Finding Quality Auto Body Parts At The Junk Yard
If you have ever had to do repair work or had someone else do repair work on your vehicle then you know how expensive auto body parts can be. Many times it is cheaper but way too difficult to do the work yourself. Other times it is nice to shop for used auto body parts, but they can be hard to find. When sitting down to make a decision on how best to fix your vehicle you need to ask yourself a few simple questions.
The first is whether or not you need to get a new part. For moving parts and electronic equipment getting used parts can be a risky endeavor. However if you are looking for auto body parts, then getting used can be a very viable option.
Selecting and Buying Your Used Auto Body Parts
The key to getting good prices on used auto body parts is persistence. The first thing you need to do is do some research on what junk yards and auto parts places are nearby. After you have done that you can begin calling them to see if they have the part you are looking for in stock. If they do ask them how much they want for it and make a note of it. Now is not the time to haggle about price, keep good records to do that later.
After you have developed a list of local retailers that have the part you are looking for set aside some time to go out and talk to them. Depending on how many have the auto body parts you are looking for you may need multiple days to get this done. You are definitely going to want to look at as many parts as possible as there will most assuredly be differences in the quality of the different parts.
While used parts may have a little wear and tear to them I would avoid purchasing auto body parts with significant wear and tear as more than likely you will just end up having to buy them again. If the part looks up to snuff and of solid quality see if you can get them to bring the price down at all from where they set it. More than likely unless it is a very strict junk yard you should be able to talk them down a little bit. If the price is still unsatisfactory, just politely let the owner know that you have a few other options to check out. Even it is satisfactory this is pretty solid strategy for getting them to move on the price or at the very least testing them to see if they will move.
Once you have purchased the product now it is a simple matter of installing it. If you can do this yourself than go for it, otherwise take the part with you to a mechanic and see what they can do.
