn’t quite, and the gap between a sign and what lands in your hand usually comes down to the unit, the date and what’s still on the car. Here’s how the math works, using the same approach we use for how scrap car prices are set in Northwest Indiana.
Gross ton or net ton: ask which one
Two different “tons” show up on scrap price lists, and they are not the same size.
- A net ton (also called a short ton) is 2,000 pounds. It’s what most Americans mean by a ton.
- A gross ton (also called a long ton) is exactly 2,240 pounds. It’s used in the US for bulk commodities, and steel scrap is often priced this way. At least one Merrillville yard’s published list prices its steel grades per gross ton.
That 240-pound difference matters. A gross ton is 12% heavier than a net ton, so the same headline number pays about 11% less when it’s per gross ton. If a quote just says “per ton,” ask which ton.
The unit figures above come from the standard definitions of the long ton and short ton.
A worked example (made-up numbers, no prices)
Say your car’s curb weight is 3,360 pounds. We picked that number because it divides cleanly, not because it’s typical.
| Unit | Pounds per ton | Tons in a 3,360 lb car |
|---|---|---|
| Net ton | 2,000 | 1.68 |
| Gross ton | 2,240 | 1.50 |
| Tonne (metric) | 2,204.6 | 1.52 |
Now imagine two buyers quote the same rate, call it R. The one paying R per net ton pays for 1.68 tons. The one paying R per gross ton pays for 1.50 tons. Same R, same car, and the net-ton quote comes out 12% higher.
That’s the whole trick with per-ton numbers. Nobody is lying. They’re just counting in different tons. To run your own car through it, find your car’s curb weight and put it in the scale ticket.
Whole car or sorted steel
A price list might show a rate for “complete cars” next to rates for steel grades. They aren’t interchangeable.
Automobiles are about 65% steel and iron by weight, according to the Wikipedia summary of scrap metal recycling. The rest is glass, rubber, plastic, fluids and non-ferrous metals that have to be removed and sorted before the steel can go to a mill. So a whole car carries a rate of its own. Don’t multiply your car’s weight by the price of clean steel and expect that number.
What comes off before the offer
The per-ton rate assumes a car of a certain completeness. Things that change the number:
- Missing heavy parts. No engine or transmission means less weight, and less weight means fewer tons. See scrapping a car with parts missing.
- A missing catalytic converter. It doesn’t weigh much, but it’s one of the first parts recyclers remove, and a buyer who expects it and finds it gone will change the offer at pickup. Say so up front.
- No wheels or tires. Less weight, and it changes how the car gets loaded.
- Towing. Some buyers deduct a tow fee from the price. Ours is free, so nothing comes off for the tow. With anyone else, ask.
- Distance and access. A car blocked in a garage or down a long alley costs a buyer more time. Tell whoever quotes you where the car sits.
Why two quotes for the same car differ
You can get two numbers on the same day that look far apart. Usually it’s one of these:
- One is per gross ton, the other per net ton.
- One includes towing, the other takes it out at pickup.
- One is based on today’s rate, the other on a price list from weeks ago.
- One priced the car complete, the other heard “no engine.”
- One is paying only for weight, the other also for parts that still work.
The first three are about the unit and the date, which is why the per-ton number moves over time. We cover that in why scrap car prices change. The last one is its own question: should you scrap the car or sell it whole?
Where per-ton stops being the whole story
A car that still runs, or one with a clean, working engine, can be worth more than its weight to the right buyer. That’s not a scrap price anymore. For a car that’s done, though, weight is most of the value, and per-ton math gets you close.
Getting a real number
The form asks for the year, make and model because that pins down the curb weight, and for the title status because that decides the paperwork. Send it and we call back with an offer for the whole car. Say yes, and the truck comes at no charge and you’re paid when it loads the car.
Get an offer on your scrap car and compare it with anything else you’ve been quoted, on the same basis.