• Hello there guest and Welcome to The #1 Classic Mustang forum!
    To gain full access you must Register. Registration is free and it takes only a few moments to complete.
    Already a member? Login here then!

What's the deal with salvage yards??

K

Kats66Pny

Active Member
So I called this salvage yard that has a '99 Sebring vert. Sadly it's too stripped already. Anyway I figured I'd ask about misc parts I need for my Sebring. Like a top and headlight piece I need to keep the headlight in so I can remove the duct tape.

Well he said $300 for the top...which includes the frame & vinyl minus the motor. I said I only needed the vinyl. My frame and motor are fine. He said they can't sell the vinyl separate. Has to be sold w/frame because if he only sold the vinyl it would make the frame useless. So I asked about headlight piece.. he said he may or may not be able to sell me the piece I need. Depends if it ruins the car he has.

His reason for the top and headlight bracket.... it would ruin the car he has in order to fix mine, that some pieces have to be sold as a whole. :wtf Seriously??
I thought that's the whole point of salvage yards, to buy those random/hard to find pieces you need. I even googled and came up with a couple bad reviews about the place. One of them said the same thing!

The first time I went asking for the simplest item and was told they they will now "ruin the cars in their yard to fix mine" ....

He said he'd have to see my sebring and the exact piece I need. Why I don't know. I know damn well what piece I need. Give me a fricking screwdriver & 5 minutes and I'll pull the crap off the junk sebring myself. I'm half tempted to go there and when he tells me (1) some outrageous price or (2) some stupid 'it'll ruin my car crap to shove it up his butt and I can fix my headlight for a $4.99 tube of epoxy.
 
The thing is I don't need anything from there. It was one of those things..they had a 99 sebring vert and I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask about the parts I could use. I don't need a new top right away. I want one. A black one eventually. The tan one I have is ugly and leaks some which is no biggy. The headlight piece would be awesome to get. I'd rather spend a few extra $ on the actual piece than using epoxy to fix it but I'm fine with epoxy. It'll work just to make the car pass inspection which is all I care about.
 
junkyards are getting greedy . They don't want to bother with small parts thinking they can make more money selling whole assemblies. I needed a door lock motor for my wifes jeep and no one would sell it to me unless I bought the entire door.

300 for the top would a deal for my car. C70 tops are very hard to find used and usually an arm and a leg .
 
"RapidRabbit" said:
junkyards are getting greedy . They don't want to bother with small parts thinking they can make more money selling whole assemblies. I needed a door lock motor for my wifes jeep and no one would sell it to me unless I bought the entire door.
Click to expand...

That's what my husband said when I told him what the salvage yard said. Since there's no market for frames, but is for the vinyl top..they are going to try to sell the whole shabang. Same with the little headlight bracket. Most folks need the entire headlight assembly, not the little bracket.

Greedy jerks. Oh well their loss. I could have given them some $ for the piece instead Walmart got my $ and I bought some epoxy. I'm about to fix my headlight without that stupid piece!
 
Kat, I am not sure how the sebring vinyl is attached to the frame, but I'll bet it involves the usual combination of staples, tack strips, screws and glue. Guessing at how they are attached, I can't picture an old top being worth a darn once it is removed from a frame. It is hard enough to get a new top on correctly, I just cant imagine getting a used top installed on a different frame to look decent at all. I'll bet that a sebring top can be purchased new in the range of $150-200 on fleabay. I would stay completely away from a used top. If and when you decide to tackle the top, drop me a note. I can save you some headaches.
 
Supposedly the top that is on the other sebring is fairly new which is why I asked about it.

I know for my top, it's actually a 3 piece set up. 2 pieces for the top part (the main section and the window section) and the inside headliner part. All I really need is to replace the window section because the vinyl is separated from the glass, but since I hate the tan and want to change the color to black I'll have to do at least the top 2 pieces. My headliner is fine.
 
"RapidRabbit" said:
junkyards are getting greedy . They don't want to bother with small parts thinking they can make more money selling whole assemblies. I needed a door lock motor for my wifes jeep and no one would sell it to me unless I bought the entire door.

300 for the top would a deal for my car. C70 tops are very hard to find used and usually an arm and a leg .
Click to expand...

They are taking lessons from how the manufacturers are selling service parts. I needed a keeper for the front hub on my F250, just a basic keeper key. I'm sure that would cost a couple of $'s. Had to buy a package for $70.00 some $'s. Didn't have a choice. I looked at three or four in junkyards and they were either gone or broken as well.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top