I’m pretty sure that most all of you know the drill: you pay your two dollars, you head for your particular make or nationality’s neighborhood, and then you start the un-wrenching. The U-Pull-It junk yard has long been a boon to the home mechanic, both for keeping that older daily driver on the road, and parting up a fun car as there’s always something it needs.
Of course it’s not all dessert trays and tequila sunrises at these yards. You typically have to navigate pools of unknown liquids (yes, they’re probably at least some part urine) and then there’s often that part that is securely out of your reach owing to the support upon which the car sits. And don’t get me started about the yards within a yard that are blocked off from view and require an additional two bucks to enter. Geez!
Those are my major complaints, but the junk yard is still one of my favorite haunts, and a cool fall day under a blue sky amidst a cornucopia of opportunity in metal and decaying plastics is about the best time I think a person could have. Of course, it could be better, and that’s the question for today; how would you make U-Pull-It yards better?
Image: ©2015 Hooniverse/Robert Emslie, All Rights Reserved
Hooniverse Asks: How Would You Improve U-Pull-It Junk Yards?
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33 responses to “Hooniverse Asks: How Would You Improve U-Pull-It Junk Yards?”
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Better selection. I can find damned near anything for my 2005 Odyssey at my local yard, but if I want a used part for the W126, I have only ebay, where markup is might-as-well-buy-new.
But then, that’s just the nature of enthusiast vehicles, isn’t it? Nearly a million W126es produced over the years, and most of them that haven’t been totaled in a crash are probably still mobile.-
I guess Eureka Springs is where MBs go to die. This is only a small sample of a few tucked in the woods on the edge of town.
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My biggest complaint is that the one near me closed years ago.
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Same here. My nearest junkyard is a one hour drive away. And prices are…insane. Used car parts from a yard will be priced just a tad below new prices.
Before, I used to know a Volvo collector who had filled his own forest with ~130-150 Amazons, 140s and 240s. He would offer parts for a great price and he’d explain a lot of wrenching stuff on the way. The car I drive now is so rare, if I enter it into the appropriate database, I find two yards on the other side of the country who have one car each.-
Name that rare car ?????
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Well, I’m posting from Norway and it’s a Honda Stream – nothing exciting. It’s a model that was particularly popular in Indonesia and thereabout, we have 148 such registered in my country as of this spring. When we decided we needed a seven seater and the Volvo 264 TE was vetoed in the house council, something rare was a hoonable alternative.
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May I ask where you obtained that number? IRoad authorities, SSB?
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Opplysningsrådet for Veitrafikken, OFV, they are very kind and answer emails. I think professional parts have access to that database by paying a monthly fee.
I also asked for Camry numbers, these were more detailled:
1983 18
1984 33
1985 74
1986 103
1987 194
1988 97
1989 85
1990 95
1991 180
1992 207
1993 296
1994 208
1995 226
1996 210
1997 456
1998 364
1999 243
2000 228
2001 202
2002 263
2003 90
2004 46
2005 2
2006 3
2007 15
2008 6
2009 3
2010 4
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All but one of my local yards has been consolidated under a single national brand whose master list of vehicles to stock only partially intersects with my fleet. I’d fix that first. I’d especially like to see older vehicles.
My only complaint for the local yard is the son of the owner, but that’s not an issue I find to be universal; sometimes it’s the brother or grandson.
Allow the use of cordless power tools. Improve the website inventory list to include things like engine size and transmission type. Maybe a picture of the vehicle, better yet a couple of pictures every week yo get a basic idea of what’s left.
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One of the lots in my area does a great job of that…sometimes. I mean, some cars will have five or six pictures, full details, about two dozen major parts listed, and some will just have year/make/model and confirmation that, yes, it has a steering rack (or some other random part).
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Hmm, when I went to my local Pick N Pull for parts to repair the crash damage on my daughter’s Protege, I took my 18v reciprocating saw so I could cut the radiator support out. No one batted an eye.
It’s been years since I’ve been in a junkyard – thankfully with the interwebs the parts I’m looking for are just a few mouse clicks or a phone call away (unless it’s some stupid-ass unobtanium Saab part that can only be found on a Sami farm in Jokkmokk).
As a side note, one of my fond youthful memories – before the beautification laws, I loved when we’d drive by junkyards and see all the cars. I would almost beg my dad to stop so we could check ’em out.
I’d go back in time and prevent the purchase of our local chain of yards by the tier-one (IIRC) automotive components supplier who jacked up the prices on everything by almost 50% overnight.
Seriously, it’s been cheaper in some cases to buy new replacement parts online and have them shipped to me than it has been to go to the Pick-A-Part.
More socioeconomic permeability, you hardly see a black tie guy there:
http://41.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kuvyuf3Nse1qzhiqwo1_1280.png
(I only own engines that were never/hardly sold in this country, so the local junkyards are irrelevant to me)
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The Wolf only make deposits at scrapyards, not withdrawals.
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Hey! I’m not Mexican.
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Me neither. I guess that narrows things down a bit.
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It used to be so much more classy:
http://pics.imcdb.org/0is162/goldfingergalaxiepickupwq9.1913.jpg
Realistic pricing would be a boon to junkyard owner and customer alike. I understand the allure of “no haggle” pricing, but most junkyards that I’ve been to recently have one of two price structures. Flat-rate menu based on part type, or 50% of new, regardless of condition. I get that it’s a volume business, and no one should be expected to know the market value of every part on every car in the lot, but in today’s information age, Google knows enough.
To the junkyard: You aren’t going to sell any of your Corolla water pump inventory at 50% of new retail. A new pump doesn’t even cost 50% of new retail, and a reman from the local parts store will undercut that even more.
The flat-rate menu is awesome if you need a headlight for a BMW, but it sucks ass if you need a headlight for your Saturn.
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I agree. I went in for window switches for my Scion tC. The window switch is shared between the tC and the Land Cruiser. They of course tried to price it on 50% of the Land Cruiser’s part cost. Forty-something dollars.
I stood in front of him and hit eBay, got one for $12 shipped.
Put them closer to my house.
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I-435 and I-70 can’t be too bad for you. Winner Road typically has the largest selection. The KCK yard tends to have more cars with urban appeal.
The independent Liberty yard has a more varied selection but can remain soupy long after the last rain.-
I was thinking more of the two-wheeled variety. Hwy 50 Cycle in Holden, MO is the only one that’s a reasonable distance, and the surly old grump that runs the place isn’t worth hassling with anymore.
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The ones I’ve been to always have deep, muddy ruts from front-end loaders that make navigating the place difficult if it’s rained recently. Not sure what the solution would be, though.
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Finally, a practical use for a machine that’s been in my work-notebook doodles for years… a Quadtrac front-end loader.
No spiders or your money back.
The only thing I ask for is less insane pricing. Back in the old days there was a guy in the booth that looked at your haul and made up a price on the spot. If it was plastic, something they typically can’t recycle they’d just say $10. Now a days they want to charge you for every nut, bolt and broken plastic tab at prices that you pay in the store for new. I understand they have to make money but it’s also a good way to chase off your customer base.
In HS in the 80s,I was a regular at local junk yards. They were all locally owned and had zero organization. Cars were piled somewhat randomly and aisles were a muddy, weedy mess.
Now I have driving daughters, I’m back shopping for crash parts again. The modern, chain owned yard near me is separated by brand, gravel everywhere and the cars are up in the air. They fixed what I complained about.
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