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The answer is simple, for years when some one needed a used car part they went to a junk yard, that was then nowadays after market parts are what most people buy, they come in a box have a warranty are are cheaper then what a junk yard wants for the same part with no warranty, junk yards are a dieing breed.they have become the recyclers, case in point I needed a radiator for my F350, junk yard wanted 175.00 dealer wanted 365.00 bought a after market for 105.00 in box, installed it works great.
To be truthful about it, the junk yards did it to themselves.
Exactly. Here, junkyards charge way more for parts than it would cost new. Case in point- I needed a hood release cable for my 1995 F150. O'Reilly's didn't have them. The junkyard wanted $60. RockAuto shipped a new one to me for about $30-35. It's a no brainer.
Pick and Pull lots are different, though. I like them a lot- their prices are great on most things. The next time I go to Denver, I already have my "Wish List" filled out, and I'll get it there. I need a window regulator and a door handle for the truck. I can get a whole door there for $60. If there's any little thing that I need, I'll have it. Or here, I can pay another $10 for screws, or harness my inner MacGyver.
Yards here are weird, though. I needed a tailgate for a 73-87 Chevrolet truck. The yard owner took 30 minutes to get one, because he didn't want to sell the first 10-15 that we passed. They were "too good."
It makes me shake my head sometimes!
This thread makes me nostalgic.
Early to mid 70's I spent every Saturday morning grabbing parts for an old clunker I paid 50 bucks for. Put 25- 50 bucks in it and flip it for 200 plus. There was some weeks my brothers and I ,I have 3 brothers, would flip 5-6 cars. And a dollar had a lot more value.
We were teenagers and loved every minute.
I have purchased 2 motors and one transmission off ebay. I bought based on the mileage and if the seller had at least 100 transactions. I didn't mind the freight, because they were still cheaper than the junkyard. I also bought based on them having tested it. I don't like auctions on autoparts because when you need an item you can just BuyItNow. just my .02
I skip auctions entirely when I am buying parts on ebay. Like you said, I need it now not days from now, I already know freight is gonna take some time, hard enough to be without a vehicle for any length of time.
The other aspect is videos. My understanding is you can link youtube videos to ebay listings so you can demo that something ran or is in the condition you stated. I know I LOVE videos can observe how something is running, hear ticks sometimes and in general know the motor or whatever they are selling is ok.
Well slowly I'm in the green. Took a few weeks, but things are trickling out. I'm actually doing a ratio of 75% computer parts versus 25% in sales. But hard to find parts do sell.