Scrapping Your 15+ Year Old Car: What You Need To Know

Your car has a lifespan and using it beyond that period could result in grave consequences, impacting not just your safety but also that of the environment. As a result, each state in India specifies different durations for different kinds of vehicles for it to ply on the road. Once they go beyond that limit, they are banned from that state. Re-registering such cars in a different state is one option but that must be done before the expiry of the RC and with the consent of the old RTO. However, that's something that's hard to recommend for obvious reasons. A vehicle that has reached the end of its lifespan must hence be scrapped in a manner that will allow it to get recycled and not have an adverse effect on the environment.

When does your car turn into scrap?

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Over the long term, as your car's parts get old, it starts deteriorating in its performance. Eventually, it also starts emitting harmful gasses. This is when a car is said to have become scrap. But the authorities use certain metrics for declaring a car as scrap. For instance, in Maharashtra, petrol, as well as diesel cars can stay on the road for 15 years before the authorities see them as scrap.

Things are different in Delhi, where the problem of pollution is evidently more than other states. Here, the limit for diesel cars is 10 years, while that for petrol cars is 15 years. States like Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Karnataka allow cars to stay on the road until they are in running condition. In this manner, different states have different rules for declaring vehicles as scrap so it's always good to enquire with local authorities.

Things to remember while scrapping a car

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When your vehicle is not fit to ply on the roads, you will need to follow the process of scrapping an old car in your state. Before you do that though, you should remember a few simple things. Make sure that you contact an authorised scrap dealer and also look into it that your car's chassis number is removed before scrapping it. Taking a few photographs before a vehicle is scrapped is also a good idea. Also, once you ask the authorised dealer to scrap your car, make sure that they actually do that since there's a chance that they might sell it off to someone else who might end up using it for dubious purposes.

The process of scrapping

To make things simpler for you, here are the three main steps in which the process of scrapping takes place:
1. Inform the RTO: If your car has reached the end of its life, start off by informing your local RTO office about your decision to scrap it.

2. Surrender RC and chassis plate: The RTO will then ask you to submit the RC document of your car as well as its chassis number plate, which is a unique code assigned to every vehicle in the country.

3. De-register your car from the records: This step will be taken care of by the RTO. The offices will de-register your car from their records, making it fit for scrapping.

4. Approach a scrap dealer: Submit your car to any authorised dealer for completing the scrapping process.

This entire process will take time but it's absolutely necessary that you follow the procedures while scrapping an old car.