Responsible part pulling.

[Hawk258]

If I had the Resources, I would love to open a yard. Though, I think considering the cost and possible loss would make me consider having it as a "Members only" yard. sorta like oregon's bi-mart store chain. You pay $5 to be a member, get stuff at a discount, and your money stays with Oregon (minus the product cost). Though I wouldn't feel comfortable without "SOME" supervision. even if it was just for insurance sake

[shanebo]

There was a junkyard for sale a few years back out east from me. It was fully stocked with cars ranging from the 30's to the early 2000's....somthing like 350 cars....it was just under a million bucks...I would love to have gotten that thing and made it the ultimate man cave....Ill take that over a mansion in the hills any day

[maddog]

There was a junkyard for sale a few years back out east from me. It was fully stocked with cars ranging from the 30's to the early 2000's....somthing like 350 cars....it was just under a million bucks...I would love to have gotten that thing and made it the ultimate man cave....Ill take that over a mansion in the hills any day

X2

[AMC lifer]

When I'm stripping a car there, I approach it like I'm performing surgery.  I don't break parts unless they're already badly damaged or I know the car is going to the crusher in a day or two.  I don't cut wires unless I absolutely have to.  Before I leave, I gather up any loose parts I don't want and place them inside the car to keep them out of the way, and out of the weather, in case someone else needs them.

When I do get to opportunity to go through a yard that allows me to pull parts, I try to put the car back together as best as it can for others. (e.g. put door panels back on, put dash back in place, etc.)

[shanebo]

I wish everyone did that. When I was at the junk yard a few weeks ago there were 2 guys trying to get a stereo out of the dash of a late model Status, they had used a pry bar to literally rip the entire dash apart ot get it. There was bits and pieces of that dash every where. Granted there were like 12 other stratus' there, but still...its just so wasteful and destructive.

[Hawk258]

Agreed, I wish people would stop and think, "Gee, I am not the only one that needs parts" or "Why break this? I might need it later" A little common sense and personal responsibility goes along way. people would sure think about life if there was a "You break it you bought it" clause.

[shanebo]

Yup, If I had a dollar for every time I went to get a part just to find it had been destroyed by the jerk that was there before me Id have enough money to buy buy another Eagle

[Steve F]

The destruction of cars and parts in the "pick-a-part" lots is probable why more and more of them are not allowing  us to "pick a part" that we need and have to pay more for them to pick it for us. I know of only 1 place in the Mid-Coast area of Maine that still allows you to search for and pick your own parts. You have to provide your own tools (which is a good idea anyway). If they check those that went in with no tools but came out with parts to buy, I would think they would charge them for destroying the parts car since they would be losing money on future parts from that car.

[Eddie Stakes]

At the Houston area pick a parts, www.houstonpickapart.com years ago I would find a 71-74 AMX with rally pack gauges and be dismayed people had destroyed the gauge cluster to get out 4 cent bulbs on back. So here is a 140mph speedometer, fuel, temp, oil, amp and 8000rpm tachometer with clock setup laying upside down on floor ruined. This was for many cars, not just AMCs although no more AMCs at the pick a parts yards here now. But I would go out to the PYP's weekly and pull tons of stuff, it's how I ended up with 22 tons of cr*p. Hated to waste anything. If you google 'altered amcs' there is one of many fils talking about the thousands of aMCs that were crushed here locally. Part of the problem then, and now is 99% of the people at the 'self serve' places know little about removal of a part. Hammers & pliers rule. Want the plastics behind back glass bust it out. Want those torx screws from dash, bust them out. Go ahead and cut the remote cables on mirrors with pocket knife since you didn't bring a 3/8 tool! Grilles easy to break with tire irons and pipes scattered on ground, keep in mind that some of this mentality extends to yard operations due to rules. Here, all gas tanks are yanked and crused before cars put in yard. All oils, fluids drained from engine, trans also. They also cut out many emissions parts like smog equipment, and cat converters too. Not all wrecking yards like that but it depends on ordinances in that state city or county. Happy hunting, Eddie Stakes

[shanebo]

These large chain pull and pay yards really dont care about how valuable these parts are to guys like us, they only care about the money. They could save a few dollars in destroyed parts if they enforced responsible parts pulling, but they would loose double that by having to add many more people on the payrole to help enforce the pulling practices of the customers. What it all boyles down to is they pay scrap value for the car. Sell a few hundred dollars of parts off it and then send it to the crusher and get back what they gave. for it...

[El Matador]

There's yet another prime example of this in my local Pick-n-Pull right now. 

A 1986 Eagle wagon arrived a few weeks ago.  Unfortunately, some neanderthal got to it before I had a chance to pick it over.

He destroyed the dash, and the floor console with gauges.  I'm not even sure what he was after.  Among all of the bits of broken plastic scattered everywhere, nothing seemed to actually be missing.  Apparently he wanted the power window and lock parts, and demolished whatever he had to in order to get them.  Interior door panels were trashed, remote mirror cables were cut, and the wiring harness was hacked to bits.  That last part was particularly irksome because I actually needed that for Vader.

This idiot must have been armed with nothing but wire cutters, a hammer, and a single digit brain cell count.  I did manage to salvage some interior items that survived the massacre, but many good parts were destroyed.

It pains me to think that somewhere in this city is an Eagle owner who is that inconsiderate to fellow owners.

[shanebo]

That always blew my.mind....I haven't seen another eagle on the road for months yet some one always gets to em at the junkyards before I do, usually armed with a hammer and snips. where do these inconsiderate phantom eagle owners come from...you would think as quick as these things get ravaged you would see a few of them around.

[maddog]

i've seen some pretty odd ones before. one of the ones i remember best is when i was looking for a spoiler for my 91 sunbird race car i found one at a local yard but didn't have the money till a few days later and when i went to go get it it was gone but the idiot that grabbed it didn't use any tools to remove it he just yanked it of and ripped out three of bolts from the spoiler leaving them in the trunk . i bet he felt like an idiot when he got home and tried to put it on his car.

[standup650]

You guys are lucky the jacka$$ yards around me crush anything that's not a late model.      plus if the part is 100 bucks new then they want 80 for it with 200000 miles on it. I cant even tell how many times i have said a new one is only 20bucks more and heard in return well buy that one then. Greedy  hole!! And they love to remove with a freaking torch. They torch everything out, thanks i needed the speedo cable heat treated.

[PR1AWRet]

I pulled a nice head liner out for one of my cars and placed it outside until I gathered my tools an got out of the car.  By the time I did that, someone came by to see what I was doing and stepped on the pristine head liner with greasy boots and broke it in 1/2.  Needless to say my Navy side of my vulgarity came out.