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Ok, so if you need say, a common engine part from a common car: you’d probably just ring or visit your local breakers right?
But what if you need a body part in a specific colour code. Maybe on a rarer car? Are you supposed to ring every yard in the country? Inevitably with loads of dead ends ie; “yeah mate, we’ve got two of those models in... but not in the colour you want”
There must be an easier way?
There is some web service where you put in your part and get a listing.
Hard these days. Cars and parts seem to get sold onto intermediaries somehow. Most end up on eBay it seems.
ive always gone to a brand specific specialist.
i usually find them through ebay - ie one seller listing pretty much parts just from that brand is a pretty good bet - or i ask on the brand or model if possible specific forum
ive never had anything other than sky high quotes from partsgateway and breakers yard so just dont bother anymore.
I've used Partsgateway before and had a bit of a mixed repsonse.
First time was for a high pressure fuel pump. They sent the wrong one (Siemens instead of Bosch) they didn;t want the wrong part back but i had to wait a week or 2 for the correct one to come in. I ended up selling the incorect one for more than i paid so quids in.
Second time, i found the part i wanted but they wouldn't remove it from the car before payment however they wouldn't take payment over the phone. They expected me to drive to the yard to pay and they may be able to remove it whilst i waited.
Third time, no one had the basic part i wanted or prices were more than new
I've not used them since
The days of climbing up a stack of 4 cars with your own tools to remove bits from cars is long gone.
Those online portals, ebay etc are your best bet.
Find someone selling a part from the same model on ebay email and see if they have others?
Yeah used various on-line parts portals in the past, never got what I wanted. Remember going into the scrappy with a mate and the biggest tool box in the world. Most of the parts we wanted got put in the toolbox and we paid for some token parts. To be fair the prices they were asking they must have accounted for that in their business model.
"The days of climbing up a stack of 4 cars with your own tools to remove bits from cars is long gone."
only if you dont know where too look . we have 2 locally . one if you want shit for cars that no one ever wanted..... - a front wing for a hyundai accent anyone ? - one of our forum regular has a house almost overlooking it.
and another where you go if you want anything from something that failed its mot in the last 6 months or so ..... mostly stock of 10-15 year old cars that rotates quite often so they dont end up in the situation above where the only cars left are shit boxes.
I used to love a scrapyard mission! Our Scenic has benefitted in so many ways from upgraded parts. Why does it continue to betray me so!
Your best bet would be to get on some of the selling sites like gumtree and see if there is anyone breaking the vehicle you need bits for.
My BIL had great sucess using a part finder company to find a bonnet for his 14 YO Audi A4 after he rear ended someone. Shame the delivery monkeys managed to drop it on the tips and bend them slightly.
This place has a yard East of York and one near Edinburgh (although I've never been there).
York one is a massive site with car grouped by country and then brand. You pay £1 to enter and take off what you want yourself then pay for those parts on the way out.
It's a great way of finding out how parts are fitted and if you break them while dismantling then you whistle inconspicuously and leave it be without having to pay for it. I once ripped aprat a front seat to get to the wiring for the seatbelt retainer. It was quite satisfying.
Their online database is pretty accurate but make sure you search breaker parts as the other one is for whole cars.
But what if you need a body part in a specific colour code.
Can't you get the part in the wrong colour and some paint?
There is..was something special about climbing over a field of cars to find the make and model you want...the thrill when you looked into/beneath it to find a good condition part you need, jacking the car nice and high and propping it up on a collection of wheel rims you'd gathered from round about, fitting in the grime for an hour to remove the part, and then bartering a price for it. I fondly remember doing this to obtain a front cross member for a Fiat Uno. the scrappy had 6 or 8 Unos in but most had cross members as rusty as my own or were burried under several other cars and unreachable....then i found a car that had clearly had a replacement member not long before its final demise. I sweated buckets on a hot summer day but saved myself about £100 over the price Fiat had quoted for a new one....ahh thems the days! Left that uno a metre high on its pile of rims....and engine dangling after the member had been retrieved.
Yupp my local yard still let's me go in and pick parts. Seem everything is free or a tenner. I like it.
I just call the local breakers within an hours drive of me and ask if they have the model car in and whether it might have what I need on it. If that fails then I go to eBay.
There is..was something special about climbing over a field of cars to find the make and model you want
Health and safety has ruined everything fun. I remember years ago climbing up a 4 car high stack at the local scrappy to remove the fuel pump from the Vauxhall cavalier on top.
It was a great sense of achievement fixing a car with a part you'd removed by spending time at the top of a pile of cars wobbling around with every small movement!
I miss, scrap yard visits.
So much fun finding rare bits and they were always dirt cheap for parts.