Recycling auto parts has become a big business over the past few years. But catalytic converters and batteries tend to get most of the attention. People may overlook the potential to recycle aluminum wheels and other types to make money. You can make a little money and protect the environment by recycling aluminum or alloy wheels from cars, motorcycles, trailers, and other vehicles. Any business that collects scrap metal in various forms including a salvage yard or a body shop or a recycling center can sell aluminum wheels in bulk to make money; individuals can also sell a few wheels from an old project car too.
Common Materials: Aluminum, Alloy, and Steel
Wheel manufacturers usually use a mixture of 97% aluminum and 3% nickel but other “aluminum” wheels include steel parts for added strength and durability. However, this type of alloy wheel is harder to recycle and worth less money. That price difference also makes aluminum wheels much more valuable than steel wheels, or steel alloy wheels.
If you are not sure what you have, test each part by touching it with a small magnet. The magnet will stick to a steel wheel but not one made of aluminum and nickel. This is potentially important because of how recyclers pay for scrap wheels.
Pricing for Aluminum and Alloy Wheels
Aluminum is best by far when it comes to scrap metal prices, which makes the business case to recycle aluminum wheels strong. Those prices vary, though $0.50 to $0.60 a pound is realistic for the aluminum wheels, less for steel or steel alloy. Adding steel to the parts lowers their value, though with the magnet test it is easy enough to find the valuable aluminum wheels and separate them. Why separate them? The value of a big truckload of wheels might be set based on the lowest-value materials in the collection. If you want to sell aluminum wheels for the best scrap price, you will want to identify them and set them aside.
How can you estimate the scrap value for those wheels? Assuming they are aluminum, they will weigh from 13 pounds to 40 pounds (big semi- and construction equipment being two exceptions). Those figures apply to cars, light trucks, and small commercial trucks like delivery vans. Some commercial vehicles and trailers, and pieces of construction equipment may have aluminum wheels that weigh more.
Getting an accurate weight for your inventory of old wheels may not be worth the trouble, but it might be. If you have the means to weigh and catalog each part, consider doing that. Because wheels are, of course, heavy, you do not need dozens of them to have a valuable asset on hand.
Consider a collection of 200 old wheels, 100 of which are made of aluminum. Almost all of the wheels come from small cars and pickups, with a handful of truck and SUV wheels mixed in. Altogether, those 100 wheels weigh 2200 pounds. At $0.60 per pound, that is $1,320. The remaining steel wheels might end up being worth less, but they can still be sold for scrap. You may have to take them to a different recycler, as they tend to specialize. Belanger Converter Recycling, for example, handles catalytic converters, lead acid batteries, and aluminum wheels. Wherever you take your old rims to recycle, they need to be prepared correctly to maximize their value.
How to Recycle Aluminum Wheels to Make Money
Find a buyer who is reasonably close to your business, workshop, or home, and find out how much they will pay for scrap auto and truck wheels. You may be able to make a little extra money by shopping around, in fact, you may need to shop around because some places only buy in bulk or might not handle aluminum parts at all. Here are some things to do before selling those aluminum wheels for scrap:
Sorting parts by their primary material is the first step to take.
If tires are still mounted on the rims, remove them.
The lead wheel weights also need to go but save them because lead cannot be dumped in landfills and does have some value as scrap.
Clean dirt and oil off each wheel.
A recycling company is unlikely to offer full price on grease-covered old wheels with tires and tire weights attached. Dirt and grease, wheel weights, and tires must be removed by the buyer, which means they will pay less. They might also reject pieces that are badly corroded and caked in old oil and dust. Maximize your return on investment by presenting a clean load of aluminum alloy wheels for sale and processing.
Turning Old Aluminum Wheels into Money
Selling your old aluminum car and truck wheels to a recycler is an environmentally friendly way to make a little extra money with not much work. If your business wants to sell aluminum wheels in bulk, contact us to get a quote and learn more about the buying process and recycle your aluminum wheels.
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