U-Pick yards, do you "shop" there, and what's up with people?

i thought that was a cali thing...the flavor is spreading!

 

I guess you are disenfranchised with the whole thing..
The right 12 bolt could be worth over a grand.
Granada spindles and the rear end might cost $150, take an hour or less to pull, and bring you $450.
A t5 WC mustang 5.0 trans might cost $100 and bring you $400.

Those are prices I pay for the stuff out of the yards and what I sell it for.

Its better money than a 9-5 gig around here and you work your own hours. Thats if you do it as a full time job. If you do it with an idea as a way to get you and your buddies great parts for cheap, everyone still wins.

Good hot rod parts for cheap..I don't understand the problem.

 

I bill $50 an hour, that's what my time is worth..
I have never had an issue at a yard like what is being describe on this thread... Here's the summary of my last trip:
2 1/2 hours there and 30 minutes each way.
Got an HVAC temp module and headlight for my son's car. $35
A driveshaft out of a mid 90's firebird $40
Rack N pinion out of an Opel Kadett $35

The temp module is $185 at the parts store.
Headlight is GM only $365
The driveshaft bolted into my project saving $75 to cut and $100 to balance my other one
Mustang II rack from anywhere $165

Saved $780 in parts.
I bill $50 an hour for my time at 3/5 hours = $175
My total cost is $285

Humm, $890 worth of parts for $285 plus a little bonding with my son. That looks like just over $600 that I didn't spend at the parts stores.

I don't see the problem. If you go with the right tools and you have a plan it has always worked out for me in the last 25 years of boneyard shopping.

 

My u-pull-it guys are friendly but not much for help...

It is part of the adventure. See what I can find and knowing the prices are cheap...

Maybe I could get it [the part in question] cheaper off the internet. I also got the option of having the item in hand to decide if it will fit my need or not...

 

only thing that really bothers me is the crowd the u pull yards tend to bring in..... slobs!!! i'm used to going to get parts and putting anything you had to take off to get what you needed back in the vehicle. most of these yards look like the cars exploded you can hardly walk through them..and every part that was in the way of what they wanted gets destroyed btw its worse in the imports section of the yard

 

So true Von Kragen!!!

 

Try looking at it from the owner/worker side. Tools if they aint bolted down they have a tendency to walk off. I refuse to answer the phone at our familys junkyard when helping out. Calls go like this do you guy have a motor my resoponse sure lots of them. We let customers go out and look at no charge. But if a car has lots of **** in it we have to clan it out or everything is laying on the ground. The mexicans are better than the white trash they dont speak enough english to tell me thier sob story.

 

It takes all kinds in the Hobby, Sorry But that is where the old car parts are. Look another option you have. Walk into a parts store. walk up to the counter. Ask for someting like a Lug Nut. Some 18 year old girl will then go to the computer, and ask you if it has Air Conditioning. ?? then she will type a lot more and then come back and ask you if it has Power seats in it. for a Lug Nut..... Hmmmmmm I would rather just be quiet and entertain myself in Pick A Part.

 

I don't think I've ever gone to the junk yard and didn't have a fun time. I used to go just to see what was new... like a chick "shopping" when they don't need anything.

as for how much my time is worth... I get 24 hours a day for free. my time is not worth anything if I am at the junk yard for my own project. do people go to the movies and think it somehow cost them $60.00 because they were there for 2 hours?

didn't think so.

 

I have a good local yard that I visit all the time. Prices are good, any rear end cost $120. Bought one from a 78 camaro for my 50 chevy and another from a 2001 LS1 trans am posi with 3.73 which I sold at a nice profit. They have a collectors corner which has some well picked over cars. At the moment they have a lot of cl***ics in a fenced off area that came in coutesy of hurrican Ike. So far none of them are for sale. I've seen some nice aftermarket stuff on cars there, even air ride suspension.

 

Kinda sounds like you're in the wrong hobby to me.

I don't expect the junkyard to be a clean, sanitary, tidy, and efficient place. It's a junkyard. I'm going to get dirty. I'm going to bring my tools and have a clear idea of what I'm there for, and an open eye for anything else. It's luck of the draw sometimes, but I would much rather spend a day alone or with friends pulling parts than ordering 1-800 hot rod parts. Differ'nt strokes...

 

I love the U-Pull it. I went in there a few years ago to get a corvair steering box. Some **** had stripped the bolt heads in the fender well. We pulled out the sawzall and took the steering box still attached to part of the inner fender well and the fender. I drilled the bolts out when I got home. All for $25.00 bucks. To top it off, it was a really nice corvair and the counter guy asked me what it looked like. After telling him, he told me he had made a deal with the boss to buy the car before it hit the lot but the word never got around.

 

I love going to the yards. One local yard is owned by a locally famous racing family (story in the RJ couple of years ago). Problem is, the son of the original owner can be an ***. Every time I found a treasure in the yard, he wanted a fortune for it " I've seen'em go as high as *** on the internet". Treated me as if I was some punk. Well the tables turned when he found out I have some early memorabilia of his fathers racing days. Now he wants something from me.... life is good!

 

Ask him why he doesn't sell it on the internet then...

 

At that point, I usually look to my left, then look to my right, then say, "Does this look anything like the internet to you?". I sell both on Ebay and at swap meets, and I NEVER use that lame *** line on anyone. I imagine that my house would sell for a lot more if it were in the middle of Manhattan, too.

 

alot of you guys are really lucky to have the u-pick option there.. i'm noticing alot of junkyards won't let you go walk around anymore around where i live.. only one left near me that will still let you and i don't think they're used to guys like us cause the first time i went there i asked to just walk around and check stuff out and they looked at me like i was crazy.. saw some good stuff there though.. they had a totally complete 56 Buick two door buried behind some stuff..

 

Anybody ever had luck finding a bench with the foam still???

 

My dad loves them. I don't care for u pull it .Had too many bad experiences At one The owner charged me a hundred bucks for an air conditioner muffler For my 69 Firebird after I pulled it off the car .Also charged me 15.00 per bolt for A.C.Brackets Ill never go back there. The other yard that is close has new 90's stuff .Never find a thing. When you add up the time .Its cheaper to buy the part .And let's say you have to replace the part years down the road.Your screwed. Carshows and Hershey are the best and any other swapmeet.You deal with good people for the most part..Except the aggravated ones That are sick of dealing with cheap *******s.That have a fair price listed then you ask them if they'll take your ridiculous offer.

 

yeah the yard i was just talking about had a mid sixties Olds 98 with a perfect interior.. it was the split bench front seats..

 

I saw something similar several years back. I needed a lower control arm off a '64 Dodge that a yard had. It was a recent addition and was surprisingly complete. I asked them to remove the control arm for me (for a price) since I was in a little bit of a hurry. They destroyed a really nice grill by throwing a chain thru front end and dragging it up to their work area. The chain went over the top of the grill and came out under the bumper. The car had no wheels, so when the slack came out of the chain, it cut thru the grill until it was just wrapped around the bumper. Then they took a cutting torch to the suspension to get the control arm out. Even though they could of removed it almost as fast with an impact, a wrench or two, and a good sized ball peen.

Yes, it was their car and their business. But that just doesn't seem like a good way to do business. Especially since the guys that did it were just sitting around when I got there and resumed sitting around after I paid for the control arm. I actually felt a little guilty about the whole situation as I drove away........

 

I have found tons of them. You need to go to the yards fairly regularly to get a good one. If it is in there a while people wipe their greasy hands on them, or eventually someone takes a piss on it.

I actually got a few bench seats out of Memory Lane that were really nice for $100 or less.

 

Hopefully the pick a part (the big octopus logo) has some decent benches. Their site lists them as 30.

 

Dude its a junkyard.You get what you need and leave.Its a beautiful thing when you find what you need and its cheap. I could spend an entire day at a good junkyard.I have and most likely will again.

 

This guy must be a hell of a good friend that won't let you come and pick little stuff like cables for free

 

Yeah Javier, I'm with you on the fact I can spend the whole day there! My girl even went with me once just to look over all the OLD stuff

 

I must admit they not the friendliest people ,but the place is not a social club.in the Miami area there is dudes in golf cars that would pull your parts for a reasonable fee.some parts prices are steering columns are $25.tail lights $20.car doors$25. truck doors$40.hoods$40.you cant beat it.

 

I used to work for you-pullit's
started out friendly but you can only take soo many tweakers and bums... patrons AND workmates. fact of life they don't have much money so they're there working for cheap or buying cheap...ripping things apart looking for change, cloths or whatever.... some of the yard workers do it before the car comes in from processing.
How many times do you have to tell someone something that's all over the signs and they still don't listen or get it? you find them out wandering in other parts of the yard after telling them no...
The Mexicans get the blame but the junkyards were trashy before the Mexicans populated south Omaha. before that they blames the black guys and Pollaks.
Lowlifes don't get anywhere in life and they are poor because of how they live.
Upullit's are magnets for low-lifes and I've got no remorse in saying that.
trashy is trashy and if people want to be trashy then it's their choice and I'll call it like it is.
That being said, when I want a deal I have no problem with putting on my grubbies and heading to the upullits if I can't find it the easy way.
Why do people wipe their *** then throw the poopy paper on the floor???
sometimes you just have to stop wondering why and stay away from them the best you can. i'ts the only way to ENJOY a good life. **** it up get your parts cheap and enjoy them.
But then what do I know...