Mar 12, 2011

junkyard wars

   Scrounging through hundreds of cars at an autowrecker is one of my favorite activities.  So much so that I started my own mini - autowrecking yard. With my own junkyard I can go rummage any time I want and not have to deal with grouchy yard guards. In my many adventures I have learned a great deal about how to get a great deal at an autowrecking yard. I will freely pass on these tips as long as you promise not to use them on me in my own junkyard! The first tip is very important, always ask for the price of the part you want before you even begin looking for it. If you walk 1/4 of a mile to the other side of a swampy, mosquito infested junkyard and remove a tranny while lying on your back in a mixed pool of swamp water, atf, and gear oil under a 4000 pound car being held up by a 10 cent jack that you found in the trunk of a ford tempo, the price may have risen substantially by the time you drag it to the counter. Many wreckers will avoid giving you a price untill you have spent 2 hours searching for it. They figure that by the time you find it you will pay anything for it.  Another money saving tip is to put together all the parts you are buying before you haul them into the office. For example if you are buying a dash with all the parts and you haul them all in and lay them on the counter you may get charged $50 for the dash, $20 for the radio, $10 for the heater controls, and $40 for the gages. While still out in the yard, take an extra 10 minutes and screw all the parts of the dash back together and lay it on the counter as one unit. Chances are you will pay $50 for everything. It looks like just one part, not four. The next tip I learned while looking for cadillac parts at a saskatoon autowrecker. I showed up on a saturday in my good clothes looking for some 500 cadillac heads but hoping to get a deal and not have to remove them myself. I asked the guy how much he wanted for the heads. He says $150. I then ask if that includes removal. He says removal will be another $50 for a total of $200. This may sound allright to most guys but when you are accustomed to paying that much for a whole car its too much, so I left them. It just so happened that a few days later I had to be back in Saskatoon during the week. I had been thinking about buying them heads so I swung by that same yard. I then noticed that a different guy was running the place. Apparently they had a guy who worked weekends when it was really busy and another guy for the slower weekdays. I casually asked how much he wanted for those cylinder heads. He says $50 plus another $25 to remove them. I say ,SOLD! The lesson here is to try again later and don't be afraid to ask someone else.  Searching junkyards is very rewarding but there are a few words that you must refrain from using. Don't go in asking for anything vintage, rare, high performance, antique, or for a muscle car. This terminolgy raises the price by approximately 50 percent. Also learn that if you buy the 350 core out of a camaro it will be twice as much money as the 350 core from a truck. Buy the truck core because its cheaper, hasn't been abused, and its got the strong parts the same as the camaro engine. The last tip I want to leave with you is one that just gives peace of mind. As soon as you enter the compound where the wrecks are lined up, you should quickly spot and pick up a nice sized tire iron. Do not let go of it. Many wrecking yards figure there junk is so valuable that they keep a couple of starving rotwheilers or dobermans barely tied to the yard light pole with a frayed 1/4" rope. That tire iron could save your life! At the very least allways take someone with you who is much slower than you are. While the dogs are cleaning up his carcass you should be able to escape! There is many more experiences and tricks I could share to help your autowrecking adventures be more pleasant but I still occasionally have to go to other junkyards so I don't want to give away all my secrets. Remember, don't get mad at these guys because they usually get chiselled 50 times a day and that starts to cause them stress. Its possible that if you treat him badly, the dogs could accidentally come untied while you are out in his yard. Also don't burn your bridges, chances are you may want to go back to that same wrecker again some day and you don't want to see a picture of yourself hanging on his dartboard. You might not get the greetings you want. Next time you go to a wrecker look around the parking lot, especially where the employees and the boss parks. You probably won't see any porsche's. These guys aren't getting rich doing what there doing so don't be to hard on them. Honesty, respect and friendliness always wins the day.
God bless

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