What Are Salvage and Breakers? - Autos

Salvage and breaker yards are places that buy motor vehicles which are either wrecked or useless. The scrap yard will buy the vehicle for a nominal amount, usually around 50 but this really depends on the type of car and the condition it is in.

The car is then dismantled and the useable parts are kept, cleaned up and sold to be used in operating cars. These parts can really range from the body work to the mechanics; as long as it can still do a job it will be kept. Anything that can't be used will be kept or sold onto recycling companies. If a car has been completely wrecked, it is usually the mechanical parts that are kept and sold on, where as the body work and metal is usually scrapped and sold for recycling.

So you can see where the name comes from. To either salvage the working parts of a car or to break the car into pieces to sort out the parts that are useful and the ones that are not. These places are fantastic for people looking to off load their car that is either wrecked or next to useless. Not only that, but these are fantastic places to grab a bargain if you're in need of a second hand car part.

This isn't something new, breaker yards have been operating for years as they are a cost effective way to ensure your car can still gets the part it needs. If you're on a budget and all you care is that your car just runs effectively, then this option is far more beneficial than buying a brand new car part straight from the manufacturer. Also if you have a particularly old car, the manufacturer may not necessarily make parts for that car anymore, and so using second hand car parts really are the only option.

Traditionally salvage yards or breaker yards would have the cars stacked up high on metal frames, and customers would walk around the yard to find the car for which they need a part. This is a really easy way to search for the right make and model of car. The next thing is to find the part that you actually need. Usually someone working on the yard will know exactly what parts are left in the car; if not, they will search in the car to find the part that you need.

However, 'times they are a-changin' and you no longer have to visit salvage or breaker yards to find the second hand car part you need. That's because some salvage yards now sell all of their parts online, so if you know of a part that you need, you can now use their website to find the part you need. Not only will this save you time and effort, but you don't have to use petrol driving to a salvage yard; these places are sometimes quite hard to find so you'll also avoid the headache of trying to find it as well.