Junkyard Etiquette ?

[Cheap5.0]

I guess its the naive country boy in me, but i thought all yards were staffed by friendly folks and pickers

The only yards with people who bother me are the ones in Flint MI (anyone thats been to those on dort know what im talking about).

 

[BQuicksilver]

I haven't had any issues with tools. I only help if asked. I keep my eyes up, but have never felt threatened.

My only rule is stay off the side of the car I'm working on. I don't want you yanking the alternator if I'm grabbing the engine.

 

[Tim G]

Be careful not to break parts and one yard in my area has a policy: you break it,you buy it.This is Economy Auto Part's policy in Muskegon,Mi.There are two grades of aftermarket body parts,capa and non capa.The capa does not fit worth a **** and the non capa fits better.Better off buying used doors for a 1988 to 1998 fullsize Chevy truck.The door hinges are welded on from the factory and the new doors use bolt on hinges which can be a real pita to adjust.Plus the new doors don't fit very well.New fenders are cheaper to buy than used and take less time to prep.With an used fender,you have dents to fix which is a waste of time.LKQ is a corperation and don't ever trust corperations.

You got it backwards,CAPA certified is the better grade.
And it's a crapshoot whether or not the used doors will fit one truck to another without some bending,at least the service replacement ones you can adjust.

 

[Danglerb]

Yup, everybody is real social until more than one person notices something valuable.

At a swap meet or a normal junk yard you usually respect anything somebody else is actively doing something to or claimed in some accepted way, moved to a pile etc. One yard I used to go to was competitive with people lined up at the gate when it opened and literally running inside. They would give each person a roll of masking tape and you could stick a piece on something with your name to claim it.

I wouldn't like it if I was pulling parts off a car and somebody came along and started taking parts off it. I wouldn't do it without asking the person who got to it first. If I was under the car and somebody started yanking around on it, I might even take that personal.

Regards removing parts respectfully, pick a part here sends them to scrap metal every two weeks or so.

Any opinion on removing some key part to claim a bigger part later that would be useless without the key part?

 

[dankicksass]

I haven't been to a you-pull-it yard in ages, can't think of one less than an hour from me anyway. The biggest draw in the area is Harry's in Allentown, almost all imports last I checked and a complete crapshoot. Kids like it. Yards in Jersey charge an arm and a leg for anything, best off letting LKQ deliver I think.

 

[camarotoolman]

I make people give me money to cover the cost of tool or drivers license, I like to be good to people but I'm tired of being riped off.

 

[OccupantRJ]

most yards around here are over priced and hard to deal with Read articles where guys are buying parts on the east coast for half

my etiquette is don't buy from them!

A complete door here can be had for about $40, last time I checked.

They have a website. I linked to their price list here for your reference. They also print you a list of where your desired vehicle is located on the yard. It's mapped out as Row X, car#Z. Makes finding parts a breeze.


http://bevellspiy.com/pricelist.pdf

 

[JMcFly]

The you pull and pay in Orlando is pretty nice. $2 gets you in and all of the cars are on stands. Just yesterday I went. Poking around and scored a rare vented fender for my car for $35 and a complete carpeted trunk for $7. In going back for the seats which will run me $80 total for front and rear.

If I want the engine it's $323 out the door!


But I will say people that do not know what they are doing annoy me because they trash so much stuff.plus this yard like lkq is Laid out nicely an the inventory is always changing. Sometimes good for me and not. Like I hope that car is still there Friday. One yard I preciously would go to never had any fresh mercedes come in for over a year. I haven't gone back there since they were a waste of my time.

 

[jim2664258]

You got it! Hazleton site is HUGE....my parents live near the Pennsburg, that's smaller but usually less crowded. Allentown site sucked last I was there, but that was at least 8 years ago. Man I miss that place and it's prices....nothing that big up here in New England.

Years ago I got a driver seat for my 240SX at Harry's. When I went in, I asked if they had any 240SX out there .. it was my first time at a U-Pull-It They just said, if we do, it'd be over there. So I asked, if they had one, how much would the front seat be? 8 bucks. They had one, and I got the seat out of it. LOL cost me like 75 to get it reupholstered, but the local junkyards near Raleigh wanted hundreds for one.

Harry's reminds me of the opening of that one Terminator movie. Carnage everywhere.

 

[e30bradley]

I got offered some sticky icky in the parking lot of one my my local junkyards. He asked, i said no thanks. I think that was quite etiquette.

Same here, But I accepted

 

[wafrederick]

My neighbor Ken hates capa parts,most of them don't fit worth a **** at all and sees nothing but problems with them.He does auto body work.Non capa,finds they fit better with less adjustments.Used engines,if they were ran before they were pulled running very good,buy them this way.Most yards don't hear them run before they were pulled,pull them out right away.I pulled out one used engine right back out,yard never heard it run and it sounded liked it was in the top end making very loud noises.Gave the money back for it.Most used Chevy truck doors bring $150.00 to $300.00.Have one hood for a Chevy HD and that brings a grand used.Another rule with used parts,you pay twice the money for any foriegn car most of the time.

 

[GoBlue]

I guess its the naive country boy in me, but i thought all yards were staffed by friendly folks and pickers

The only yards with people who bother me are the ones in Flint MI (anyone thats been to those on dort know what im talking about).

Ahh Flint

 

[crewchief888]

i keep to myself, dont loan tools to anyone, and cant recall anyone ever asking.
i'm usually after specific parts, and carry a limited amount of tools just to remove that part.

for the most part they dont speak english, and me "no habla espanol"

i'll look at, but not touch a vehicle that someone else is pulling parts off of, if it's something i'm interested in, i'll go back ater they walk away.

 

[camarotoolman]

I like to help people out, people have helped me out, but I got tired of being ripped off or used. So now, its give me some cash or a drivers license to hold, when my stuff comes back you get your stuff back. w hat realy pisses me off is when people come up to my table at the flee market and start using my tools with out asking.

 

[fitz11]

Our local yard looks like it was organized once but now is mostly random. I love going there even if its to just explore. But the two things that annoy me are the guy working the counter is a complete *** and is no help at all, and they take the wheels off of every vehicle and scrap them before it hits the yard making pulling parts from underneath very difficult while its sitting on the ground

 

[OccupantRJ]

Our local yard looks like it was organized once but now is mostly random. I love going there even if its to just explore. But the two things that annoy me are the guy working the counter is a complete *** and is no help at all, and they take the wheels off of every vehicle and scrap them before it hits the yard making pulling parts from underneath very difficult while its sitting on the ground

That's another thing I like about the local Pull it Yourself yard. They take a steel wheel, lay it flat, weld another vertically to it, and use them for stands. You can crawl the length of a row underneath if you wanted.

 

[SLAUGHTERHAUS FAB]

There are two yards in my area that I frequent from time to time, both of which allow me in the yard to pull parts because they know me, others pay a non refundable deposit IF they are allowed in the yard, most places just pull the parts for you around here. Being respectful and letting them know what I'm after as well as not haggling on price has won me the respect and trust of the 2 yard owners I can still pull parts at. I don't borrow or loan out tools, but I will help someone if asked, if I need help I find the staff or bring someone I know and trust with me. You know, prior planning prevents piss poor performance.

 

[fitz11]

That's another thing I like about the local Pull it Yourself yard. They take a steel wheel, lay it flat, weld another vertically to it, and use them for stands. You can crawl the length of a row underneath if you wanted.

That sounds like a cool idea! Unfortunately my local yard has thousands of cars and that would be a lot of welding lol. If you can find someone they will lift it up with the forklift and let you put something underneath it, for $10

 

[Borrego]

I'm just a few miles away from several large junkyards. Even have domestic only as well as foreign only yards.......Prices are not an arm and a leg, either.....
As for etiquette, if I see someone struggling getting something off and I have the time to do it, I'll offer to help. I have been on both the giving as well as the receiving end of the help.
I think it is bad karma to destroy the car to get to a single part. If I'm looking to pull a gauge out of the dash, no need to destroy it to get it out, the next guy may be looking for a dash......
Last time I was in the 'yard, I was there for a sending unit in a gas tank. Aftermarket POS was expensive and didn't even fit properly or have the needed replacement electronic part. After dropping the tank, carefully removed the fuel lines (instead of cutting them) because the next guy might need them......

 

[csmitty]

My general take on junkyard behavior:

• Don't loan tools to anyone you don't already know, and don't ask to borrow tools from strangers.
• No stash of parts is sacred. If someone pulled parts but didn't buy them and tried to hide them, they're fair game for anyone else, even if they were hard to pull.
• Avoid damaging the rest of the vehicle as much as practical when stripping parts. There's no need to be rude to other customers by destroying what they need.
• If you bring your spouse to watch the tools, pull a seat out of a van or truck for her to sit on while you work. She'll be a lot happier that way.
• Don't relieve yourself in the junkyard if they have bathrooms. If not, do it in the Ford section.
• If you feel like offering help, fine, but don't be weird about it, and don't be surprised if they don't trust you around their stuff.
• Don't expect anyone to help you, and if they do, keep an eye on your stuff.

That's about it...

Thats exactly the philosophy I take. I try to stash my parts i'm not sure about it in very obscure places, and cover them up. I think its kinda fun.