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Pick Your Part junkyard has a ½ price day once a month and in my hot rod days and restoring old cars days I went regularly. They have a huge parking lot but you had to get there early on ½ day as hordes of illegal aliens. Its a lot of walking and if you can’t get a place in the parking lot its just impossible.
As I got older it became more and more tiring and I only go now in emergencies, I haven’t been for a long time.
I guess it should be obvious but its kind of interesting how over the years the bulk of cars there were in groups of around 10 year 60 to 70, 70 to 80 and so on.
This is a high population area, the cars are only in the yard around a month before they go to that great melting pot in the sky.
I’m now cleaning up a pile of old car parts I have behind my garage and on half price day I sometimes would buy things I didn’t need but was kind of rare and I might need in the future or as another example I once saw a new alternator on the same kind of car I had, I didn’t need it but pulled it and paid for it and now I’m throwing it away. Several other things the same, money wasted and the time and effort to get this stuff I never used.
I think it depends on location. I remember living in Kentucky and being able to go without any issues with parking or getting what you came for.
When I lived in Maryland it was exactly as you described. Hard to get in and get a parking spot and walk forever and maybe find something you can really use.
I haven't gone to any since living in NC but I haven't heard of any issues on a local forum I am on.
I need a few "trim parts" for my car and I have been meaning to go to a local Pull A Part but have just not gotten around to it. Local Pull a Part will tell you if they have your year/model in stock so no need to wander about. Basically I expect the parts I need can be pulled with a screw driver, pliers, and a basic set of wrenches.
i have been to the local you pull it yards in the past. sometimes i find good parts i need, sometimes not. perhaps i will go again soon, as i am planning to upgrade the ignition system in my fairmont to a DIS system.
Every time I go to the pull it yourself places it seems a lot of the cars were stripped of the easy to get parts or destroyed in the process. I went to get switch for power mirrors on my Regal once and every car had them missing along with the power window switches. I got lucky and found an Olds that had the same one.
I commented on this to the guy at the desk and he said they have a lot of theft of the small expensive parts. They must be putting them on ebay....
Every time I go to the pull it yourself places it seems a lot of the cars were stripped of the easy to get parts or destroyed in the process. I went to get switch for power mirrors on my Regal once and every car had them missing along with the power window switches. I got lucky and found an Olds that had the same one.
I commented on this to the guy at the desk and he said they have a lot of theft of the small expensive parts. They must be putting them on ebay....
My thought would be the junk yard is removing them and keeping them in a shed or something. Most JY cars have all the glass removed and if you leave any electronics in the car, they will surely be ruined by the weather.
We have several u-pulls around my area but since my regular job is working at a wrecking yard I don't get to them very often. Kind of like being in lawn care and cutting your own grass after work. Just no fun. However, I do go when I need something for the older fleet of mine since my yard deals primarily in recent vehicles and has nothing my vintage.
Let's see....one self-yard was open only on the weekends and as a rule picked the vehicles cleaner than a flock of crows in a corn field. Wondered why they even bothered. Another has an annoying habit of cleaning out cars that have only been there a short time with much still to be picked and leaving the down to the bones vehicles around. A couple others are well run and usually keep a good selection around, no complaints.
As a rule you'll usually run across......
....no converters, ever.
....gas tanks removed for safety reasons of course.
.... the part you need being ruined because some dumb rummy tore apart the entire dash to get at the lighter socket.
....the part you need is in the mud because some dumb rummy tossed it while trying to get at a belt tensioner or something else simple.
....the body part you need is ruined because the yard man ran the loader into it while moving it around the yard.
....finally, the part you need has to be left behind because you found the only model of your car to come down the assembly line and receive a number 7 nut or bolt when every other one you've run across in 20 years used a number 8....and you have no number 7 with you.....and the car is gone when you go back the next time.....it does happen.
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