Okay, So I've been putting off going to the junkyard to look for parts because I heard they're a bunch of clowns there and plus I can't stand the owners daughter...haha (small town) So I went today and they did have a few 70-72 Skylarks and even a GS. The cars had many of the small parts I need and wanted to get an idea of parts and prices. Well after talking to the dude there I realized why I had put it off and dilly dallied around the thought of going. Prices were SKY HIGH. One of the 71 GS's had a clean looking 455 in it, just the block, heads, intake valve covers. Many of the components snagged up already. They wanted $750.00 for that sucker. Many other parts I asked about I was almost scared to ask a price. Is it me or that ridiculous? That's how it goes I guess.... You have it and someone wants it, it's worth next to nothing. But if they have it and you want/need it... it's worth more than gold! I'm sure I've done better finding parts on ebay, Craigslist and best of all recently HERE, I've picked up some goods parts at a good price here. So I've decided I'm better off trying to strictly buy parts from fellow Buick owners on this site. It's still a better price even with SHIPPING COSTS! Plus I bet my money will go back someone else's sweet Buick. It's Like a nice circle of Buick love. So I'd like to say thanks in advance to all you guys helping people get parts at a fair price. This site and It's members are the $%!# THANKS GUYS! Not to mention all the priceless information here from veterans Like LARRY70GS, DaWildcat and all you other guys. Anyways thats my 2 cents for the day. Have a great weekend!
There is a guy on ebay out of Wisconsin that is parting out buicks all the time. I have purchaced some great deals from him. On the other hand he has had a set of 70-72 sport mirrors for sale for a couple months because he is asking $200 which is high but not sky high. I have also requested parts from him and been pleasently suprized. More sources for old buick parts is always good
funny....they are trying to make a living like everyone else... heres some advice..quit going or...buy something, even if its 20 bux and you dont need it...I buy stuff all the time, because for the one guy that buys, 20 run off and cry about the prices...its a money thing..if i buy something, the next time i go in, they know and remeber i am a customer..not a stroker..day after day they spend more time not selling stuff than selling.. I always counter offer too, and i get a lot of stuff...they EXPECT you to bargain on the price..at least around here..spend a little money..youd be surpised how much little stuff i get for free after the first time..ive never NOT had an owner not take my money, it takes skill..i can usually get 25% off, but i work at it..i negotiate, and i dont even try to talk them down to half, every time i get in a new yard, in a short time i can run the yard and buy...and i buy a lot..truck loads..and i have run up against the hardest owners on the planet, and heres my speech "look, im here to buy, i got cash, and if i can afford it and feel good about it, i WILL buy as much as i can afford"..never had anyone turn me away...
In the past I never bargained..... I don't like to bs around. If price was too high, I'd walk away.... But now I've learned a lot of haggling tricks from watching 'Pawn Stars' and 'American Pickers' on the History channel!:grin: I'm going to start using some of the techniques I've learned at the next swap meet.:grin:
There's making a living, and then there's robbery! $750 for a core 455? I know they dont make them any more but a good core is only worth $300... $4000 tops, especially one that has no 'dress components' But you make a good point... negotiate. The guy could have been waiting for you to say.."no way... how about $400" and he may have taken it... better for him to start high and come down.
Ya gotta go in with nasty, stained jeans and a stained work shirt. I have plenty of each of those. Beat-ass steel toes with the steel showing don't hurt. I've actually had people GIVE me parts when I've gone to the junk yard...uh, excuse me...automobile dismantler. But then, I roam around the yard awhile, looking over the stuff, and they can tell I know what I'm looking at. When I crashed my Skylark in '04, I was expecting the worst. I remembered a phone call I made for a grille before that crash (mine was toast) to some Buick specialty yard, and they wanted $500 for a grille that needed serious work. I was pleasantly surprised at the yard I went to, when they charged me about $850 for the grille, RF fender, radiator core support, hood and a straight, platable bumper.
I wasnt trying to seem like a big whiner, but you guy have some good advice. Money does talk, but its kinda like when cops charge ya with 5 charges and know at least one will stick ya. I'm sure not all junkyards are the same. Craigslist some parts in California. CHEAP. Alot of has to do with LOCATION.
i used to walk away from deals all the time, if they said a high price, id loose my smile and turn around..id never say another word..and walk away, who knows how much stuff i missed.. Now if its too high, i stall, i stumble around, i talk about anything else, but my eye is on the prize... when they get antsy, i say "look, im not trying to insult you at all, but id like to make an offer, if you'll let me, its an honest offer, and i feel its fair...", if they say no, i ALWAYS say,"i understand, and i appreciate your time"..90% of the time, they wont let me get away...because im not threatening, i come off as humble and i'm honest...i dont BS my way thru it... You dont understand what they go thru...they get hassled all day long, they get beat on, they get people mad at them, they take a lot of crap..and as they say sh!t rolls down hill..or to the next guy.... I can "smell" a stroker in 2 seconds, and see a bull sh!tter coming at me, i can also sense when someones desperate and i know if i can break them down and get it for 1/2 or 1/4 of the asking pricve, and i also know when to walk away..it takes time and skill...i bought my first part and turned it when i was 14..48 now...im so much smoother now..ya gotta watch me or i'll get ya..lol...BUT i'm honest about it.... people that sell parts, and are good at it, sense what the buyer is..if hes full o'crap, honest a hustler..i hate a guy that tells me "i need parts for my chevelle", and before he leaves, hes asked about parts for 10 oher cars he owns...i know he's fishing..and around here the lakes closed... I think the best thing i have is my personality..i have one..i laff, im friendly, and i listen...i listen more than i talk, and i score 98% of the time..sometimes i steal it, sometimes i get it at a fair price..i never get excited and pay too much...i think about my next sentence before i blab something out...i take it easy and i do well..
I think I know the guy you are talking about, he's real close to me and I've traded parts with him too. He's got a lot of Buick parts!
well said just play it cool and smooth dont be an knowitall or try to completely lowball em when i bought a 12 bolt this spring for $50 it was hard to say ill take it with a straight face but i got it got 250 after i painted and changed axle seals not bad too bad it was a type o or id have kept it didnt even inspect it just threw it in the truck and got outta there before he changed his mind
I agree. Try to become a regular. There was a yard I went to all the time. (Now gone) I could walk up to the counter with my arms full of parts and walk out paying $10.00 sometimes. Or, they might just motion, "go on, get outta here!" And I wouldn't pay anything. At the same time, there would be someone arguing over paying $35.00 for a part. The more the guy argued with the counter man, the higher the price went. Dang, I miss that yard!
There was ayard on the north side of town, Dad and i used to go to. We would go in the yard, find a part or two. Back inside at the counter, the owner would tell Dad; "that'll be $50". One time Dad asked the owner; "Why is it, everytime you tell me $50?'' owner; "when i see you and your son pull in the driveway, I know you're good for $50." Next time, we borrowed a pick up truck and a trailer. We loaded the truck and trailer, until the tires were almost flat. Dad went up to the counter, the owner said "$50":dollar: True story.
We got a yard up here in NY located in wynantskill that is AMAZING. Hundreds of cool old cars. I went up there after my 55 was rear ended looking for parts. He had atleast a dozen 55s in there. he was odd though because he wouldn't let me take parts from some of them. I got a tail light housing from a 55 convertible but he wouldn't let me take one off of a 55 sedan. I swear to God I opened that hood on that 55 convertible and you could eat off the engine, it looked like it was put there when it was brand new, all original. Anyway he charged me 75 bucks for the tail light housing, spark plug wire covers, some trim pieces, door handles for the inside, ect. which was a great deal. I then went back again to grab a carb to have a spare and he was asking 75 bucks for one seized up and covered in white corrosion. and he would not BUDGE on the price. I have not returned since, but I also have not needed anything since. I went on ebay and got a "core" someone was selling for 25 dollars that when I bolted it on it ran smooth as glass and not a single leak.
