Junkyard after Christmas sales

[Jim Henderson]

Well, after my most excellent safari to my local junkyard aka Salvage Yard for the Black Friday Thanksgiving 50% off sales, I was keeping an eye open to see if there is a repeat performance.

There will be.

My local junkyard, Pick a Part in Bloomington off Pyrite and the 60 freeway in Calif, is having an after Christmas sale starting Dec 31(who wouldn't want to spend New Years eve in the junkyard?) til January 4. Prices will be 50% off all parts. I highly suspect your local yards may also have such a sales so if you are in the market for used parts this is the time to shop.


As mentioned in my previous post about 50% off Junkard Black Friday, I shopped for and got myself a differential, a radiator, a tail light, rotors and odd bits and pieces for 50% off the yard's list price.

As an example of how crazy the savings are...I misquoted what the differential cost me. I had said the diff cost me about $77, when this yard's list was $154 and I have seen the differential listed at $200 at other local yards and just the center carrier at $250 and up from eBay etc and $425 from the local (we pull it) yards.

Well I was way off on the $77. My actual net cost today after returning my core was $37.49. You can't beat that price "any day from Sunday". Holy cow, I thought I was going to the poor house to repair my LS, while in actuality it cost about the same as 2 large Pizzas delivered.

My mistake was that I forgot or didn't realize, the yards will quote a complete assembly, ie Rotor to Rotor, but they will also break it down by individual parts. My original price of $154 was from wheel to wheel including the rotors, wheel assembly, CV axles and differential etc. The carrier alone is just $75 and %50 off is just $37.49.

I was going to buy the whole assembly but the junkyard shuttle truck ran over the axles as I was going to pay for everything. Oh well I didn't really need it all, just the diff.

So short story, if you are looking for used parts, around Christmas and New Years may be one of your best opportunities to save a huge bundle. I sure did and I have my eye on some other LS bits and pieces coming up.

BTW the LS Donor at my local yards(there are 3 LS's) all have excellent body panels and glass, but mostly gutted interiors.

I babble on because I am delighted at how much I saved. Sorry but I feel like the cat the swallowed the canary.

Jim Henderson

 

[RigsLS]

Yeah, that's cool Jim, know how you feel, I've scored large at a local pull-it-yard as well, I've got way too many ashtray/heated seats assy, grilles, surrounds, tail lamps both GEN's, walked away with a whole entire sunroof rack w/ motor for the prize of a couple pizza's also. Know how you feel. Don't forget to snag and pocket them pesky little plastic underhood retaining clips.

I don't come across many LS at the yards but when I do, I salvage like no others, and I mean like no others cuz I must be the only one in this area, they are not gutted badly at all. Maybe a clockspring missing but all in all, mostly found one not too long ago, jut the wheels missing but lots of damage to the front undercarriage.


I always keep looking. luckily my local yard has a website listing of the cars inventory they take in, I scan the listing weekly to see what got brought in recently. I see Lincoln LS, I'm already in the car with my bag'o tools.


Wife says: where you going, I reply: Pull yard, she returns: Another Lincoln?


+1

 

[Telco]

This is a wise thing to do, BigRig. Low production cars don't take long to become impossible to repair. Not only will this let you keep your car running longer, but later on it can become a lucrative hobby. If you want to see how this plays out, go look at a Buick Reatta board. They only made 20K of those cars total, and those poor guys are down to fixing their cars by sitting down with a chunk of metal and a whittling knife to hand-make the parts needed. At least one guy has a pretty good side business rebuilding headlight actuators and other electronic parts, and another had about 12 of them that he was selling parts from. When I had one even I was hand-building parts to make repairs. Decided it wasn't worthwhile to pursue, was originally intending to convert it into either a front engine RWD V8, or a mid-engine RWD V8 vacation car. It was the 2000 dollar windshield I had to have made for it, which took a month to get in, that broke that camel's back.