Category: Wrench-A-Part Info

After most cars pass 50,000 miles on the odometer, they enter a state of existence where their parts are still working quite well, but not quite as well as before, when the engine was humming as smoothly as a John Coltrane album. Even so, there’s still a lot of vitality left between 50k and 100k on the mile marker, and you can help extend the lifespan inexpensively by using self service auto parts from junkyards for auto repair problems that crop up along the way.

If this is your first time considering using Wrench-A-Part as your source for self service auto parts, you may have some questions about our products and services that are answered below.

Can I view your inventory online?

Yes. We maintain an up-to-date, online inventory for each of our four Texas locations: Austin, Belton, Holland, and Lubbock. We encourage you to check our online inventory before you visit us in order to ensure we stock the car from which you need parts.

Can I learn whether a particular part is in stock?

Sometimes, it may be possible to tell whether specific self service auto parts are available. Parts tend to move fast. So, if we can verify the part is here, it’s best to come and get it soon.

Can I purchase a warranty for the parts I buy?

Yes. We have a warranty program for used parts that lets you insure parts for the affordable price of $1 per part, per day. We stand behind our warranty because we sell reliable parts.

Do you provide hand tools, or should I bring my own?

You should bring your own hand tools (wrenches, ratchet wrenches, screwdrivers, etc.) Having you pull the parts is one reason we offer them for such good price. You remove your own parts, and you benefit by paying less.

Do you provide equipment for removing large parts?

Yes. We supply engine pulling A-frames to customers who need to remove whole engines. But please make arrangements for the engine drop-in. A-frames for on-site only.

Do you provide equipment for transporting parts?

Yes. We’ll set you up with a wheelbarrow or a wagon for transporting parts of all sizes to the payment destination. Use our a-frame to pull an engine and our wagon to transport it.

Who We Are

Wrench-A-Part is a professionally operated junkyard with locations throughout Texas. We buy junkers, used automobiles that are drivable (providing free towing for both) and sell parts from a wide variety of late model and early model domestic and foreign vehicles. For additional questions about our inventory or services, please contact our nearest location today.

 

We know that can tires can be recycled, but can they be reused? It’s a much asked question with answers on both sides. Safety teetotalers would like us to believe that tires can’t be reused from the moment they first touch the pavement. But the reality is that most tires are rated to drive a certain number of miles before the manufacturer says they need to be replaced.

As long as the mileage on used tire sets in Austin is within the manufacturer’s recommendations, there’s no reason not to consider saving money by purchasing the tires. However, because the tires are used, it’s important to do a close inspection to make sure you’re getting a bargain and not a set of tires that’s about to go bust.

1. Look for Objects in Tread

Not everything that punctures a tire deflates it. Tires can pick up nails, screws, bolts, and all kinds of other small, metal objects from the roadway. For a while, the objects might not cause a problem, but they could easily lose their makeshift seal, and cause the tire to deflate.

2. Gently Spray Tire With Water

This is a good way to check for leaks. If small leaks are present, they’ll cause the water to bubble up in the area of the leak. The leaks you find this way are insidious and small, and often increase  as pressure is placed on the tire. Applying mild soap water works even better, as the soap produces more bubbles, but make sure this is alright with the junkyard before you do it.

3. Measure Tread Depth

According to the Bridgestone website, “The U.S. Department of Transportation recommends replacing tires when they reach 2/32”, and many states legally require tires to be replaced at this depth.” If the tread gets any thinner, it can significantly decrease handling and compromise braking inertia, especially under slick conditions.

4. Rotate and Look for Damage

Before you transport your set of tires to the payment counter, give them a once over by rotating them while they remain on the wheel. Look for chunks of missing rubber, weather wear in the form of fine cracks in the rubber, and lacerations that look they could affect the rubber’s ability to hold pressure. After the final check, you’re ready to save money by purchasing pre-owned tires.

Need Used Tire Sets in Austin?

If so, Wrench-A-Part has them. Many of the end-of-life vehicles we receive are late model and contain tires that have little wear. Some of these tires would cost you hundreds of dollars each at a tire shop, but we’re able to offer them for much less because we buy them at junkyard prices. To see if we have the used tire sets in Austin you need, visit the online inventory for our Austin location on our website, or call us today at (512) 501-6946.

There are probably some machine heads out there who like to spend hours looking around junkyards, admiring the contours of past makes and models, as they get round to selecting the part they came for. But most people who buy used auto parts in Lubbock from junkyards are at the salvage lot on a speedy mission: Get the part they need to get their vehicle running well again. Assuming this is the type of junkyard experience you want, below are four ways to speed up your trip to the junkyard.

1. Get Your Tools Ready

Practically every part you might need from a car can be removed with a set of wrenches and screwdrivers. Bring along a mallet and or a small hammer for tapping parts loose, and you should be good to go. If you plan on removing a longer piece, such as a drivetrain, you may also want to bring some C-clamps to hold the object in place while you remove it at all points.

2. Check the Online Inventory

Because many junkyards list their vehicle inventory online, refreshing it by the hour, don’t mess with junkyards that you need to visit to see if they have the car you need. Just to be up the moment and ensure that the car you need is there, it’s a good idea to call. When you get someone on the line, you can also inquire about the availability of the part you need.

3. Use Junkyard Equipment

We started out telling you to get your tools ready, but there are some tools you probably don’t own, such as an engine pulling A-frame. And if you need to remove an engine, you probably won’t tote along the wagon or wheelbarrow needed to transport the equipment to the payment counter. That’s why we provide engine pulling A-frames, wheelbarrows, and wagons for customers to use.

4. Don’t Wait Until it Rains

For efficiency’s sake, the best time to remove to get used auto parts in Lubbock from a junkyard is when it isn’t coming a torrential downpour. Raised car hoods aren’t umbrellas, and they won’t do much to keep windblown rain out of your face. Then there’s the issue of your tools getting wet and potentially losing grip. We know we’re talking common sense here, but coming when precipitation isn’t heavy can help.

Check Our Inventory Online

If you live in Lubbock, and there’s a car, truck, or SUV that you need parts from, checking if we have the vehicle in stock is easy. Just visit the online inventory page for our Lubbock location and use the information fields. We sell used auto parts in Lubbock, Austin, Belton, and Holland. For questions about our vehicles or services, please call us today at (806) 748-7278, or use the contact form on our website.          

Mention of the term auto recycling usually makes us think of official auto recycling businesses and not junkyards, but professionally operated junkyards that work with auto recyclers can also play a pivotal role in the auto recycling process, especially on the consumer’s end.

If you have an end-of-life automobile, and you’d like to recycle it in the most hassle-free way, below are four crucial benefits Wrench-A-Part can offer you — advantages that demonstrate why recycling cars in Texas by offering them to a junkyard can be a profitable, pain-free process.

1. No Need to Remove Materials

Some auto recyclers require a vehicle to be free of any material they don’t recycle. Depending on the materials in question and their location on the car, this could take you quite a bit of time. When you offer your car to us, we don’t want you to remove anything. The reason why is simple: We strive to sell every reliable, useful component from the car to consumers.

2. Receive a Higher Price Quote

Because junkyards base the monetary value of a vehicle primarily on the worth of its salable parts, and auto recyclers base the value of a vehicle primarily on the worth of its processed scrap metal, it isn’t uncommon to receive the highest price quote from a junkyard. Before you accept a quote from an auto recycling business, be sure to receive a price quote from us.

3. Have the Car Towed for Free

We know that selling a junk vehicle isn’t a profitable scenario if you have to pay hundreds of dollars in towing fees. That’s why we offer free towing services for all vehicles we purchase, whether they’re drivable or not. To their credit, many auto recycling companies offer free towing, as well — a service that helps to incentivize the sale of end-of-life automobiles.

4. Scrap Metal Sent to Recyclers

After you sell a car to us, it stays in our lot until consumers have the chance to remove any auto part that’s useful for vehicle repair and maintenance. After that, we prepare the leftover scrap from the automobile for shipment to an auto recycler. When you sell an end-of-life vehicle to us, you can rest easy, knowing the leftover scrap metal will be recycled instead of sent to a landfill.

Ready to Sell Your Junk Vehicle?

If so, Wrench-A-Part is ready to make you a competitive offer. After we acquire vehicles, we support recycling cars in Texas by keeping used car parts in circulation and sending leftover scrap metal to auto recyclers, when all of the usable parts have been pulled from a car.

To receive a free quote, please call one of our Texas locations in Austin, Belton, Holland, or Lubbock today, or refer to the contact page on our website. Offer us your end-of-life automobile, and help us support auto recycling in Texas to create a cleaner, more sustainable environment.

 

When they own an end-of-life vehicle, or a used vehicle that still runs but is no longer used for transportation, Some Austin residents consider selling the automobile to an Austin auto salvage lot that offers cash for junk cars.

However, like Wrench-A-Part, most professional salvage lots also acquire vehicles by donation. Selling your car has the advantage of putting cash in your pocket, but there are also some benefits that come from donating the car, such as the four below.

1. Car Will be Accepted

While there’s no guarantee a professional junkyard would buy your car if you decided to sell it, the business will almost always accept donations, as doing so involves less expense for the buyer than purchasing a car. If nothing else, the business can sell metal from the vehicle to an auto recycler, which makes accepting donations a win-win situation for Austin auto salvage lots.

2. No Unexpected Fees

When you donate your car to us, you won’t pay for towing, inspections, price quotes, or anything else associated with the sale of the vehicle, except perhaps acquiring proof of ownership, so you can sell the automobile legally. When you part with your car, you won’t get hit with a bill at the time of donation or later.

3. Buyer Comes to You

Whether your vehicle is drivable or not, the buyer will send a tow truck to your location to hook up the car, and tow it away for free. All you need to do is be present at the vehicle’s location when the truck arrives, so you can present proof of ownership, transfer it to the buyer, and hand over the keys.

4. Benefits Other Drivers

Last but certainly not least, donating your car is also beneficial because it helps other drivers afford used vehicles and parts that they otherwise couldn’t. Although donating your automobile to an Austin auto salvage provider doesn’t qualify as donating it to a charity, the decision to donate your car is nonetheless a charitable one.

Donate Your Car Today

If you need an Austin auto salvage business that accepts donated vehicles, consider Wrench-A-Part. We strive to make the donation process expedient and hassle-free. To inquire about donating your car, call us today at (877) 886-5739, or use our contact page. We help people part junkers and used vehicles, so other drivers can benefit from parts they find in our inventory.

Conventional auto recyclers primarily specialize in recycling stripped car frames to create metal that can be use to manufacture new car frames and other products. Conversely, some auto recyclers specialize in multi-stream recycling and recycle everything from window glass to tires and rubber fittings. However, these types of auto recyclers are not the norm. In most cases, auto recycling equipment is primarily designed to recycle metal and not non-metal recyclables.

What Happens to Non-Recyclables?

It’s important to note that just because an auto recycling company doesn’t recycle certain materials doesn’t mean that the materials in question are not recyclable (according to research, roughly 85 percent of a fully equipped vehicle is recyclable). However, because auto recyclers don’t reprocess the materials, they usually handle them in one of the following four ways.

1. Have Material Removed

Some recyclers have a policy that all materials they aren’t equipped to recycle must be removed from car frames before they are delivered. The policy has two benefits: It prevents the recycler from having to dispose of non-recyclables, and, as a corollary, it helps speed up the recycling process. For these reasons, most recyclers would like to receive stripped car frames.   

2. Sell Material to Other Recyclers

When auto recycling companies receive car frames that contain usable parts that can’t be recycled, they often sell the components to mechanics, creating a stream of revenue that wouldn’t exist otherwise. Consequently, just as some recyclers prefer to receive stripped car frames, some prefer to receive car frames that have leftover components in tact.

3. Purge Material During Meltdown

Some recyclers use furnaces that separate non-recyclable material from scrap metal by melting the former into a sludge that collects in a special unit in the furnace. This is possible because the non-recyclable materials have a lower melting point than the metal. The sludge may be placed in sealed barrels or combusted once again to incinerate it to keep it out of a landfill.

Need to Recycle a Junk Vehicle?

If so, you may get a better deal by selling it to us instead of a recycler. In addition to paying you a competitive sale price in cash, we’ll forward the vehicle to an auto recycler after our customers have removed usable parts from the car. To receive a free quote for your junker, please refer to our contact page. By offering your car to us, you can help support auto recycling!

When most people are in the market to buy used vehicles for sale, they head to an auto dealership to check out the used car inventory. However, there are several reasons to consider buying used vehicles for sale from a junkyard instead. When you buy a used car from a junkyard instead of a dealership, you typically receive the following benefits, among others.

Lower Price Markup

Auto dealers are well-known for marking up the price of used vehicles to an amount that is well beyond what auto industry price guides indicate the vehicle is worth. In fact, a markup of 45 percent is common. Junkyards, on the other hand, typically have lower markups, and the prices for the vehicles are often considerably less that what you would find at an auto dealer.

No Salvage Titles Being Sold as Used

Most junkyards have plenty of plenty of vehicles that have salvage titles, but they don’t sell them as used cars that are intended for transportation. Conversely, some auto dealers don’t mind selling used cars with salvage titles after they repair damage to the vehicles. Because a salvage title indicates that an automobile has been seriously damaged or “totaled” by an insurance company, it is risky, to say the least, to use the vehicle for dependable transportation.

Less Mechanical Issues

When professional junkyards buy a used vehicle, they typically restore the vehicle inside and out (with the exception of new paint jobs) in order to make it more appealing to prospective buyers. Most of all, you can depend on the vehicle to have no mechanical issues when you buy it. After all, a junkyard has plenty of auto parts with which to improve the condition of used cars.

No Junk Vehicles Being Sold as Used

Some junk vehicles are still operational but have mechanical issues that prevent them from being reliable. At a junkyard, you will find these cars in the salvage lot and not in the used car lot. While most junkyards could invest the time and resources to turn a junk car into a reliable used vehicle, doing so would be cost prohibitive compared to buying used vehicles, making a few mechanical and aesthetic improvements, and then listing the cars in the used vehicle inventory.

Contact Wrench-A-Part Today

Wrench-A-Part is a professionally operated junkyard that specializes in selling used parts from junk cars and buying used vehicles for sale. Like our junk car inventory, our used car inventory is constantly growing. So, we are in constant need of used automobiles that still operate. See our used vehicle inventory by visiting our website and checking out the automobiles we have for sale in Austin, Belton, and Lubbock. We can put you in a quality used vehicle for a great price!

A person typically purchases a used automobile for one of two reasons: the vehicle is considered a classic, and the buyer wants to restore it to perfect condition; or the buyer is looking for a reliable mode of transportation that doesn’t cost as much as a new set of wheels.

More often than not, people head to used auto dealers and dealers of new and used automobiles in search of used cars that offer what they need. However, buying from an auto dealer shouldn’t be considered the only option; drivers should also consider buying a car from a junkyard.

Not Everything is “Junk”

Unbeknownst to some drivers, many junkyards specialize in selling both usable auto parts from junk vehicles and pre-owned vehicles that are still useful for transportation. So, if you are looking for a supplier of used vehicles for sale, why should you consider purchasing a used car from a junkyard instead of an auto dealership? In most cases, there are four main reasons.

Auto Dealers Have High Markups

Almost everyone knows that auto dealers mark up the price of used cars to where it is much higher than the MSRP, but exactly how high is the markup? For many auto dealerships, marking up the price of used cars 45 percent above the MSRP is a common practice, one that helps them afford their high overhead and competitive monthly revenue goals for used car sales.

Junkyards Use Industry Price Guides

Auto dealers use industry price guides, too, but the price tag for a used car is typically much higher than its fair market value, as listed in the guides. Junkyards, however, often stick closer to the fair market value of a vehicle, which puts you in the position to save hundreds or thousands of dollars by purchasing an automobile from a junkyard instead of an auto dealer.

Auto Dealers Instigate You to Buy

Most auto dealers make it a point not to let serious shoppers leave the lot without committing to a vehicle purchase — a practice that helps them meet their competitive revenue goals. Because they earn the majority of revenue from selling used car parts, most junkyards don’t take this stringent approach. Furthermore, junkyards seldom staff salespeople, who make hard pitches.

Junkyards Don’t Sell Salvage Vehicles

Scrupulous junkyards sell salvage vehicles in the form of auto parts, but they don’t offer them as used automobiles. Some auto dealers, on the other hand, are known to repair vehicle’s that have a salvage title, and place them in the used car lot. Because salvage cars have been severely damaged or deemed a total loss by an insurance carrier, they are a risky buy, to say the least.

Contact Wrench-A-Part

If you’re shopping for reliable, used vehicles for sale for less money than you would pay at a auto dealership, Wrench-A-Part is the business to call. We are a professionally operated junkyard with multiple locations in Texas. In addition to our sizable inventory of junk vehicles, from which you can pull parts, we also offer a meaningful selection of used automobiles.

To shop our used vehicles for sale, simply visit our website, where we list our inventory of junkers and used cars by location. We look forward to helping you find the right vehicle!