Category: Wrench-A-Part Info

Just as businesses in other industries have traits that make them unique to each other, so do businesses in the salvage yard industry. Are there Killeen, Texas, salvage yards near me? A quick Google search reveals the answer is yes. How do these salvage yards differ from each other? That question has more than a one answer; let’s look at some of the basic differences.

1. Free Towing Services

One reason people ask the question, “Are there Killeen, Texas, salvage yards near me?”, is because they have a junker to sell and wonder how much it will cost for a junkyard to tow it away. The answer? It depends on which salvage lot you use. Some lots don’t charge a cent for towing, while others nickel and dime you for every conceivable fee just like a towing company.

2. Purchase Used Vehicles

Practically every salvage lot purchases end-of-life vehicles, but some buy used vehicles that still drive, too. It’s worth mentioning, because salvage yards often make better offers for used cars than auto dealerships. A word to the economical: Many dealerships earn a higher profit margin selling used cars than selling new ones. The reason? They buy used cars for low prices, then apply high markups.

3. Offer Special Equipment

Here, we’re talking about equipment for removing parts from salvage cars. For example, if you need to remove an engine, it would be helpful to have an engine pulling A-frame on hand. It would also be nice to have a wheelbarrow and/or wagon for transporting parts you can’t carry. Some junkyards don’t provide these resources, but customer-friendly yards sometimes do.

4. Offer Part Warranties

New auto parts almost always come with warranties, but it’s harder — quite a bit harder — to find warranties for used auto parts. With that said, some Killeen, Texas, salvage yards offer the option of investing in an affordable parts warranty. The warranty option is typically a sign that the business closely inspects parts before selling them and are confident about the parts’ reliability.

Need Salvage Yard Services?

If so, Wench-A-Parts has four locations where we offer all of the services above. Whether you need used parts, have an end-of-life automobile to sell, or you need to liquidate a pre-owned vehicle that’s still reliable, we’d love to hear from you. To get started, call one of our Texas locations in Austin, Belton, Holland, or Lubbock, our send us an email through our contact form.

In addition to junk vehicles, some Lubbock auto salvage yards have a nice inventory of used vehicles that are still drivable. Every once in while, you’ll find a car in the used vehicle section that you’ve probably seen before… in your rearview mirror… with excessively bright, blue and red lights flashing. Yes, we’re talking about used police cars.

Police Cars in Junkyards

Retired police cruisers have most of their distinguishing features removed. Decals on the body, gun holders, the plastic back seat cover — almost everything that identifies the car as police — is gone. Almost.

Still screaming “law enforcement” are the spotlight on the driver’s side door, the metal brush guard on the car’s nose, and — often times — the make and model of the vehicle. When you see a Mercury Crown Victoria with a spotlight and brush catcher, you can bet plenty of people sat in the back seat, pondering uncertain legal futures.

Dodge Charger, Chevy Caprice, and Ford models Taurus, Explorer, Expedition, and Excursion are also common among used police cars.

Why Buy Used Police Cars?

Most police cars in Lubbock auto salvage yards have two strong points: low mileage and recent model year. The cars frequently have less than 100,000 miles on the odometer, and some are less than two years old. Looks aren’t a strong point; after most police hardware is removed, the cars are pretty plain. But they look pretty good on paper. You get a relatively new, relatively low mileage car for what seems to be a good price.

Why Avoid Used Police Cars?

Remember how Bo and Luke Duke drove the General Lee, taking it airborne as they sped too fast on treacherous roads? Police cars aren’t treated so harshly, but it can come close. Repeatedly gunning the engine, drifting to tire screeching stops, and ramming getaway vehicles with the brush catcher is all in a day’s work. The car that looks good on paper might tell you a different story if it could talk.

But there are also used squad cars in Lubbock auto salvage yards that have years of reliability left. The problem is, it’s hard to say exactly what you’ll get. Perhaps the best advice is to target buying a used detective car instead of a patrol car. Patrol cars tend to be driven more and harder than detective cars.

About Wrench-A-Part

Wrench-A-Part is a professionally operated salvage yard with Texas locations in Austin, Belton, Holland, and Lubbock. We buy end-of-life automobiles and used vehicles that drive. To inquire about selling a used car, call us today at (806) 748-5865. To inquire about buying, visit our sister site at Phoenix Auto Group.

Every industry has companies that do right by customers and companies that don’t seem to care. Unfortunately, we often learn which ones are in the latter group after having a bad service experience. When it comes to choosing salvage yards near Belton, that’s what we’d like to help you avoid. If you find salvage yards near Belton that have any the characteristics below, steer clear.

1. Third Party Towing

There’s nothing wrong with third party towing. The problem is that, sometimes, the tow truck operators, who pay for the car aren’t on the same financial same page as the junkyard. The junkyard says your car is worth a certain amount, then the truck driver says it’s worth less. You rarely encounter this problem when dealing with salvage yards that have their own trucks.

2. No Transfer of Title

Part of the reason for proving you own a vehicle before selling it is to legally transfer ownership. If you don’t, you’re on record as the last one to own the car. Let’s say you sell a used car that still drives, and the vehicle is stolen from the salvage lot to commit a crime, then abandoned. Guess who comes up as the owner? The same person whose door the police will knock on at 5:30 a.m.

3. Price Estimate of Zero

For a car to be worth nothing, it literally has to be a pile of rust, with no working parts or scrap metal to recycle. Even badly wrecked cars are worth money to recyclers, which means they’re valuable to junkyards that sell scrap to recyclers. How do you know for sure your car isn’t worthless? No junkyard would tow it if it was. It wouldn’t make good business sense.

4. Delayed Payment Request

When you transfer ownership to the buyer, you’re no longer the owner, which means you lose the right to liquidate the vehicle. You can always take a deadbeat junkyard to small claims court if it doesn’t pay you, but good luck with collecting on the judgement you receive. It’s easier to do things right the first time: Receive full payment in cash for your car, right when you sell it.

Need a Reputable Salvage Yard?

Most salvage yards in Belton offer great service. After all, word would get around if they didn’t, and business would suffer. With that said, we invite you choose Wrench-A-Part, because service is our top priority. We offer free estimates, free towing, and pay you in cash when we buy the vehicle — no strings attached.

For a free estimate, call our Belton Location today at (254) 831-4905, ext. 1, or use our contact form. We look forward to hearing from you!

Every industry where products are sold to businesses or consumers are comprised of companies that compete for sales. The salvage yard industry is no exception. However, because Lubbock auto salvage yards don’t operate as manufacturers or vendors, how they compete for business isn’t quite as obvious as it is in the traditional business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) markets. But the competition is there, and much of it occurs in relation to the following factors.

Late Model Vehicles

The definition of “late model vehicle” varies, but it always refers to a car that was made in the past five years. The average age of vehicles on American roadways was 11.5 years in 2015. However, consumers are likeliest to repair late model vehicles when something goes wrong, even if it’s just an aesthetic issue.

This is why late model salvage vehicles are so valuable to junkyards. They may not be the most numerous vehicles on the road in terms of age, but they generate a high demand for used parts that aren’t nearly as expensive as what you’d pay at a dealership.

Accessibility of Inventory

This factor entails two others: how easy it is to find the vehicle you need parts from, and what you have to do to get the parts. The internet is the first place most of us turn for information, so savvy Lubbock auto salvage yards post an up-to-date vehicle inventory on their business website.

Then, when you go to the yard to remove the part, the junkyard provides you with an engine pulling A-frame if you need to remove an engine, and supplies a wagon or similar equipment for transporting parts. The easier parts are to locate and acquire, the easier they are to sell.

Availability of Warranties

Offering warranties for used auto parts may seem like a chancy business proposition, but each part has a lifespan that it usually fulfills. A parts specialist at a salvage yard can remove parts that show unusual wear or signs of impending failure. The parts that are in good condition are reasonable to sell with a warranty option.

The warranty typically isn’t structured like one from a manufacturer, but rather offered on a day-by-day or week-by-week basis, where you pay a nominal fee (e.g. $1 per part, per day). It may not sound like much protection, but the point is to make sure you don’t have a bad part that fails quickly. If you pull a part from a car that experienced a high-impact wreck, the warranty makes sense.

Condition of Locations

The junkyard business has a popular reputation of serving only the most mechanically inclined of us. Part of the reason why is because salvage yards are often thought of as disheveled places where cars are placed wherever space allows, including on top of each other in stacks that look like they could topple.

Some salvage yards are really like this, but Lubbock auto salvage yards that strive to maximize revenue provide a different experience altogether. Vehicles are neatly arranged and easy to locate, safety rules are posted, and the yard is often under camera surveillance. These are the kind of yards cost conscious consumers who aren’t adventurous mechanics want to visit.

About Our Business

Wrench-A-Part is a professionally operated salvage yard in Texas with four locations: Austin, Belton, Holland, and Lubbock. We buy end-of-life vehicles and used vehicles that are good for transportation. To inquire about our inventory or services, send us an email through the contact form on our website.

In practically every industry, there are businesses that are optimal to do business with, and ones that aren’t. The salvage yard industry is no exception. How do know which salvage yards to avoid and which ones to frequent? The list of answers could be long, but there are four types of junkyards that most people should put at the bottom of their list.

1. Yards That Don’t Help With Engines

If you’re looking for the original hubcaps for the entry level 2004 Ford Taurus, this doesn’t apply to you. But, if you would like to pull the engine out of that car, it probably does. Every junkyard expects you to “pull your own parts”, but they should offer assistance with removing a whole engine that your trusty toolbox simply can’t handle. What you need is an engine pulling A-frame.

2. Yards That Don’t Offer Part Warranties

Any entity that sells an auto part should be willing to back up the part’s reliability with a warranty, especially if the customer is so generous as to pay for the warranty. We offer a parts warranty of $1 per part, per day, which is pretty fair, as warranties go: inexpensive in the short-term. Insure a part for a few weeks and see how it works. If it doesn’t quit, you’ve probably got a reliable part.

3. Yards That Don’t Have Safety Rules

Yards that don’t have safety rules posted somewhere obvious are often removed from public view, located down a long gravel road, with uneventful desert scenery. But, wherever you find them, don’t enter the gate. You probably wouldn’t get hurt by Leatherface, from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Something more like a flame cutting torch accidentally igniting an engine.

4. Yards With a Bad Record at the BBB

When business-to-consumer companies have a bad record at the Better Business Bureau (BBB), it’s usually because they have a score of unresolved customer complaints. The BBB lets you know about this, because the next unresolved complaint could be yours. Keep it mind when you’re online, looking through recent activity for salvage yards at the BBB.

About Wrench-A-Part

Wrench-A-Part is comprised of four Texas salvage yards, with locations in Austin, Belton, Holland, and Lubbock. We make competitive cash offers on a variety of salvage makes and models, as well as used cars. Then, we remove any known defective parts, and sell the rest at an awesome discount. We proudly support auto recycling. Read more about us here.

Auto salvage yards aren’t inherently dangerous places. However, like any setting that contains automotive equipment that people perform manual labor on, neither are auto salvage yards proverbially made of pillows. There are plenty of hard, pointed surfaces and heavy parts that could potentially cause injury. By taking the four steps below, you greatly reduce your chance of getting scraped, bruised, or worse.

1. Wear Steel Toe Boots

Granted, not everyone has a pair of steel toe footwear in the closet. If you do, though, wearing them to auto salvage yards to remove parts is a good idea, especially if you plan on pulling heavy parts that could smash your feet they’re accidentally dropped.

Salvage yards often have a policy against wearing open toe footwear, but it’s best to wear the sturdiest pair of kicks you have. If you’ve every had a painful foot injury, you know how much it can complicate your daily life.

2. Wear Construction Gloves

Removing parts from an automobile in a salvage yard can be like doing construction work for a few minutes: You’ll be using tools to perform tasks that require you to consider hand safety. That’s why it’s a good idea to follow the lead of construction workers, and wear gloves that are made of a heavy material that’s puncture-resistant but lets you maintain manual dexterity.

These type of gloves are also great for performing car work in your garage or taking on do-it-yourself home construction projects. If you need to buy a pair of construction gloves, at least you can use them in places besides a salvage yard.

3. Arrive Alert and Ready

You don’t need to drink a pot of coffee before you go to a salvage yard, but it’s a good idea not to show up after having a romping good time at happy hour. Most salvage yards will turn you away if you try to bring libations on the property, because removing parts from a car when you’re tipsy is like driving a car when you’re tipsy. It doesn’t guarantee you’ll get injured, but the chance certainly increases with the number of drinks.

4. Avoid Tools That Cause Sparks

Flame cutters, handheld grinders, battery-powered metal saws… Basically, any tool that could easily produce sparks should be left at home. The cars you pull parts from won’t have gasoline or motor oil in their reservoirs, but the engines may have some surface fluid residues that could ignite.

If you find that a salvage yard bans flame cutters and the like, the business probably isn’t just trying to protect its assets; it’s likely attempting to protect its customers, too.

About Our Business

Wrench-A-Part is a professionally operated junkyard with Texas locations in Austin, Belton, Holland, and Lubbock. We maintain safe, clean lots that have common sense safety rules to protect our customers. If you need a used car part, please visit our online inventory today to see if we have the vehicle that contains the component.

Most auto salvage yards (a.k.a. junkyards) own a large inventory of vehicles that have a “salvage certificate”. Why the certificate was issued varies from car to car, but the process of receiving it is roughly the same in each state and involves the following steps.

1. The insurance company performs an inspection of damage
2. Cost of fixing damage exceeds at least 70% of the car’s value
3. Driver’s insurance company declares the vehicle a “total loss”
4. State motor vehicle agency issues a salvage certificate

After the car receives a salvage certificate, it can’t be driven, sold, or registered, unless it’s repaired. After repairs are made, the vehicle must pass safety inspection before it can receive a new title. Unlike the certificate, the title allows the car to be driven, sold, and registered. To help drivers make smart car purchases, the title states the vehicle has been salvaged and rebuilt.

Reasons for Salvage Titles

Now that we’ve looked at how auto salvage titles are created, let’s look at why they’re created. Listing all of the reasons why a car could be salvaged would require a book, but there are some types of damage state motor vehicle agencies see more often than other types, particularly:

• Flood damage
• Damage from wreck
• Hail damage
• Vandalism
• Fire damage
• Damage from theft

Salvage vehicles sell for significantly less than pre-owned, non-salvage vehicles, which makes them attractive to drivers who need to buy a car on a limited budget. Should you consider purchasing a salvage car?

The answer depends on two things: the type of damage that resulted in the salvage status, and how you plan to use the car. For example, there’s a big difference between superficial hail damage and damage from a wreck that cracks the engine block. There’s also a major difference between driving the car many miles daily and using it as a backup vehicle. The less wear, the better.

Some people drive a salvage car and experience no unusual mechanical or safety issues. However, because auto salvage vehicles are widely seen as less reliable than non-salvage vehicles, consumers are generally advised to avoid them. Salvage cars are priced to sell, but they should ideally be purchased as a method of last resort if you need a car for daily commuting.

Who We Are

Wrench-A-Part is a professionally operated junkyard with four Texas locations in Austin, Belton, Holland, and Lubbock. We sell used auto parts and used vehicles that are still in great shape. To inquire about selling us an end-of-life vehicle or a pre-owned automobile, please visit to our contact page. We look forward to hearing from you!