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Whether you are buying or selling a used Mercedes Benz you may be interested in finding out what impact the cost of scrap metal has on the second hand car market. There are several points to consider but firstly it is important to explain about the current cost of metal in Great Britain.

Scrap metal prices in the UK have experienced an emphatic jump in the last couple of years. Constant rises in the amount dealers and merchants are willing to pay have made selling off your scrap a very lucrative option in recent months in particular. Coming up with a definitive figure is difficult because the value is determined by several factors. For instance if you take something to the scrap yard yourself you will get a better price as the firm will make deductions for having to come collect it.

There are also regional differences in demand and other fluctuations to take into account. However at this point in time it is quite easy to find someone who will be willing to pay you somewhere in the region of £160 per tonne of scrap metal. You may think this is not a vast sum of cash. After all, a tonne is a huge amount to shift! On the other hand, to put things in perspective around three years ago you would have had to pay the scrapman to come and collect the metal from you. Even in late 2009 a two-tonne vehicle would net you about no more than £50, but demand has since soared which has driven prices up dramatically.

At the moment thieves are even turning their attention to large lumps of metal because the financial rewards are so substantial. Thefts are becoming much more common, ranging from taking old vehicles to stealing roofs off small buildings and even taking gas pipes and electric cables.

A contributory factor in the rise has been developments in China. The Asian country has enjoyed a well documented industrial boom and will take over several major western powers in the next few years at its current rate of development. During such a prosperous time demand for metal always jumps, as it is the lifeblood of a flourishing economy. It is needed for the construction industry and automotive industry as well as public works programmes. Consequently China has actively sought to import as much metal material as it can to cope with the rigours of industrial boom.

Old car bodies are one of the most popular forms of scrap as they contain large amounts of ferrous metal in the form of steel. This is recycled by manufacturers to make new steel by processing it in an electric arc furnace. As it is so in demand, owners of old vehicles are more inclined to sell them for scrap rather than find a buyer who wants to use the car. This does of course have much more of an impact on the lower echelons of the second hand market rather than the premium sector.

After all more desirable and reliable vehicles like a second hand mercedes will retain their value quite well and it will therefore be more viable to sell them on because their value as a car exceeds their scrap value by far. But at the other end of the market, more and more people are simply scrapping cars whereas years ago they would have sold them on.

On one hand this means less choice for people with small budgets. People with a low end car that they would usually sell for £250 are now scrapping it because it is more lucrative. It can therefore be difficult for first-time buyers to get on the automotive ladder. On the other hand it can improve things for buyers in the second hand market as the quality of average vehicle gets higher. For instance if someone has a car which suffers a major malfunction or fails its MOT it is much more sensible to scrap it. Therefore fewer cars which have had serious failures are left on the market. Buying a cheap car is safer as a result.

All in all, the scrap metal boom will have a much more pronounced effect on the lower end of the second hand market. If you own a relatively valuable car like a used Mercedes Benz and want to make some money, selling it to a second hand dealer is still the best way to go. If you are looking to buy one the same advice applies.

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