Thought about doing something about that old clunker that's taking up space in your driveway? You may be able to get a little cash for your troubles by selling it to your local scrap yard or donating it to your favorite charity organization. You can even have it towed away for free, freeing up some well-needed driveway space for your other vehicles.

But what happens after your clunker goes on the hook? The following explains what goes on after your junk car takes its last ride.

Classified and Prepped

Whoever buys or receives your vehicle must first decide if it's going straight to the scrap heap or if it can be salvaged in part or whole. If your car still has a little life left in it, it may be set aside for reconditioning into a running state instead of being scrapped. Otherwise, your old car may likely be broken down for its valuable parts and eventually scrapped.

But before being scrapped, recyclers must first drain any and all potentially hazardous fluids from the vehicle. This includes engine oil, engine coolant, transmission fluid, power steering fluid, and any gasoline that's left in the gas tank. The brake fluid reservoir and brake lines are also drained of the environmentally harmful fluid.

Afterwards, there's still plenty of work needed to make the vehicle environmentally safe for recycling. The lead acid battery is removed and set aside for disposal or refurbishing. The tires may also be taken off and set aside for recycling. Any and all components made from lead or other potentially harmful materials are also removed and properly disposed of.

Broken Up and Parted Out

The average car is full of parts that can be removed, reconditioned, and sold for eventual reuse. Entire drivetrain components are usually the first to go, with whole engines and transmissions being removed if they're still serviceable. Other high-value parts like alternators, radios and infotainment equipment, powertrain and body control modules, and power-steering pumps may also be removed and either resold as-is or sent away for refurbishment and resale.

What's usually left of your old clunker at this point is a metal skeleton with a few plastic bits and some upholstery attached. Your vehicle may be stripped further of its wiring, heater core, and various interior bits before being flattened, compacted into a cube, or fed through an industrial shredder.

You'd be amazed at how much recyclable material is in a typical car. Nearly all of the steel and aluminum used in manufacturing a vehicle can be melted down and reused for another purpose. In fact, it's often easier and less energy-intensive to recover aluminum from recyclable sources than it is to process new aluminum from raw materials. Copper components can be recycled 100 percent without losing any quality.

Donated Cars May Get a New Lease on Life

If you decided to donate your old vehicle to charity instead of having it scrapped, the charity organization may decide to breathe new life into it. Of course, this depends on the overall condition of the vehicle and the amount of effort needed for mechanics to restore it to running condition.

After mechanics recondition the vehicle, it may be re-sold at a reasonable price to those in need of cheap wheels. However, some charity organizations may simply give the vehicle away to families and individuals in dire need of affordable transportation.

Charity organizations aren't the only ones who may decide to recondition a vehicle instead of breaking it down for scrap. Some recyclers may take a vehicle that's already in reasonable running condition and put it up for sale for a relatively affordable price.

For more information, contact a company that buys cars for cash.