Introduction
Removing a vehicle that is unwanted, damaged, old, and/or does not run at all should be free of cost. We've restructured the towing business at Southern Towing and Car Removals, inside out! We don't charge a fortune to take your used car away, we provide top dollar Free Car Removal Melbourne service with direct Cash for Cars payouts if applicable.
We are committed to transparency in all financial matters. We've modified our standard tow structure to the trusted distance-tier system to ensure a $0 call-out fee in every metro area, and turn your vehicle's liability into a cash asset.
Below is our complete long-form 2026 prices and removal guide for everything from how the vehicle problem determines your cash payout to the distance brackets and types of automobiles.
Our removals are organised directly with the physical distance of the vehicle from our main processing centres. Unlike the traditional towing services, which quote you by the mile, Southern Towing and Car Removals cover these expenses without charging you anything. Also, if your car has a certain amount of scrap metal or the value of your car's parts is salvageable, you may receive cash directly.
Local Removal & Cash Estimation Matrix
Highest Cash Payouts
We have minimum transit overhead, which is why we maximize the cash you'll receive for your scrap or unwanted cars.
10 – 20 km (100% Free) $0
Premium Value Tiers: Suburb-to-suburb collections, either overlapping municipal areas, or between adjacent areas, continue to be entirely free.
0 to 20 km (100% Free) $0
Standard Salvage Rates: Mid-range metropolitan corridor transit for a zero dollar to you.
30 – 50 km (100% Free) $0
Extended Metro Coverage: Safe transport of scrap resources from outer boundaries back to central resources recycling centres.
50-100 km (100% Free) $0
Regional Edge Removal: Semi regional or rural boundary collections performed for free. Subject to minimum quantities of metal in bulk.
Extended Logistics
Specialized cross regional commercial farm pickups (100 km+) - Custom Assessment: $0 Based on case by case basis by our dispatch desk.
Payout Tiers by Make & Model
The final appraisal of the car for the salvage or cash for the car depends on the unladen weight of the car, the current world trade value of scrap steel, and whether the car has any parts that can be re-used mechanically. We have divided car conditions into four categories to allow you to determine the approximate value of your car assets.
Salvage Classification Matrix
The categories of vehicles and their associated scrap condition overview, along with the operational fleet requirements.
Standard Scrap Cars
Blown engines, rusted body parts extensively, burnt out or stripped parts. Attached to heavy duty commercial hydraulic winches on standard flatbed tilt trays.
Abandoned Cars
Derelict cars, collision damage that doesn't fit the bill, airbags deployed, or chassis bars crushed. Must be able to follow instructions to load safely with dollies, industrial wheel skates or special recovery tackle.
Old & Unwanted Vehicles
Old or out of date daily drivers, failed roadworthy checks, abandoned garage projects or deregistered older models. Modern metropolitan tilt loading, easy drive-on or smooth winch-on.
Commercial Trucks & SUVs
All four-wheel-drive vehicles that are intended for commercial purposes, commercial vans, delivery light trucks, dual-cab utilities and high tonne SUVs. Requires heavy duty reinforced dual-axle tilt trays, to easily handle maximum unloaded metal weights
The main Operational Factors That Define Free Car Removals
Our distance matrix is guaranteed to have a $0 call out cost, but when you need to execute a perfect, no damage done, vehicle extraction, you need to carefully evaluate the logistical situation. These details are important to our dispatch crews for creating the right mix of equipment for your property.
A system has been established to ensure that site access and confined spaces are managed.Site access and confined spaces are managed as per a system.
Our loading sequence only takes a few minutes if your vehicle is parked cleanly out on a wide suburban street, a large commercial driveway or open front lawn. But there are lots of old or non-running cars mashed deep in the mud behind a narrow side alley or blocked tight in a multi-level basement car park with a low clearance roof, which is frequently overcrowded with cars. In these specialized cases, our teams use low-profile maneuvering dollies or secondary winching cable to safely tow the vehicle without the risk of damage to the structure of the property.
If the technical task fails, restart it using a different approach. If the technical task does not succeed again, exit the task with an explanation.
Once the car is on its own wheels with a functioning steering column, it's easy to move the car around for a standard unwanted vehicle move. But if the car has been left in a neighbour's yard for years, it often has locked mechanical drum brakes, tires that have completely gone soft and rotten or missing, a lost ignition key, or a stiff steering rack. To not rip up your driveway or grass turf our operators use state of the art commercial vehicle skates and friction reducing sliders, lifting the locked axles completely off the ground, and then winching the asset onto the steel deck.
Laws, Regulations, and Documentation: Ownership Verification and Regulatory Paperwork
We are a company that complies with all Victorian environmental recycling frameworks and consumer protection acts. Our operators carry out a mandatory short inspection before any vehicle can be safely stowed on our trucks. Basic photo identification (valid driver's license) will be required along with ownership or disposal authorization for the vehicle. We handle all the hassle and complicated paperwork that needs to be completed to transfer ownership of the vehicle, as well as all Victorian number plate return paperwork on site, ensuring that you are completely legally protected from the vehicle on leaving your premises.
Why Choose Southern Towing And Car Removals?
Choosing the right vehicle removal company involves more than just choosing a company that is certified, it's also a matter of finding a company that will respect your property, protect your liability, and uphold their monetary commitments.
We will not fool you with a "free quote" and then charge you a transport surcharge, loading tax or if you have documentation to process a processing fee on arrival. Free means free.
Our fleet is strategically located throughout Melbourne's major highway routes in the North, East, West and South of the city, ensuring that we can provide same day collection windows when required; often within the same day, to fit in with your busy lifestyle. We conduct all automotive disposals in an extremely eco-friendly way, using the title 'Environmentally Certified Eco-Recycling'. All the scrap vehicles we collect are subjected to a thorough fluids draining, battery hazardous waste disposal and metal scrap processing procedure which reduces landfilling.