Many DYI’ers want the option of pulling their own parts from auto salvage yards for even more savings!!

It takes a lot for an industry with more than 8,000 businesses and $22 billion in annual sales to change direction. That’s what’s happening now in automotive recycling, where self-serve salvage yards that permit customers to remove their own parts from scrapped vehicles are beginning to supplant traditional full-service operations.

Thus far, there are only about 200 pure self-service yards, estimated Dimitri Gerontis, principal at S3 Software Solutions, a Salt Lake City provider of software for self-service auto salvage operators. “But there are probably upwards of 400 to 500 of what would be considered a hybrid yard, bordering between self-service and full-service,” Gerontis said. “And everyone’s looking in that direction.”

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A North County auto salvage company was heavily damaged by fire late Wednesday night.

Firefighters were called to San Luis Rey Auto Salvage & Towing on North El Camino Real near Douglas Drive about 11:40 p.m., Oceanside Fire Department Battalion Chief Joe Ward said.

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With fleets of electric cars starting to hit the roads, the next big mother lode for salvage companies is expected to be the expensive, newfangled batteries powering them.

Yet even as automakers vaunt the ways these cars can benefit the environment, they are divided over how best to handle the refuse: recycle or re-purpose.

That is worrying some companies involved in “urban mining” — a voguish term that refers to extracting valuable metals from all kinds of discarded electronics, from power tools to mobile phones. They have already begun spending money to build an infrastructure to handle the flood of partly depleted battery packs that are expected to enter the waste stream; Frost & Sullivan, a consulting firm, puts the number at about 500,000 a year by the early

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Michael Wilson of the Federal Trade Commission confirmed in a letter to the ARA the use of recycled automotive parts is OK for warranties!

In the letter, the FTC says: “Warrantors may not claim that a warranty is void simply because a consumer has used an authorized or recycled part.”

“Tying warranties to the use of new, authorized replacement parts is illegal under the Magnuson-Moss Act,” said Wilson. “Several months ago we asked the FTC to review position statements by several automobile manufacturers that implied that recycled parts are lesser quality parts than new OEM parts and that there use could void a manufacturer warranty,” said Wilson.

ARA raised concerns with the FTC that the position statements of the automobile manufacturers might mislead consumers into thinking that using recycled parts in a repair could void their warranty. As a result, the FTC announced the update of a consumer alert entitled Auto Warranties, Routine Maintenance, and Repairs: Is Using the Dealer a Must? The revised alert specifically notes that the mere use of recycled parts does not void a warranty and that it is illegal for warrantors to void a warranty or deny coverage simply because a recycled part was used.

This is great news for the environment and also for the auto recycling industry.  Using used green auto parts is a great way to keep the planet green and save some cash on repairs!

This guy is crazy but we loved the fact that the first thing on his to-do list was go to the scrapyard!!

Now this is what I would call a Super Junk Car!!!

Looks like the economic recession in the USA has really hurt Bruce Wayne’s millions.

Daryl Law over at the Sentinel wrote a nice article the other day.  What does recycling junk metal and China have in common?

China needs the resource and America’s supplying it.

Because of demand, the value of scrap metal has reached its highest point ever and some area businessmen are making the most of it.

Sources say scrap metal currently brings in $11.25 per 100 pounds and that’s the reason why so many people are getting involved in recycling cast off things such as hot water heaters, 55-gallon drums and even old cars. Around Kill Devil Hills, several people work the neighborhoods searching for old lawn furniture frames, tire rims and anything else metal.

And while these collectors who cash out the resource make a little money, it also helps keep the town cleaner, neater. Stonemason Aaron Harvell recently made more than a hundred bucks when he hauled a load of junk to Melson’s Junk & Salvage in Currituck. It was too cold out for concrete to set up on his regular job so he made the most of what the Outer Banks had to offer – junk.

Read the rest here.

Thanks for visiting our new website and I hope we were able to help you with your search query!  If you are just visiting for news then the blog is a great place to start because we will be posting news and commentary related to the scrap car industry from across North America and the world.  Please feel free to contribute via comments!