Every week, an auto repair garage or mechanics workshop produces metals: removed engines, gearboxes out of service, replaced batteries, punctured radiators, bent rims, body panels, copper cables, catalytic converters. Left in a corner of the workshop, these metals take up space, rust and lose value. Sorted and sold to a professional, they become a regular income. MOUMETAL buys scrap metal from auto repair garages and mechanics workshops all over Morocco, with on-site collection, transparent weighing and a free estimate. Here is what your workshop produces, how to sort it and how to sell it.
What metals does an auto repair garage produce?
A mechanics workshop is a small mine of metals, because a car is an assembly of almost every common metal. The most frequent in a garage:
- Steel and iron: removed engines, gearboxes, chassis, suspension springs, brake discs and callipers, body panels, steel exhausts. This is the main volume of a garage's scrap.
- Aluminium: rims, cylinder heads, radiators, housings, gearbox casings. Light and sought after, aluminium is sorted separately.
- Copper: wiring harnesses, starter cables, alternators, starters, coils, copper radiators. Copper is the most valuable metal in a workshop.
- Brass and bronze: fittings, taps, bushes, plumbing and automotive tap parts.
- Stainless steel: exhaust lines, manifolds, some body and fastening parts.
- Lead: starter batteries, whose lead is recycled through a dedicated channel. See our article on buying used batteries in Morocco.
- Catalytic converters: they contain precious metals and are valorised separately — never open or empty them.
To flag separately: used engine oils and filters. They are not metals, but hazardous waste that must never be mixed with scrap or thrown into a standard skip. Flag them at inventory time and we will point you to the right channel.
Sorting metals in a garage: the simple method
Sorting is what makes the difference between a load sold at mixed weight and a well-valorised load. It needs no special equipment, just method:
- One bin per family: steel on one side, aluminium on the other, copper apart, batteries standing in a dry corner. Three or four bins are enough in most workshops.
- The magnet test: it sticks to steel and cast iron, not to aluminium, copper, brass or stainless steel. It is the first sorting gesture, and it takes a few seconds.
- Do not mix copper: a bare copper cable and a sheathed cable are not valorised the same way. Keep harnesses apart and never burn them to remove the sheath.
- Batteries apart, always: standing, terminals protected, sheltered from rain, never stacked high and never in the standard scrap bin. Our guide on recycling used batteries details storage.
- Catalytic converters apart: whole, never cut or emptied, stored in a locked place — the most sensitive load in the workshop.
To organise your workshop's storage area for good, our guide on sorting metals in a business gives the complete method, bin by bin.
Engines, gearboxes and mechanical parts: what is worth valorising
A removed engine is not a worthless block: it is an assembly of steel, cast iron, aluminium and copper. The question is whether to sell it whole or dismantled. In practice, for a garage, selling the engine whole is almost always the best option: dismantling takes time, dirties the workshop and only pays off if labour is available. MOUMETAL takes complete engines, with or without accessories, and handles dismantling and sorting.
The parts that valorise best in a workshop:
- Complete engines and gearboxes: steel, cast iron and aluminium in a single load, collected whole.
- Alternators and starters: they contain a lot of copper and are sorted with electric motors. See our article on valorising used electric motors.
- Radiators: aluminium or copper depending on the model — a copper radiator is never mixed with an aluminium radiator.
- Aluminium rims: sorted separately, without tyres, they are among the cleanest loads in a garage.
- Body panels: doors, bonnets, wings — steel for the ferrous bin, after removing plastics and glazing.
Our article on automotive scrap in Morocco completes this topic with the valorisation of whole end-of-life vehicles.
Batteries and catalytic converters: two flows to handle separately
Starter batteries are the most regular flow in a garage: every replacement produces one. A lead-acid battery is lead, acid and plastic — three materials recycled through a dedicated channel, one of the most efficient recycling loops. The golden rule: never drain the acid, never open the battery, store it upright and entrust it to an operator working with approved channels who issues a tracking slip. MOUMETAL buys car, truck and heavy-goods batteries — for fleets, see our article on scrap from road transport.
Catalytic converters deserve special attention: they contain precious metals in very small quantities, and their value depends on the vehicle model and the state of the catalyst. Never open them, never empty them, never cut them: an opened converter loses most of its value and becomes waste that is hard to treat. Store them whole, in a locked room, and flag them separately at estimate time — they are valorised distinctly from the rest of the scrap.
How is the value of a garage's scrap determined?
This is the question every garage owner asks. The answer comes down to a few factors, with no published tariff, because the value of a load moves with the metals market. Every load gets a free estimate, on site or on description. Here is what counts:
- Weight and sorting: a load sorted by metal — copper apart, aluminium apart, steel apart — always valorises better than a mix. This is the number one factor.
- The nature of the metals: copper and catalytic converters weigh heavily in the estimate, aluminium follows, steel and cast iron make up the volume.
- Metal prices: copper, aluminium and steel are quoted on international markets. When prices rise, the value of your stock rises with them.
- Volume and regularity: a garage that produces every month valorises better than an isolated load, because collection is simpler to organise — and a planned pickup keeps the workshop clear.
- Condition and cleanliness: clean metals, without oil or mixed plastic and without excessive rust, are weighed and valorised without deduction.
To understand more broadly how a scrap dealer sets its estimates, read our article on the price of scrap metal in Morocco: the same principles apply — weight, sorting, metal prices — with no published tariff.
Selling your garage's scrap to MOUMETAL: how it works
Entrusting your workshop's scrap to MOUMETAL is a simple four-step process:
- Contact: call us on +212 660 690 806, write to us on WhatsApp or via our form. Describe your stock: engines, batteries, copper, aluminium, approximate quantities, city.
- Free estimate: we assess the load — including batteries and catalytic converters separately — and give you a no-obligation estimate, based on weight, sorting and metal prices.
- On-site collection: we come with the right truck, including for heavy engines and bulky loads. Weighing is done on site, in front of you, in full transparency. For regular collections or full clearances, see our collection and removal and factory clearance pages.
- Fast payment and traceability: you are paid quickly, and you receive the tracking slip proving collection and destination to approved channels.
The Moroccan context: a sector that is getting organised
In Morocco, the world of automotive scrap is changing fast. The Salmia market in Casablanca — presented as Africa's largest market for used car parts — is being moved to a new site in Médiouna, while the Dallas site has been dismantled. At the same time, a first industrial vehicle-dismantling centre has opened in Casablanca, and the "Salamatouna" label aims to clean up the spare-parts market. The direction is clear: towards a more formal, more traceable, more professional sector.
That is exactly what MOUMETAL offers garages: a formal channel, with a free estimate, transparent weighing and a tracking slip — instead of sale by weight with no traceability. Your workshop gains space, a regular income and proof of compliance for every collection.
FAQ — Scrap metal from auto repair garages in Morocco
Who buys scrap metal from an auto repair garage in Morocco? Metal collection companies like MOUMETAL — engines, gearboxes, batteries, copper, aluminium, catalytic converters — with on-site collection all over Morocco.
What should I do with used engines from a garage? Sell them whole to a professional metals buyer: dismantling in the workshop costs more in time than it earns. MOUMETAL takes complete engines, with or without accessories, and handles sorting.
Where can I sell a garage's used batteries? To an operator working with approved channels, like MOUMETAL, which collects them on site and issues a tracking slip. Never throw them away with household waste and never drain their acid.
What should I do with used catalytic converters? Store them whole, never opened or cut, in a locked room, and flag them separately at estimate time: they contain precious metals and are valorised distinctly.
Is there a minimum quantity to sell a garage's scrap? No: MOUMETAL buys a single engine as well as a regular stock. The larger and more regular the load, the simpler the collection to organise — and the more interesting the estimate.
Sell your garage's scrap metal to MOUMETAL
Engines, gearboxes, batteries, copper, aluminium, catalytic converters: MOUMETAL buys scrap metal from auto repair garages and mechanics workshops in Morocco, with on-site collection, transparent weighing, fast payment and a tracking slip. Contact us: +212 660 690 806 — contact@moumetal.com.