Our Pricing Data & Methodology

You Should Know Where the Numbers Come From

Search "junk car value" and you'll find dozens of sites quoting prices with no indication of where they came from. If we're going to ask you to trust ours, the least we can do is show our work — including the limits of it.

1. The national scrap rate

The price per ton on our scrap car prices page, and in every calculation that uses it, is a national monthly average for end-of-life vehicles. We record one figure per month with a low and high per-pound range and a note on what moved the market. The current figure is $185 per ton (February 2026); the full log is on the price history page.

What yards actually pay varies by region and by how complete the car is, which is why every scrap value on this site is shown as a range, not a single promise.

2. Vehicle curb weights

Weights in the weight lookup, the scrap value calculator and the model pages come from the Teoalida Year-Make-Model-Trim Basic Specs database: 68,561 US-market trims from 1990 to 2027, using manufacturer-published curb weights. Where a model page shows a "typical" weight, it is the median across every trim and model year we have for that model.

3. Prices from sales through Reap My Ride

The average-paid figures on model pages — the per-year table and the non-running average — come from completed sales through our network: 5,539 across the 20 models we publish. Recent-sale lists show individual completed sales. Company figures such as cars bought and average payout come from the same records.

How a scrap value is calculated

Curb weight (lbs) ÷ 2,000 × price per ton

The low and high ends of each range use the month's per-pound range instead of the average. Values are rounded to the nearest $5.

What we don't do

• We don't publish city-level statistics we can't back with real sales.
• We don't present an estimate as an offer. Only a buyer can make an offer on your car.
• We don't show star ratings or reviews we can't link to a verifiable source.

Found an error?

If a weight, price or rate looks wrong, tell us at support@reapmyride.com or (877) 451-4417. We correct confirmed errors and note the date on the affected page.