How to Successfully Salvage Good Car Parts from Junkyards?

Car parts can be quite expensive and if your budget is limited, it is a good idea to obtain them from other sources, like junkyard. Many parts like headlights, fasteners, clips, stereo and steering wheel can still be in good condition. Some newer cars can be totalled due to accidents and severe damage, so some of the non-critical components can still be useful if you have the same model of car. If price of new parts are ridiculous, you should check the local junkyards for any part that you can use. There are two types of junkyards. U-Pull junkyards require you to pay a fee to enter and you can take anything from the junkyard. Salvage yard is free to enter and for any component you take, you will pay based on the appraised value of the components.

Although junkyards can become an affordable source to obtain parts, there are a number of drawbacks that you need to be aware of. First of all, junks inside the yard is exposed to the element, such as sunlight, rain and snow; so there’s no guarantee some parts are still properly working. You will also expose yourself to coolant fluid, oil and shards of glass. So, it is important to wear gloves, thick shoes and clothing that provide decent protection. Also, if the part doesn’t work, you can’t return it to the junkyard operator. Even so, with proper strategy, you can still be successful and salvage good parts by paying small amount of money. First of all, you need to have very clear idea of what you need. As an example, a car model has different trims. So, parts from the same car model may not work for yours, if it’s not from the same trim.

You should also bring your own tool bag. Ask the junkyard operator whether you can bring the tool bag inside their property. These tools will allow you to remove parts cleanly without causing damages. It’s bad idea to roughly rip parts from the car, because you will end up with faulty parts. As an example, you need to enough tools to remove heater controls or door handle properly. You need to bring socket wrench and its extensions. You will need to bring both metric and standard socket sets. Consider bringing jack, so you don’t need to lift the car.  You will need to bring a big bag to transport both the tools and the parts. It is a good idea to go to junkyard with two or three people, if you need to bring parts that are quite large.

Before you go to the junkyard, you should define how much money that you are ready to spend. If you don’t have a limit, it is possible that you will overpay for these salvaged parts. As an example, you should immediately say no if the person asks you for $10 for a rear view mirror. The price should be lower than used parts in store, because you need to search and remove it on your own. So, you need to know about the average prices of used parts in store.