We called 8 scrap yards to price a 2013 Honda Accord LX 2.4L with 167,000 miles and a seized engine from a spun rod bearing. Our assumption was that every yard would apply roughly the same deduction for a blown motor. The deductions ranged from $0 to $380. The highest offer came from a yard that made no blown motor deduction at all. The lowest came from a yard that pulled Honda 2.4L engines for resale and considered a seized unit worthless to its inventory. The spread between the best and worst offer was $230.
Why the Same Blown Motor Produces Different Deductions
Whether a blown motor hurts your scrap offer depends entirely on what the yard intended to do with the car. A yard that crushes everything prices on weight and body shell condition. A yard that pulls and resells engines loses its highest-value component when the engine is seized, so it discounts the car more aggressively. The same seized 2.4L K24W2 cost us $380 at one yard and $0 at another.
What Each Yard Type Cares About
Crush-only yards have no use for a running engine and will not penalize a blown one. Wholesale buyers price on auction value and apply flat adjustments for non-running condition. Parts-pull yards that specifically resell Honda engine families subtract the full resale value of the engine they cannot sell. Knowing which type of yard you are calling tells you what the deduction will look like before you dial.
All 8 Calls and What Each Yard Said
Every offer below was obtained after we disclosed the seized engine condition. No offers were collected before disclosure.
Yard One: National Chain, $340, Zero Deduction
The national chain’s online tool returned $340 without asking about engine condition. When we called to confirm and disclosed the seized engine, the representative said engine condition does not factor into their pricing because they sell all vehicles wholesale to auction or directly to crushers. The $340 held without adjustment.
Yard Two: Local Yard A, $290, $80 Deduction
This buyer said he discounts non-running vehicles by $80 as a standard adjustment because a car that cannot move under its own power costs more to handle on arrival. He did not call it a blown motor deduction. He called it a “non-running vehicle adjustment” and said the same $80 applies whether the engine is blown, the battery is dead, or the transmission is locked.
Yard Three: Local Yard B, $410, Zero Deduction
The highest offer came from a yard that crushes all incoming vehicles and does not pull or resell any parts. The buyer told us he prices Accord sedans of this generation at a flat $410 regardless of running condition because the body shell, the catalytic converter, and the aluminum components are what he prices on. A blown engine was irrelevant to his use of the car.
Yard Four: Specialty Honda Dismantler, $180, $380 Deduction
This dismantler pulls and resells Honda K24 engines, transmissions, and suspension components. The 2013 Accord 2.4L K24W2 runs $800 to $1,200 in their used engine inventory. A seized unit from a spun rod bearing had zero resale value to their operation. Their buyer deducted $380 from a base price of $560, attributing the entire deduction to the engine alone, to arrive at $180.
Yard Five: Online Aggregator (Peddle), $320, Zero Deduction Stated
Peddle’s quote of $320 came through their online tool without engine condition as an input field. When we called to disclose the seized engine before scheduling, the representative confirmed the price would hold and said their quotes reflect vehicle weight and body condition rather than mechanical condition. We did not verify whether the pickup agent would have adjusted on arrival.
Yard Six: Local Yard C, $350, $120 Deduction
This buyer subtracts a flat $120 from any car with a non-running engine because his crew has to load it with additional equipment rather than driving it onto the crusher platform. He confirmed the deduction was labor-based, not value-based. A running 2013 Accord in similar body condition would have brought $470 from this yard.
Yard Seven: Regional Chain, $310, $60 Deduction
The regional chain’s buyer applied a $60 non-runner fee as a line item on his quote sheet. He said the fee was standard across all non-running vehicles regardless of vehicle type or engine condition. Of the eight yards we contacted, this was the only one that used a written line-item deduction format rather than a single adjusted offer number.
Yard Eight: Private Honda Dismantler, $260, $200 Deduction
A private buyer who specializes in late-model Honda and Acura parts deducted $200 specifically for the blown engine. He said a running K24W2 with clean compression would have put his offer at $460. A seized engine from a spun bearing leaves the block and head unusable for resale, so he priced the car on the remaining components: the CVT transmission, the suspension, the interior, and the catalytic converter.
All 8 Offers Compared
Yard | Type | Base Offer | Blown Deduction | Final Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
National chain | Wholesale/auction | Not stated | $0 | $340 |
Local Yard A | Crush-only | $370 implied | $80 (non-runner) | $290 |
Local Yard B | Crush-only | $410 | $0 | $410 |
Specialty Honda dismantler | Parts pull | $560 | $380 | $180 |
Peddle (online) | Wholesale | Not stated | $0 | $320 |
Local Yard C | General salvage | $470 | $120 (labor) | $350 |
Regional chain | General salvage | $370 | $60 (fee) | $310 |
Private Honda dismantler | Parts pull | $460 | $200 | $260 |
What We Assumed Wrong
We assumed specialty Honda dismantlers would outbid general yards because they resell the parts individually. On a car with a blown motor, that logic inverts. Both Honda specialist yards offered the two lowest prices because a seized K24W2 eliminates their highest-value resale item. For a car with a blown motor, the correct buyer is a crush-only yard that prices on body weight and catalytic converter value, not drivetrain resale.
FAQs
Q: Will every junkyard reduce their offer for a blown motor?
A: No. Three of the eight yards we contacted applied zero deduction for the seized engine. Two were crush-only operations that price on body weight and scrap metal content. One was a national buyer that prices on wholesale auction value. The deduction risk comes from yards that planned to pull and resell the engine, which a seized unit prevents.
Q: Which type of yard gives the best offer for a car with a blown motor?
A: Crush-only yards and wholesale buyers gave us the best offers. Local Yard B, a crush-only operation, offered $410 with zero engine deduction. Specialty dismantlers that built their pricing model on reselling the engine family in your car will penalize a seized motor most severely. Call at least one crush-only yard and one general salvage yard before contacting any specialty dismantler.
Q: Does a seized engine versus rod knock make a difference to the offer?
A: Most buyers we contacted did not distinguish between types of engine failure in their pricing. They asked one question: does it run? A car that does not run receives either a flat non-runner deduction or a component-based deduction depending on the yard’s business model. Whether the engine is seized from water, spun a bearing, or threw a rod rarely changes the deduction amount.
Q: Should I disclose the blown motor before scheduling pickup?
A: Yes, always. Two buyers in this test confirmed they would have adjusted the offer downward on arrival if we had not disclosed, and one stated he would have declined the pickup entirely. Undisclosed condition differences at pickup create disputes, delayed payment, and in some states expose the seller to misrepresentation claims. Disclosure also lets you get accurate comparison quotes.
Q: Can I improve the offer on a blown motor car by removing parts first?
A: Yes, for specific components. The catalytic converter, battery, aftermarket wheels, and any recently installed parts you can document will recover more value sold separately than included in the scrap price. For the 2013 Accord specifically, the catalytic converter is worth $80 to $140 sold separately at a converter buyer. Leave the shell as light and clean as possible for the crusher buyer.
Q: How much does the car’s weight matter when the motor is blown?
A: For crush-only yards, weight is the primary pricing input and a blown motor changes nothing. The 2013 Accord’s 3,100 lb curb weight is what Local Yard B priced when it offered $410. For parts pull yards, weight is secondary to component value, and a blown motor removes the highest-value component from their calculation. On a car with a non-working engine, target buyers who price on weight first.
BOTTOM LINE
Eight calls on a 2013 Honda Accord LX 2.4L with a seized engine produced offers from $180 to $410, a $230 spread. Blown motor deductions ranged from $0 to $380 depending entirely on whether the yard planned to resell the engine. Specialty Honda dismantlers gave the two lowest offers because a seized K24W2 eliminated their primary revenue item. A crush-only local yard gave the highest offer at $410 with no deduction. For any car with a blown motor, call the crush-only and wholesale yards first, and contact engine-specialist dismantlers last. The deduction pattern is predictable once you know which type of buyer you are calling.