why do some people part out do-able cars?

No snow yet...just waiting for the leaves to fall so I can go tin hunting. Soon it will be time for 120mph snowmobile rides and late nights welding on the Lincoln. Got some cars to part out too...cost too much to ship, you know!

 

im sure i put a sour taste in your mouth after chopping up and killing the Merc. but some times its just time. ive s****ped 6 cars this year some could have been built. but i aint got the space to sit on this **** while 10 guys tell me they want it and i never see money. i allways try to sell before i s**** but now i just dont care. 100 bucks in my pocket is way better then ****ing around with flakes.

 

Laziness, greed and stupidity.

I only part out cars when they have bad frames or are otherwise so rotty they're falling apart - and if it's a convertible, not even when it's a pile of pieces if it's all there. You buy it all, or you buy nothing.

But I get these lazy *****s all the time who want to buy the three hardest to find parts off the car and usually for 10 cents on the dollar at that. It's not even worth my time at $40 a trip to where the cars are kept, to go out and pull three $5 parts for a guy - you want it, you come buy the car and take what you want. I've had guys literally argue with me that there's "nothing left" of a car and I should sell parts off it. I told that ***hole, "if there's nothing left then there's nothing to sell off it." This guy couldn't tell the difference between rust and dirt anyhow, telling me the stainless steel had rusted.


The problem is too many car guys are rustophobic. They think any car with a less than perfect appearance is not restorable or even worth saving. One rust bubble or two scares them to death. That's because they're too lazy to learn to weld and repair a car properly, they just want to throw some paint on it and go. I suppose there's nothing wrong with that, but it's ignorant to ***ume that just because you're too lazy/stupid/unskilled to fix a car, that it's not fixable and should not be fixed.

And you have the states where it's difficult to impossible to get a ***le for a car, which don't help either. In New York I can get new papers on a car with the right forms filled out, the same day. So I could care less if you have papers for a car or not. Other people, even here in New York, don't understand it.

I've sold some pretty rusty pieces of **** to guys who know better than these clowns, too. Wrecked, rotted, one '58 Chevy sedan delivery was so ****ty when they came to get it we cut the floor in a couple spots and they just took the top - like it was an AMT 1/25th plastic model kit. He had a donor and sure enough, like 8 months later he was emailing asking how to register it... I told him what the tricks were in NY and never heard about any problems. I didn't make a lot off it, but the yard it came out of is all gone now, so at least I saved one out of there.

Plus you have guys who just want to get rid of something. But they don't try very hard to sell it. Guys posted above talking about the gas prices - this board goes all over the world. How many guys do you know in your town, or even within 100 miles of you that are on here? Of that, how many want to buy another project? So why advertise a car here. It's free. Well, you get what you pay for. That's by no means a slam of the board - the point is that most of us here either have what we want already, or have specific wants and it's only those cars we'd drive even 100 miles for. List it in a local cl***ified or put it on eBay, in Hemmings, advertise the **** out of it if you want to find buyers, and if it's less than perfect expect to spend at least one month to sell it - and that if you price it at a giveaway amount. It took me almost 3 years to sell a complete, rough '50 Ford woodie wagon that had all the parts - including factory steel filler panels instead of plywood. The kicker is some board guys in MA bought one out of KY in about the same shape as mine, paid more for it, paid $800 to bring it back, then found out about mine on here. But I sold it and made money on it. I could have parted it out, the third seat was bringing close to $500 alone, but I don't want to do that. The less people I have to deal with the better. Especially after one ***hole on eBay sent me whiny notes EVERY time I had it on there for THREE years telling me to part it out. And offering me $100 for the third seat. If I had a nickel for every time I told that guy to **** off, I could go out and buy 100 cars at s**** prices.

You have to realize when selling a project that there is only a limited amount of guys with a hardon for that particular car AND the income to drop $30,000 to restore or rod it. Not to mention the skills, if they're going to do it themselves to cut that cost back some. Some cars you can do that and make money on - a '50 Ford woodie done as a nice rod you might be able to get $60,000 out of, a stocker around $30,000-$35,000 - there's at least break-even potential there. A '50 Ford fordor, on the other hand.. what's that going to bring? $10,000 on a nice day if it's restored better than it left the factory?

Once they're parted out and s****ped, that's one less out there for the next guy. I'm not in this to make a zillion bucks off every car. What you do with it when you buy it, is your concern. My goal is only to save cars. The more money I make when I sell one, the more cars I can go back out and buy. The less I make, the more cars get s****ped. If I end up with a nice car or two for myself along the way, so much the better.

And with eBay, these *****s play games. Some of them know better but think the internet is a big joke and their hobby is messing with people. Some have an adgenda - they figure if they tell you the car is junk enough times you'll sell parts off it and then they can bid on what they want. They're too ****ing fat and lazy to get off their *** and go look for a local yard, or someone in Hemmings with a yard, selling those parts. (Those are the last people I want to help, I'll send cars whole to the crusher before I'll sell them one rust flake from the cars). Let's not forget the jerks who offer to buy and change their mind.. or you tell them to make an offer and never hear from them again... or you give them a number and never hear back either. And some are just clueless about cars and have no clue what can be fixed or what stuff sells for.

But the way I look at it, if selling whole cars is this much of a pain in the ***, selling parts has to be a bigger one. Instead of dealing with 10 jerks and one buyer, I deal with 500 jerks and maybe 10 buyers on the first 50 parts I pull. Out of the 10 buyers, 1-2 will be jerks right off, and 3 or 4 more will turn into ***holes for no apparent reason. The part didn't arrive within an hour of the end of the auction, the part has some problem that was obvious in the pictures but they bid anyways, they see the same part sell for less later and are pissed at you even though they bid it to that price.. it goes on and on. Unless I could sell **** like carbs, glovebox doors, and taillight lenses for $500 a shot.. it's just not worth the headache to deal with at least one ***hole for every 10 sales you make. I see enough of it when I sell the parts I do get loose from cars. Even at the swap meets.. these old farts who think it's still 1965 and Ford 94 carbs can be found everywhere in big piles, or that I'd be dumb enough to sell a 97 for $20. I'm about ready to keep the sledgehammer handy for the next guy who offers me $5 for something that's marked way more and you're not going to find at NAPA or Advance Auto, so I can smash it to **** and then tell them "I'll take $5 for it now" ...

Which is also why old cars just get crushed and why the old guys who run junkyards can be so hard to deal with.

 

Easily the longest post I have ever seen on the HAMB that wasn't a cut and paste article.

 

[quote.....Even at the swap meets.. these old farts who think it's still 1965 and Ford 94 carbs can be found everywhere in big piles, or that I'd be dumb enough to sell a 97 for $20. I'm about ready to keep the sledgehammer handy for the next guy who offers me $5 for something that's marked way more and you're not going to find at NAPA or Advance Auto, so I can smash it to **** and then tell them "I'll take $5 for it now" ...

Which is also why old cars just get crushed and why the old guys who run junkyards can be so hard to deal with.[/quote]

I HAVE DONE THE SLEDGEHAMMER JUMP/STOMP ON IT .. IN THERE FACE AT SWAPMEETS THE HELL WITH EM !

PAY WHAT I ASK(OR NEAR ) OR WALK AWAY... I AIN'T SO STOOPID WHEN I MARK MY PRICES .. (AND I HAVE STUFF MARKED .. NOT JUDGING WHAT THEY'LL WILL PAY )
BE A **** AND I'LL TREAT LIKE ONE ...
BE NICE CONVINCE ME THAT I AM WAY WRONG ???
JUST KEEP ASKING FOR THE ITEM FOR A BUCK AND SEE WHAT WILL HAPPEN..

RANT OVER

 

I HAVE DONE THE SLEDGEHAMMER JUMP/STOMP ON IT .. IN THERE FACE AT SWAPMEETS THE HELL WITH EM !

PAY WHAT I ASK(OR NEAR ) OR WALK AWAY... I AIN'T SO STOOPID WHEN I MARK MY PRICES .. (AND I HAVE STUFF MARKED .. NOT JUDGING WHAT THEY'LL WILL PAY )
BE A **** AND I'LL TREAT LIKE ONE ...
BE NICE CONVINCE ME THAT I AM WAY WRONG ???
JUST KEEP ASKING FOR THE ITEM FOR A BUCK AND SEE WHAT WILL HAPPEN..

RANT OVER[/quote]


word! you nailed it! and so many of those old guys got so tired of folks tryin to **** them outta stuf, that they could give a **** anymore...the guy buyin knows what there worth [mostly] or he wouldnt be wanting it...and the guy sellin knows what there worth [mostly] or he wouldnt be there...so just give up the coin if you need the part, or walk off...tryin to get it a lil cheaper is fine, but alot of folks think if they pay way less then what its worth, its still to ****in much!
****s!
on that note.....i have a 392 hemi in unknown condition thats still in the imperial in my yard...i would like 7k for it....any takers???? bwhahahahahahah

 

MONEY, MONEY etc. etc.


Cruiser

 

who decides which cars can be saved and which can not? and just how the hell do you save a do-able car without parts? is there an inspector that goes out and looks at them all? some have to be sacrificed or none can be 100% !!! my two cents

 

I've parted out 2 '50 Meteors in the past year just to get the grille surround and pieces to kustomize my '49 coupe and '50 convertible. One of them could have been fixed and the other one was a running car before the guy pulled the rebuilt flathead for his project. They only made around 25,000 Meteors a year. Do I regret it; no. Both were fordors with lots of bondo and rust and **** floors. Shoebox fordors are practically worthless fixed up, so these would likely had just sat around and rotted.

What really gets me angry are the guys I see buying running and driving mid-late '50s Desotos and Chryslers with decent chrome/paint, pulling the HEMI and s****ping the rest of the car. I saw a '57 Desoto recently that this was done to. Now I like HEMIs as much as the next guy, but there are other motors or ways to get one. They don't say they are scapping them, but lets face it, how much is one worth without the motor and ****** and you can guess it's likely fate.

But folks, this isn't a new problem. I know a guy with a '32 five window here who used to bring back cars from Californa in the late '60s and early '70s. The guy he bought his five window from had five window floors stacked 2 feet high in his garage. He was guying five windows to cut the floors out of to fix roadsters.

 

they part them out because all of us need the parts

 

you pretty much nailed what i was talking about!!!! THANK YOU!!! and very extensive explanation

 

Ea$$$$$y Money $$$$$$

 

Most people don't know how to repair rust themselves, cheaply and effectively. Welding and patch panel fabrication involves a bit of familiarity with the subject, and $$$ when working with metal. There is, after all, the initial cost of purchasing a good welder. A lot of guys are looking for the least possible rust issues to cut down on the $$$ involved to fix them-- by someone else.

You or I would not hesitate, but to someone that has never welded, does not own the tools, or is otherwise unskilled in this area is best to shy away from rust.

The rust problem is regional. What we think in Michigan is 'fixable' is a "basket case" to folks in Arizona or California, or New Mexico.

I'm sick at times seeing what stuff isn't selling for in those states, because here it would be 2 or 3 times as much. The problem is in the shipping of the said "rust buckets" to our areas. It kills the deal...we can find similar for the same money.

I think folks here in the northwest are thirsty, most other places where persistent inclement weather and SALT used on road in the winter isn't the norm just don't understand...what you save depends on where you are is all I am saying...

 

yeah thats a huge part, us midwestern'ers and east coast guys have a very different perspective on what is "fixable"

 

i am going to be parting out a 1965 Pontiac Strato Chief. A because the engine trans and rear are in my model a. the rear fenders were trashed and since it was canadian the rear fenders are different from the american starchief. was told that a fully restored 4 door with a 230 was worth 5000, now the engine rebuild and new clutch was 2300, the seats were estimated at 600-100, already at 29-33 hundred. rear of the frame needed work. the front windshield was 200 installed, the bottom of the front windshield was rusted out completely. floor boards, rear trunk was gone completely rotted out. all fixable but with no sentimental value, no real value, lots of goodies for me and others thats. so i roughly estimated that the restoration was going to cost more in parts then it was to sell it. time not included

 

When I was doing up my old Trumpy, I had a choice... Buy $500 worth of bits I needed for her, or buy a complete, rusty car with all those bits on it for $225. I bought the car (natch) and parted it out. But I didn't sell the extra stuff I didn't need right then, I stacked it in boxes in the shed and sent the body to the s****py. Within 12 months I'd dug another $200 worth of needed bits out of the boxes, and the rest went with the car when I sold her.

Cheers, Glen.

 

For the record IM talking about cutting up a restorable car for profit, Selling 1/4 panels bracing and stuff in that nature. You can get more money parting out a car. It truly is a shame. these people in my opinion are not true car guys.In my opinion/Just greedy.They are enabling the clunker bill. If the car is junk .Its one thing.Their mentality is well at least the parts went to a good home.and the money. Money ,money,money= Greed

 

If none where parted or crushed. They would be everywhere .It is the scarcity that makes them desirable. We are fixing cars that 20 years ago would have been considered worthless. We reciently parted a solid complete running 69 fairlane 2 dr htp. The 351 engine and trans went into My 67 fairlane. the 9 inch housing went under my 55 chev wagon. I bought it for 365.00. Sold the quarter panel misc trim one fender and a door to a guy fixing a convertable for more than i paid for the whole car.Still many more parts left. We can usually sell a good engine for more than a whole car. Folks always want to point out all the flaws on a 40 year old car and expect to buy it for nothing. I usually will give more for a vehicle than most around here would be willing or able to. I reckon that is why we have about 300 out back. OldWolf

 

Sometimes the needs of the Many outweigh the needs of the Few or the ONE......... Ugh...

 

Yup, money has a lot to do with it. Either when buying OR selling parts off a car that's being s****ped. I have only one project but 2 cars. Both fixable. But why would I sell one of 'em, then have to go out and buy the parts (probably from a parted out car) I need to fix the one I'm keeping? When I'm done, the donor car is going. If it don't sell as a car, I'll part it out and not feel a bit guilty about it. I don't have room for it and really won't care what happens to it when I'm done with it. And not to make a killing off it, but damned if I'll give it away, only to see it or parts of it on ebay in a week! I love that "take a hammer to it" approach! that'd sure teach the guy who needs a 1/4 panel off my donor car to expect me to give it to him! Problem with that is, does he need it for a project, or for ebay or craigslist? How many times have any of us overheard the word "ebay" at a swap meet? Had a guy ****** a whole boxful of old gages right out from under my nose, only to hear him say "these'll sell bigtime on ebay". We see cars for sale both here and elsewhere that don't sell, then somebody *******/moaning about why cars get parted out or s****ped? Face it, all of this old iron is potential crusher bait to feed the Chinese industrial monster. If some of us don't like to see 'em parted out or s****ped maybe we should go out and buy up everything that's for sale? As someone wrote earlier on another thread - anything is restorable. Gee think of it, no more s**** yards, no more used parts, and most of us would have more cars than we could ever restore in a lifetime. My point is, motives and reasons for parting out cars is as varied as why we restore our cars the way we do. There's no perfect answer or solution.

 

humm i guess im a bad guy..i have been in the salvage business for many years and have crushed so many it brings tears to my eyes..but i have to eat also..and the 300 or so i have left since i retired will probally be parted..i have to do what pays the best it is still a business you know..but still i have saved 300 from being made into toyota's ...and as far as selling whole cars it is not hardly worth the h***le when guys come here wanting to give less than s**** iron price for cars that i had to buy,transport,store,pay tax on, mow around,try to keep doors and hoods shut on after lookie lous open em and dont close back....then after all of this i am expected to give em away. ...but back to my point i love the hobby, but i need the business end of it to eat........so let the parts flow

http://s202.photobucket.com/albums/aa84/rcplumley/ebay store page/

 

Local and state ordinances are also stepping up the part out/s****ping process. A few years back, I got a court order telling me to have some cars removed from the property they were on, or they would be towed away at my expense. The old, " if they aren't licensed/registered/insured -they're junk" law. These cars were not on my front yard on blocks. They were in a VERY rural area but someone still complained loud enough. I only had a short time before the deadline, so I did what I had to do. I parted cars I never would have before, also basically gave a couple away because they were just too good to part. I used to enjoy buying and selling old cars on the side. It helped finance projects. Those days are long gone now.

 

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=367205

 

Wow, nice catch Unionvillehaunt!

 

Wow...that was a good catch!!....I wonder if ol punkabilly even remembered he posted the original thread....lol....

 

It's a cash crunch thing man.
Salvage guys like Whiskey Runner they part them out because that's how they make there money. Other average schmoes out here that part out runners are trying to make up some cash for something. And whiskey runner is right, it's easier to part it out than to sale it whole.
Personally it would kill me to have to part out a car that could be made into something. And if it got sent to the crusher I woud probably crie like a little girl. lmao.

1shot

 

Last year when metal was sky high many were crushed. I turned around when I saw this and followed it for a bit in disbelief. these vehicles were dusty like they'd been in a barn and now heading to the crusher

1. . early 60s' ford unibody with a 2 1950's dodge 5 window halfton, green cab, black fender ed . Trucks were placed nose to nose with a 70 toyota corolla chained down on the hoods of both. Made me sick. The trucks would've made you rust belters cringe even the vintage toyota with its ansen slots was decent.

I've parted a few. Mainly 80's pickups and a ragged 79 rusty rear sub framed firebird but I always try to sell them whole. I sold a 56 chevy 4dr recently. It was all original, did have some rust but all the paper work was there. Originally though I'd part out for a 2 dr I thought I'd get but decided to sell. Wanted it built not parted.

 

A lot of cars are woth more money in parts than complete. if your not attached and need money to fund your own project. it's not a bad deal. then other people get useable good parts for their cars to make em nice and you make money to make yours nice.
win win

 

Sometimes its not even about money or time, its about space. I don't know where I would store Ithe next real good deal, but I'd likely have to get rid of one to make room for the other.

s.

 

Ya'll are missing the point to this thread being dug up from 2 years ago.....the original poster of the thread was *****in about people parting buildable cars. But read the post from Unionvillehaunt about 8 posts back. He found a recent post by punkabilly, trying to part out a vehicle. Punkabilly, is the original creator of this thread and now hes doin what he was *****in about.....LMFAO!!!!!.....