just an observation. Sometimes, if you appear to be in the business, and might be a regular customer, and don't appear to be an idiot, you may establish an on going relationship based on mutual respect. You need to be their kind of person. Asking a favor on a one time basis, when you might turn out to be a PITA, is a really hard sell. Everybody likes to maximize income, so I know SOMEBODY at the yard would like extra $$$, even if the counter guy doesn't.I am poor, but have a doctorate (and no $$ - don't ask). At the yard I try to act rural, poor, less formally educated, and related to the business - as in running a part time repair business, etc. I don't parody the Beverly Hillbillies, but I know I do much better than a relative who struts in wearing a suit and talking different. Just a guy trying to get by on the economys margins. My dirty t-shirt barely covers my belly, and I change my vocabulary. In this scenario, somebody might sell you the tail lights, etc. on a regular basis, even if it's the guy crushing the car and not the manager. Remember, cash in hand talks better than check, receipts, etc. Good luck. I really sympathize.

I was kind of depressed last week when during a trip to the local U-Wrench-It. There was a mint condition '86 740 Turbo Wagon, dealer maintained (lots of new parts, all Volvo OEM), and the only thing wrong that I could find on the car was a bad Fuel Injection Relay. I have people lining up for cars like this, and a $50 part sends it to the scrapper!!! -and unfortunately once it's in the yard, they don't allow the car to come out unless it's crushed (yard policy).

If I stopped by the yard every day, I might be able to get my hands on some good deals before they get processed (and then pass the vehicles along to my friends). Three weeks ago, a mint condition '88 240 GL Sedan (no rust) ended up in the yard. I bet I probably could have had that vehicle back on the road in less than 1/2 hours work.

God bless, and keep'em on the road. (they'll save somebody's life, even if it's not your own)
Fitz Fitzgerald.
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'87 Blue 245, NA 238K

The Chinese have decided to build some things ... The whole steel industry has gone beserk. There is a giant sucking sound from China, all steel is heading that way. New, and scrap.

I work in construction management and the steel components of our jobs (structural, light gage framing and even reinforcing bar (rebar)) is rising so fast that you cannot even get a quote!
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Happy Motoring Miguel '86 244 and '87 245

Yeah, tell me about it! I went to the yard about a month ago to pull a few plastic trim pieces off an 89 240. The interior of this car was prestine. The only thing that was wrong with it was that the hood was tweeked and had a broken grill and headlights. The finders were even still good! Could have been a very easy fix, but no.

You've got to remember that land aint cheap, there's more cars coming through every day, there's a lot of labour involved in stripping a car, and then you'd need a warehouse to store all the bits.

The pick and pull yard that I use does most of the towing of abandoned vehicles, so they get paid to tow them, then they leave them out in the yard while people like me come and pull a few bits off them. When they run out of space they pick the oldest ones and send them to the crusher.

The operation they run requires about half a dozen men to run, and with a yard that easily fits a few thousand cars (no stacking either) they have a steady stream of people with wheelbarrow loads of parts. If they get a good project car in, they sell it whole on the front lot, same as any other car dealership.

Now that kind of land would not be cheap, you can't just keep filling it as they tow away more and more unregistered vehicles, so something's got to go. Their rent and insurance costs would be high, so they really can't afford more than half a dozen guys running the yard, and are not in a position to strip thousands of cars. And then if they did strip them, they don't have room to store a hanger full of parts that may not be purchased for years.

They salvage (and test) a few rare engines and such that come in, but sooner or later they've all got to get crushed, and it's all very sad to see restorable vehicles being turned into railway track, but if people keep wasting their money on throw-away korean junk, then beautiful old Mercs Beamers and Volvos will keep being crushed down to cubes.

So change your oil every three months, make sure your brakes are ok, keep a close eye on your coolant, go easy on your clutch. Keep repairing the rust before it gets away from you. Change your fuel filter often, those pumps are expensive. Tell your Volvo you love it before you go to bed every night and don't go wrapping it around freeway supports. Don't let another great old Swedish car become a metal biscuit.
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Drive it like you hate it

I told my father(he's a Saab freak) about a complete Saab 900 Turbo minus the wheels in a yard near me. By the time we got back down there to scavenge I was able to identify it's corpse, flattened on the back of a trialer.Many good parts gone to the shredder, A shame. B.G.

Hey, I hear ya- last week, I went to my local boneyard to get a coilpack for my girlfriend's (ugh) Buick... and also, naturally, to scout for bricks. Finally found one that matched the vintage of mine ('78), a '75-'77 244. Eureka, you'd think- this is the FIRST pre-'80s 240 I've seen in this 'yard. Only one problem: it had 3(!) junkers piled on top of it..:( All I salvaged from this potential parts-bonanza was a piece of bumper-trim and a blinker lens.