Honing My Driving Skills

Two Great Reasons To Shop at Your Local Salvage Yard

Although most people typically visit the local auto parts store when their car needs a new part, those facilities aren't the only options. In fact, if you're handy enough to do the repairs yourself, you might be able to get the stuff you need from a local auto salvage yard. If you've never shopped at a salvage yard for auto parts, you may not understand what makes it such a great investment. Here are a few of the benefits to getting your next auto parts from a local salvage yard instead of an auto parts store.

You Can Get Affordable Parts

One of the biggest draws of shopping at a salvage yard for car parts is the access to parts for a fraction of the price of brand new parts. Salvage yard managers go through every incoming car carefully to determine which parts are most likely to be functional and eligible for sale. Sometimes a car is totaled and sent to the salvage yard with only some structural or frame damage. In those cases, there are plenty of usable parts that you can get at an affordable price.

Some salvage yards even offer "you pick" service. That service allows you to go out to the car lot yourself, find the part you want, and then negotiate a lower price because they didn't have to remove the part for you. If you don't have the tools with you, you might be able to rent them.

You Can Buy Entire Vehicles

Whether you're looking for a car that you can harvest lots of parts off of for your current vehicle or you are in the market for an affordable car that only needs a few repairs, a salvage yard may be the best stop.

Insurance companies will total a car if the damage to it exceeds the replacement value. That means that any car with low market value that's damaged significantly in an accident is likely to be totaled. In many cases, the damage is just physical to the body and just necessitates an auto body repair. If the rest of the car is functional and works well, you can get a really inexpensive car that just needs body work.

If you've invested in a car that needs a lot of parts to get it on the road, buying a salvage vehicle in the same year, make, and model might save you significantly on the total cost of the repairs. Some salvage yards offer a discount when you buy the entire car because they get the revenue up front instead of having to sell it in pieces.


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