My name is Cory and one of my favorite things to do is find bargain priced parts at pick and pull junkyards. The trouble with pick and pull yards is, once you are there, it's an Easter egg hunt in trying to find the make/model of what you are looking for...if there are even any victims at all. If you happen to nearby this is less of an issue, but still leads to wasted time looking around. In the NYC area where I am located, the pick and pull yards closest to me are at two plus hours away in North East PA, Catskills area of NY, or down in Baltimore, MD. In the fall last year, I was introduced to the LKQ Pick Your Part Garage by a cashier at the LKQ Edgewood, MD location. Their new website and app allows you to set up your own garage and create email alerts for whenever a car meeting your criteria is released your saved LKQ yards.
You can see from the picture above the jump that my garage is made up of most any Mercedes model offered between 1985 and 2000. Unfortunately, I have not received an email saying that a 1992-93 500E has hit one of the MD yards! When a car that meets your set criteria, you receive an email shown in the picture below with a hot link to the actual car. There is always at least one picture of the car and sometimes as many as three. It is hugely helpful to see any potential damage to a car and the exterior/interior colors.
I had enough intel from searching the six Baltimore yards inventory and
the email alerts that a kamikaze run down was planned out for last
Saturday. I left my place at 6:00 am and made a day of hitting up three
separate yards. This 1996 Mercedes C280 Sport was my first stop of the day. The Takata air bag recall has even impacted junkyard air bag sales as there were huge signs saying that there were NO AIR BAG SALES under any circumstances.
The picture below shows my 99 cents Ikea parts hauling satchel. The
C280 donated its steering wheel, throttle body (originals had biodegradable
wiring), and tail lights. The
C280 sport steering wheel is the same 390MM sized
model that came on a 94-95 E500 or the E320 Sportline models. You can
see the air bag laying on the console that sadly had to be left behind.
LKQ has locations nationwide so there may be one near you. Their new website is a great use of technology. Happy parts hunting!
The suitcase with the missing C280 5 speed shifter and shifter rods was just found by the airline six weeks after my friends trip back from the UK!
I've had the Row52 app for quite a while now, and LKQ appears to do the same thing, just with locations that are 1000+ miles away from me. Row52 isn't tied to one company, so there's more available in the Northwest and mountain states, which appear to be completely devoid of LKQ locations.
ReplyDeleteCory: thanks for sharing this with all of us junkyard scrounging DT-heads. I've already created an account and garage on the LKQ site. Hoping to score some good rare Volvo bits from "fresh kills" right as they come into the yards.
ReplyDeleteuteking: LKQ is definitely late to the game for this. In Northern CA the Row52 app seems to cover all the major yards (which are not owned by LKQ). I've been jealous of my Nor-Cal brethren for years now. Glad to see LKQ has finally stepped up to provide something similar. They seem to have bought most of the yards in the LA metro area so at least there's broad coverage.
Cory
DeleteThere is a huge picknpull on rt 22 about an hour north of Manhattan well south of millerton. It might even be an lkq yard
Any guess as to the name or location? There is a big one Cuddebackville, NY near Middletown, NY.
DeleteHow had I not known about row52 ?
ReplyDeleteWow, and thanks CFlo!
Nice post, on one of my favourite subjects. Like many of you, I take great pleasure in hunting in the recycling centres. Up here in Ontario, we don't seem to have reached the level of sophistication that I am seeing in your row52 and LKQ PYP. But my local yard, which is part of Standard Auto Parts has an online inventory for the U-Pull yard, so that helps. They also are very well organized, with the various makes clustered. Heck, they even make some effort to clear snow for easier access in winter! I am pleased to say that my 30-something son is also getting the bug, as he keeps his 2005-2007 Focuses (Foci?) in nice shape on a budget.
ReplyDeleteI work at an lkq in Idaho. Best job I've ever had.
ReplyDeleteI work at an lkq in Idaho. Best job I've ever had.
ReplyDeleteWorking hard to beat K2's daily average as well. ;)
DeleteIf one get enough posts - you can send private messages and post in the classified section.
DeleteHey now, don't tell everyone the secrets of DT all at once. Next thing you'll tell 'em how to beat SuperMarioBros2 using a paper clip, rubber band, and bottle of rubbing alcohol.
Delete