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I really love junkyards. If you have a vehicle you know that at one point your vehicle will end up at junkyard or salvage yard. Junkyards are an essential part of the automobile industry and ecosystem. You can find a junkyard in all 51 states, mayor cities have multiple salvage yards, wrecking yard, scrap yards that buy and sell junk cars.
Companies like LKQ Pick your Part, Pull-A-Part, Pick-N-Pull, U-Pull-It are some of the big players, they have junk yards across multiple states, and even in Quebec Canada.
These auto recyclers buy vehicles and put them through a environmental safe process; where they drain all the fluids that harm the environment, pulling out millions of gallons of oil and antifreeze, recycling over 2 millions tons of steel every year, not including auto parts like alternators, engines, transmission, a/c compressors that get reused instead of remanufacture anew.
Picking parts is great for the environment.
A junkyard can be a lot of fun, not just that, but it can also be very profitable. You can go to a salvage yard with an specific auto part in mind, you can look to see which car or trucks carry the part you need (inter-exchange), find the part, pull it out and walk away with a good deal.
Or you can get there to pull the same auto part you need but also glance around other vehicles for parts to sell, recycle into other things like tables, wall plates, trophies and many other ways to make junkyard art.
TUESDAY – THURSDAY
Lots of people go to the junkyard to pull parts from the latest vehicles that were just set on the yard. Most folks go to the salvage yard on a weekend, Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Those days everyone and their grandma are at the junkyard pulling parts, sometimes you have to compete with someone else to get a chance to pull your part.
Also most junkyards don’t put new cars out on the weekend, the do that between Monday and Friday. The best days to hit the junkyard are Tuesday through Thursday, they have new selection and less people around, plus if you are not an expert mechanic, you can also reach out to one of the part pullers who work taking parts out for the salvage yard customers for a fee.
You can also check the junkyard website for junk car inventory updates.
HOLIDAYS – DEALS DAY
Most mayor junkyards like LKQ Pick your part, Pull-A-Part, Pull & Pay have holiday specials, during those days or weekends, you will get a great deal, some salvage yards even offer to charge you a set price for everything you can carry on your back or with you at the moment you walk out. You will also find special discounts of 40% for 4th of July, labor day, Christmas and even their own anniversaries.
Above example is one of those special discount you will find throughout the year at many junkyards on used auto parts.
BE READY TO PULL YOUR OWN PARTS
Many companies like LKQ Pick Your Part and Pull-N-Pay will send you an email notification when certain junk car is put on their yard.
Remember that you are not the only one waiting for make and model to come out for stripping, other people may not need the part you are looking for, but they will be there too, pulling parts as soon as the car is setup.
The longer you wait, the greater the chance for the part you need will be pulled and gone. Certain makes and models of cars and trucks are more wanted at a junkyard than others. think about it, how many people drive a Ford and how many drive a BMW? Also the newer the yard of a car, the more people will want the parts.
Companies keep an inventory of what vehicles they have in the yard, but they can’t tell you what parts came out or what parts are left on them. You need to be there right away!
BRING HELP AND THE RIGHT TOOLS
The best way to pull a part is to know how and with what tool. having the right tool can make or break your day, but just having a tool and not knowing how to use it can be just as frustrating.
A junkyard will never lend you tools or have someone to help you pull the part, you need to be self sufficient and get the part out yourself, this is due to liabilities and insurance demands. We suggest you read the Haynes manual or watch some youtube videos of creditable mechanics showing you how to pull the part before you go to the scrap yard. be known that must junkyards prohibit certain kinds of tools like torches, bulk cutters, jacks, power saws and many more.
If you bring a comparison part to the scrap yard, make sure you let them know before you enter, they will probably mark it, so that when you leave, they don’t try to charge you for your own part.
