BABY BOOMER WOMEN ARE GETTING RIPPED OFF BY AUTO MECHANICS
While junk yards are one of the most common places where you can find used parts, they're not the only places. Though, you will always get much better deals at junkyards than any other place. Most of the damaged and old vehicles always have a number of spares that work perfectly well. Sometimes these parts are almost new. The only problem with junkyards is that at most of the times you will have to locate and remove the spare part yourself. On the flipside, this saves your money on labor charges that some other dedicated stores might charge you.
You are able to find classic car parts online, if you are a fairly good mechanic yourself and would simply like to look for the right parts to install. Some merchants may put up parts for sale on public ad pages, auctions, car club websites and personal websites.
Most of the large junkyard use a system called a "Hotline." If you call a junkyard and ask whether they carry a certain part, they'll check their inventory database while you're on the phone. If they don't find the part you need in their inventory, they can use their Hotline to quickly check the inventories of neighboring junkyards. A quick tip about the Hotline: ask the junkyard that is checking other yards what that particular part would have cost if they had it in their inventory. You may be able to negotiate the price with the other dealer.
Some parts have a core charge. This is common with re-manufactured parts like starters. You pay the core charger upfront. When you turn in your used part, it is refunded. If you bring your old part with you at purchase time, there will be no core charge incurred. This is assuming that the old part can be rebuilt. In some cases, like brake shoes, they can be damaged to the point of no repair. In that case, you would not be refunded the core charge.
Before the internet age the find nearest auto parts store industry had been primarily occupied by the big conglomerates such as NAPA, Checker and a few others but thanks to the internet this is changing. Today anyone who has an access to the internet has the opportunity to unlimited potential, and better yet create it from the comfort of their home. According to eBay motors 4.5 billion dollars worth of automotive related items are sold annually making it the most profitable sectors on eBay. The majority of sellers are ordinary people who buy and sell for a profit.
Online, there are usually images of the used car parts that the websites are selling. Be careful when shopping online, because they may not sell you the exact part that you are looking at in the image. Sometimes parts are already painted, and they might not match the paint that is on your car. Sometimes, the parts are available without paint. If auto parts store near me are replacing auto body, the color of the paint is important because your car will look strange or unfinished if it is unpainted or if it is the wrong color. Talk to a body shop before you buy this type of part online.