Stripping a wreck for parts versus selling it whole to a scrap yard

I had a 2004 Honda Civic that got rear-ended real bad, frame bent and everything. I spent three weekends pulling out the engine, transmission, and interior bits, storing them in my garage. My buddy kept saying just call the scrap truck and take the $300 and be done with it. But I stuck with stripping it, and after selling the engine for $450 and the transmission for $200 on Craigslist, I came out way ahead. The scrap yard still gave me $120 for the shell and what was left. Only downside was the mess and the time, plus my neighbor complained about the car sitting on jack stands for two weeks. Has anyone else found a certain model that's always worth pulling parts from?

2 comments

2 Comments

jasonp7129d ago

That "my neighbor complained" part hits too close to home lol. One thing people don't think about with stripping is how much space you need for all the random bolts and plastic clips. I pulled a whole 2002 Camry apart once and ended up with like five coffee cans full of fasteners I thought I'd use later. Never used any of them. Also check if your local scrap yard is cool about taking a stripped shell. Some near me will charge you extra if there's no cat or gas tank still on it.

iris39428d ago

Haha @jasonp71 I feel you on the coffee cans. I've got a milk crate full of random bolts from a minivan I stripped three years ago. Still telling myself I'll need them someday. You ever actually sort through that mess or just let it become a permanent garage decoration?