Many salvage yards operate on a local level—when an automobile is severely damaged, has
malfunctioned
beyond repair, or not worth the repair, the owner may sell it to a junkyard; in some cases—as when
the
car has become disabled in a place where derelict cars are not allowed to be left—the car owner will
pay
the wrecker to haul the car away. Salvage yards also buy most of the wrecked, derelict and abandoned
vehicles that are sold at auction from police impound storage lots, and often buy vehicles from
insurance tow yards as well. The salvage yard will usually tow the vehicle from the location of its
purchase to the yard, but occasionally vehicles are driven in. At the salvage yard the automobiles
are
typically arranged in rows, often stacked on top of one another. Some yards keep inventories in
their
offices, as to the usable parts in each car, as well as the car's location in the yard. Many yards
have
computerized inventory systems. About 75% of any given vehicle can be recycled and used for other
goods.
In recent years it is becoming increasingly common to use satellite part finder services to contact
multiple salvage yards from a single source. In the 20th century these were call centres that
charged a
premium rate for calls and compiled a facsimile that was sent to various salvage yards so they could
respond directly if the part was in stock. Many of these are now Web-based with requests for parts
being
e-mailed instantly.
A "you pull it" junkyard in the United States
Loading a barge in New York
Often parts for which there is high demand are removed from cars and brought to the salvage yard's
warehouse. Then a customer who asks for a specific part can obtain it immediately, without having to
wait for the salvage yard employees to remove that part. Some salvage yards expect customers to
remove
the part themselves (known as "self-service yards"), or allow this at a substantially reduced price
compared to having the junkyard's staff remove it. This style of yard is often referred to as a "You
Pull It" yard.
However, it is more common for a customer to call in and inquire whether the specific item they need
is
available. If the yard has the requested item, the customer is usually instructed to leave a deposit
and
to come to pick up the part at a later time. The part is usually installed by the customer or agent
("the customer's mechanic"); however, some salvage yards also provide installation services.
The parts usually dismantled from automobiles are generally any that can be resold such as the light
assemblies (commonly known as just "lights", e.g. headlights, blinkers, taillights), seats, parts of
the
exhaust system, mirrors, hubcaps etc. Late model vehicles will often have entire halves or portions
of
the body removed and stored on shelves as inventory. Other major parts such as the engine and
transmission are often removed and sold, usually to auto-parts companies that will rebuild the part
and
resell it with a warranty, or will sell the components as-is in used condition, either with or
without
warranty. Other, usually very large, junkyards will rebuild and sell such parts themselves. Unbroken
windshields and windows may also be removed intact and resold to car owners needing replacements.
Some
salvage yards will sell damaged or wrecked but repairable vehicles to amateur car builders, or older
vehicles to collectors, who will restore ("rebuild") the car for their own use or entertainment, or
sometimes for resale. These people are known as "rebuilders".