Pulling Your Own Parts

[Packy]

Do you kids use the self-service auto salvage yard in your community? Do you even have one in your area? They are usually corporate-owned, and located in urban areas. If you live in a rural or suburban setting, do you do business with a yard that allows you to pull your own parts, for a reduced price? Have you ever gotten an especially good buy on something at a ss yard?

[mschrisgo2]

Years ago (hmm, about 15 now) I had a friend who got all of his parts from pic-n-pull. It's not as easy or realistic with the newer cars that have "modules" that get replaced; you really can't tell how good those electronic parts are. I guess you could assume they were OK when the car was junked, but... maybe not. Same guy still buys used tires; he has a good relationship with the local tire store and they let him know when something comes in that would fit one of his vehicles (he has several).

[bae]

We don't have such a place here, alas.

However, the fellow who runs the main auto repair and towing service will call you if a wrecked or due-to-be-towed-off-island-and-scrapped car with compatible parts to one of yours is in his yard, then you can scamper down and remove what you want. I think I have enough Volvo wagon parts to build 2-3 more Volvos when I need to at this point.

[Packy]

Hmmmm. I think I can see a need for a company called: Constitution Mountain Car And Truck Salvage. They, would "Specialize in Everything", as I like to say. Even Volvos, which every knows are Notoriously Safe. Well, aren't they? You can't get hurt in them, no matter how hard you try! We'd also have those batteries, hand-picked, good used, for Priuses. Parts for other Toyotas, even though we all know they "run forever". A great selection of wheels, to replace the ones that "fell off".We'd have a wide selection of motors for Subarus, too. IF, you can figure out how to work on it. Bring your tools, pull your own parts, and save. Need a steering column for your Merc-O-ree that some Thug boogered up? Not a problem.

[Packy]

Modules, are surprisingly long-lasting in most cases. I think they were failure-prone early on, but now--they last a long time. Unless the car is in a flood, or a "mechanic" does something to cause an electrical problem, they keep on going. That said--I stand by one of my conspiracy theories that: besides overly-stringent emissions requirements & using media advertising to create demand for nice, clean , safe, NEW stuff--electronics were the way manufacturers were going to set limits on the lifespan of their product. But, that's something for another Topic. With that in mind, I've picked up salvage modules for my 1997 and 2004 Cars, so I've got spares. But, guess what? The 2004 box--I found this out later--is supposed to go to the dealer, so they can "reprogram" it just for my car! So does any key blank I buy! It won't work, otherwise, so they say. Talk about a captive market! I will wait until Ferguson, Mo., is a Great Place To Live And Raise A Family, before I do that! That said-- prolly, by now, there are aftermarket solutions, and I'll go for that.

[iris lilies]

I was uber happy when the salvage yard 2 blocks from me, located on the prime strip of our historic neighborhood, moved. Yuppies will not pay $500,000+ for houses across the street from dat chit. That was one of many major changes to improve my neighborhood in the past 25 years.

I guess I have to weigh the convenience of having the wrecking yard there for me to pick my auto parts vs seeing the old houses here purchased and made beautiful, hmmm, what a dilemma. Not.

[Spartana]

I don't work on my cars anymore (too lazy so just take it to the shop. Time is money, etc... and I'd rather pay the money then spend the time) but I use to get parts from a salvage yard quite often back when I did. I really enjoyed just walking around looking at all the stuff too - and still enjoy visiting old industrial sites too just to roam around. I also recently donated my car to the local Pic & Pull salvage yard. The Great State of California paid me $1500 to get rid of my car (a 2003 Hyundai Accent) in one of there vehicle buy-back programs. It's tranny was going (no reverse and other gears starting to stick) and had a million other things wrong with it so was a good deal.

[Packy]

I was uber happy when the salvage yard 2 blocks from me, located on the prime strip of our historic neighborhood, moved. Yuppies will not pay $500,000+ for houses across the street from dat chit. That was one of many major changes to improve my neighborhood in the past 25 years.

I guess I have to weigh the convenience of having the wrecking yard there for me to pick my auto parts vs seeing the old houses here purchased and made beautiful, hmmm, what a dilemma. Not. Well, that wreckin' yard was prolly GLAD to relocate, 'cause they got tired of thugs sneaking in to rip them off, and having to deal with Yuppie-wanna-bees griping and complaining and circulating petitions about that unsightly eyesore that is ruining their environment and lowering property values. The same old trite arguments. If that is the case--why don't they tear down those ugly old, structurally unsound 19th century buildings, huh? For gads sake--don't wait for the next New Madrid Quake to do it. Why don't they demand a law against obesity? After all--it is unhealthy and unsightly and lowers your life expectancy! Ha. Gotcha. The real reason salvage yards are targeted is because Affluent Americans don't want to be reminded of their crazy consumption habit--we live in a throwaway society where our stuff is thrown away not because it's worn out, but because it's not NEW anymore, and we are tired of it. See? Otherwise, we'd demand that stuff be build to last a lifetime, and easily repairable so it will. But no--look where we've headed--consumer electronics--what do we do with them on a regular basis, when prolly 99.9% of the components are perfectly good for further use? Pitch it! Sorry, but that is not sustainable.