Scrap yards and car breakers in the UAE: buying used parts

What a scrap yard, a breaker and a used-parts shop each sell

The names are regional, not technical. Wikipedia's article on wrecking yards, read on 7 October 2026, lists scrapyard and car breaker as the British, Irish and South African words and junkyard as the American one. In our directory the same business is filed as Salvage / Scrap Yard, and the shops that sell pulled parts over a counter are filed as Used auto parts store. What they have in common is the source: a car that was wrecked or reached the end of its life.

The same article describes how such yards work in general: popular parts are removed ahead of time and kept ready, and the parts most often resold include lights, seats, exhaust components, mirrors and glass in good condition, while the stripped shells are sold on to scrap-metal processors. That is a general description, not a UAE inventory. The yards in our directory that describe selling parts list some of the same items and add engines, gearboxes, doors and body panels.

Two things follow for a buyer. The part you buy came off a car that was wrecked or written off, so where it came from is the first question, not the last. And a yard is not a shop with a shelf of labelled boxes: each part is the one that came off that particular car, which is why the invoice, rather than a sticker, is where you record what you bought.

Where the parts yards are

Start with Sharjah. Gulf News reported on 17 October 2022 that the emirate's Economic Development Department was moving all used car sales, auto parts businesses and auctions to Souq Al Haraj, Industrial Areas 2 to 17 and the Al Sajaa Industrial Area, with the stated aim of strengthening Sharjah as a destination for the car trade. Three of the four yards we name below are in Sharjah, two of them in Al Sajaa.

The Autopian visited the yards in Emirates Industrial City and reported on 17 December 2024 blocks after blocks of yards that specialise in certain cars. Most of the cars, it said, come from insurance salvage companies around the world, including the US, Japan, Europe and Korea, buyers come from across the Middle East for restoration and repair parts, and most deals are done in person or over the phone. The photographer Larry Chen, quoted in the same piece, said very few of these yards have an online presence, because listing the stock for sale would take so much work.

That is why this guide leans on the phone and on the make of your car. A yard that works on your make is the one most likely to have your part, and an online search for that part may show nothing at all. It is also why the used-parts-by-make pages in our used car parts guide are a better starting point than a general search.

Outside Sharjah we found fewer yards that describe selling parts. Our salvage category has one in Fujairah, in Al Hail Industrial, that does. Its Dubai and Abu Dhabi entries describe buying metal or taking in end-of-life vehicles and do not say they sell parts, so for those emirates the used-parts shops and the market pages linked beside this guide are the better start. For the market at Souq Al Haraj itself, and how buying there works, read our Sajaa guide; this page does not repeat it.

The yards in our directory that say they sell parts

On 7 October 2026 the salvage and scrap yard category in our directory listed nine businesses. We read all nine listing pages. Four describe selling used car parts. Four buy scrap metal and describe no parts sales, and one, in Dubai, describes taking in end-of-life vehicles and breaking them down without saying it sells the parts. A metal buyer has nothing for a parts shopper, so we name the four and say so, rather than padding the list to look fuller.

The table gives each yard's name exactly as the directory shows it, then what its listing page says. The names look odd because they appear to be Arabic names typed in Latin letters. We have left them alone because the listing page uses the same spelling, and it is what you will see on the page you click through to. One of the four is filed on its own page as a car dealer but appears on the category page; its listing describes a yard in Al Sajaa selling used parts and also buying vehicles for scrap.

Read the table for what it is: the text of each listing page on 7 October 2026. It is not a record of what is on the shelf today, we have not inspected these yards or their stock, and being listed is not an endorsement. Ring or message first, and ask the questions in the next section.

How to buy from a yard, step by step

Step 1: start from the part, not the yard. Have your VIN (the chassis number) and a clear photograph of the old part, plus any number stamped on it. Our VIN guide explains where to find the number and what to send.

Step 2: choose yards that work on your make. The Autopian found yards in Emirates Industrial City specialising by car, so an owner of a Nissan is better served starting with a yard known for Nissans than with whichever yard is nearest. One of the listings above names Nissan and Infiniti as its focus.

Step 3: ask by phone or WhatsApp before you drive. Because most yard deals are done in person or by phone, a message with your VIN and photo is the normal first step, and it saves a drive to Al Sajaa for a part the yard does not have. Ask for a photo of the exact part and of the car it came from.

Step 4: ask every yard the same four questions. Which car did it come from, and roughly how old was that car? What condition is the part in? What exactly is included? What warranty is there, in writing, and does it depend on who fits the part? Identical questions are what make two quotes comparable.

Step 5: inspect it against the old part. Hold the two side by side: mounting points, connectors and any stamped numbers should match. For a lamp, panel or mirror, look at it in daylight for cracks, repairs and a colour that differs from the rest of your car.

Step 6: get the invoice right. Bracewell LLP's briefing dated 18 September 2023 says Article 7 of the executive regulations of the UAE consumer-protection law requires the condition of used goods to be stated on the item, at the place of business and on the invoice or contract. A legal briefing published on hlc.com on 21 May 2024 says a warranty is a document, which can be the invoice, giving the supplier's name and details, the purchase date, the warranty period, the name, model and serial number of the item, and any exceptions. We are not lawyers and this is not legal advice. In practice, the invoice should say used, name the donor car, list what is included and state the warranty.

Step 7: have it fitted properly and keep the paperwork. Ask before you pay whether the warranty depends on who fits the part, and keep the invoice and the fitting receipt together.

Safety: what to be careful with, and why

A part from a yard comes off a car that was wrecked or written off, so the useful question is not only whether it works but what happened to the car it came from. Ask for the donor car's story, and treat a yard that will not give one as an answer.

Airbags deserve particular care. The US safety regulator NHTSA issued an alert, reported by Automotive Fleet on 10 October 2012, that counterfeit replacement airbags, which looked nearly identical to original parts, malfunctioned consistently in its testing, from failing to deploy to expelling metal fragments. The groups it flagged included owners of salvage or rebuilt-title cars and people who had bought replacement airbags at unusually low prices, for which it gave under 400 US dollars as the example. That was an American alert about counterfeits, not a finding about UAE yards, but it is a clear published reason to be wary of a cheap airbag from any source, and our used car parts guide already puts airbags and seatbelt pretensioners in its buy-new column.

For the rest of the car, the part-by-part table in our used car parts guide is the rule to use: panels, lamps, glass and trim are the natural purchases from a yard, and wear items such as brake pads, belts and filters sit in its buy-new column.

What this guide leaves out, and why

We publish no part prices here. A price with no named yard and no date behind it is decoration, and our price guide explains why we would rather give you the questions to ask than a range we cannot trace. We also give no opening hours, because the listing pages show hours only where the yard supplied them and they change, and no count of yards in the UAE, because we have no source for one.

This page is about buying parts. Selling a car, the price of scrap metal and car removal are different trades with different businesses, and nothing here covers them.

Parts sellers we can name

These shops are here because our record of them says their stock is used or mixed and covers engine, gearbox or body panel parts, which is what a yard pulls from a wrecked car. We do not hold a record of which of them are scrap yards or breakers, and none of them is checked for stock today, so ring or message before you drive out.

FAQs

What is the difference between a scrap yard, a car breaker and a junkyard?

Mostly vocabulary. Wikipedia's article on wrecking yards, read on 7 October 2026, gives scrapyard and car breaker as British, Irish and South African terms and junkyard as the American one. All describe a yard that dismantles wrecked or end-of-life vehicles, sells the parts that still work and sends the shells for scrap metal. In our directory the category is called Salvage / Scrap Yard.

Where are the scrap yards in Sharjah?

The ones in our directory that describe selling used parts are in Al Sajaa and Emirates Industrial City and elsewhere in Sharjah. Gulf News reported on 17 October 2022 that Sharjah's Economic Development Department was moving used car sales, auto parts businesses and auctions to Souq Al Haraj, Industrial Areas 2 to 17 and the Al Sajaa Industrial Area, and The Autopian described blocks of make-specialised yards in Emirates Industrial City on 17 December 2024.

How do I find a car scrap yard near me?

Start with the salvage and scrap yard category and the used auto parts near me page in this directory, then narrow by your make using the used-parts pages in our used car parts guide. Read the listing text before you travel: the category also lists metal buyers, which do not sell parts.

Can I buy parts from a scrap yard in Dubai or Abu Dhabi?

Our salvage and scrap yard category lists one Dubai and two Abu Dhabi businesses on 7 October 2026, and their listing pages describe buying metal or taking in end-of-life vehicles rather than selling parts. For those emirates use the used-parts pages by make and the used auto parts store pages. One Sharjah yard's listing says it delivers anywhere in the UAE, so ask any yard whether it delivers.

Do scrap yards give a warranty on used parts?

Some yards say they do and we have no sourced rule for how long. What we can source is the paperwork. A legal briefing published on hlc.com on 21 May 2024 says a warranty is a document, which can be the invoice, giving the supplier's details, the purchase date, the warranty period, the item's name, model and serial number and any exceptions. Ask for those terms in writing before you pay.

Are parts from a scrap yard safe?

Judge it part by part and ask where the part came from. Airbags need the most care: NHTSA's 2012 alert, reported by Automotive Fleet on 10 October 2012, found counterfeit replacement airbags failing in testing and flagged owners of salvage or rebuilt-title cars and buyers of unusually cheap airbags. That was a US alert about counterfeits, not about UAE yards.

What should the invoice for a used part say?

That the part is used, which car it came from, what is included, the price and the warranty terms. Bracewell LLP's briefing dated 18 September 2023 says Article 7 of the executive regulations of the UAE consumer-protection law requires the condition of used goods to be stated on the invoice or contract. We are not lawyers, so treat that as a reason to ask rather than legal advice.

What should I take with me to a scrap yard?

Your VIN, a photograph of the old part and, if you can, the old part itself to hold against the replacement. Send the VIN and photo first by phone or WhatsApp, because most yard deals are done in person or over the phone and a yard that specialises in another make may not have your part.

Where do scrap yards in the UAE get their cars?

The Autopian reported on 17 December 2024 that most of the cars in the Emirates Industrial City yards come from insurance salvage companies around the world, including the US, Japan, Europe and Korea. That is one reporter's account of one area, not a count, so ask any yard where your donor car came from.

Have you inspected the yards you name?

No. The four yards are named because their own listing pages, read on 7 October 2026, describe selling used car parts. We have not inspected them or their stock, and being listed is not an endorsement. Ring first and ask the questions in this guide.