3 Tips For Finding A Used Part In A Junkyard
Posted on: 4 August 2015
Does your car need a repair that you're going to attempt yourself? Do you need a used part to do the job? If so, a junkyard or scrap yard may be your best resource for finding the part at a reasonable price. Junkyards house older cars that may not be in driving condition but still have some useful parts. You can search the yard to find the part you need, pull it from the car, and pay for it on your way out. It's an easy way to get used parts without scouring the internet or calling around to local mechanics. If you've never been to a junkyard before, you may be intimidated. Here are a few tips to help you through the experience:
Know the two different kinds of junkyards. Junkyards typically come in two flavors. The first is a pull-it-yourself yard, which are usually the more common of the two types. In this type of yard, you pay a small fee to enter, and then it's on you to find the part you need and remove it. There's usually minimal staff present. They may direct you to the right part of the yard, but they're probably not going to help you in your search or pull the part for you.
The other type is a full-service. In this type of yard, you only go to the front desk and no further. You tell them the part you're looking for and they go and pull it for you. As you might expect, you pay more for this level of service. However, if you're not confident in your ability to pull a part, this could be the better option.
Understand the layout of the yard. Most yards have some kind of layout logic, even if they don't appear that way from the outside. Some are organized by make, while others are separated between foreign and domestic. Some yards put commonly requested vehicles up front and rarer vehicles in the back. Make sure you ask about the layout when you enter the yard. The yard may even have a map to provide. If you understand the layout, you'll save a lot of time that would otherwise be spent wandering around.
Bring plenty of tools. If you go to a pull-it-yourself yard, you should expect that the part may not be very easy to pull. The cars in junkyards are frequently damaged from collisions or even rusted. A hood may not pop open the way it should or you may have trouble accessing the inside of a car. It's not unusual to have to use a crowbar to pry a car open. Bring wrenches, screwdrivers, and a sturdy pair of gloves. If you don't have the right tools, you may be able to rent some from the yard, but that's not always the case.
For more information, contact Four-Twenty-Two Auto Wrecking or a similar company.
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