I need some advice on a business decision...

I'm a used car dealer and I would like to get out of the late model used cars, and instead I would like to start wrecking 82-00 Camaros and Firebirds..

Seems like they have hit the point now where it might be worthwhile...

I was going to buy 20-25 of them to start and see how it goes...

the only thing that bothers me right now is that there are some guys cutting them up in their backyard and selling the parts for dirt cheap prices...ie: Iroc hood - perfect $100, Hatchs for $50, but I saw a disc brake rear 3.42 posi -$500

Any of you dealing in this stuff?? is there any money to be made??

I always did well parting out musclecars in the early 80s...

Let me know what you think....

[ by the way, these prices are all in Canadian...]

Scott

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Drive It Like You Stole It!!!!
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MUSCLE BY REDLINE...

 

Don't part 'em out, thats too sad...

Pick them up cheap and resell them to people who want to restore them. There IS money to be made in that. You can pick up a **** Z28 or IROC at an auction that was taken in on trade somewhere for $500, turn around and sell it for at least $1500. I have never found an IROC under $1500 here, and these were non-drivable ones!!

More money to be made in that IMO, and it keeps them on the road

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Jason E
'89 Camaro RS 2.8
Hypertech chip/K&N filters/Accel 8.8 wires/RapidFires
Eclipse CD and 100x4 amp/Boston plates and 6x9s
Alpine Alarm w/ Keyless entry
IROC tailights/tinted windows

 

yea i agree dont part them out except maybe the crappy sixs and run of the mill modles. you know you may even want to go ahead and restore one now while the parts are plentiful and cheap that way when they become more valuble you already have a restored one that cost less to restore yet you can sell it for alot. now dont get angry at me for this but i do want to strip a L98 car of its engine and tranny one day and stuff it into an extended cab s10. but i would get a crappy one that was a basket case or something. keep them on the road.TINFY

 

There is money to be made parting them out, but you are competing against wrecking yards where they pick up the cars for virtually nothing. Because of the age of these cars, they are written off for relatively minor damage and the wreckers can recover their costs by selling just one minor part.

If you can get these car cheap (insurance write-offs) then you can make money recycling the parts and even combine a couple to make a good one for resale.

But until a few more years pass, when most of these cars have been crushed, the big bucks won't be there in the parts. If you can "stock pile" them for awhile...they'll be banging on your door.

PS: Would you be interested in knowing some sources for other older cars that can be acquired cheaply? If so, drop me an e-mail. I am aware of a source of some old cars where they could be taken apart cheaply and resold to collectors looking for an original, but impossible to find, part.

 

No offence guys, but the wrecking yards don't pick up cars for virtually nothing, the only ones they get real cheap are the old junkers they get called on to pick up [$100 old cars]..

I go to 2-3 auctions a week, and I have gone to a few Salvage sales lately just to check out the f-bodies,these sales are attended by Wreckers, Body Shops and Dealers, believe me , they pay too much for this stuff in my opinion...

For example, I attend an auction here every Tuesday, it has 2200- 2500 cars there a week...there has not been an older iroc or t/a there in a month....the reason being is that the new car dealers aren't taking very many of these cars in on trade -usually they are sold privately out of the paper etc.
...that's ok - I don't mind buying the stuff out of Driveways...

here is what I found over the weekend:

87 IROC 5.7, auto , rusty car, high mileage, motor smokey, 16 wheels, no T's, leather, I can buy for around $1800...

87 GTA no t's, 5.7, ugly purple repaint, tan cloth, gta 16" wheels, auto $2000

Since I am a dealer, I can also buy from the insurance companies, however, most of them around here are sending the wrecks/ theft recoveries to salvage auctions - where they get more money for them...they don't sell them real cheap!

 

You can make good money parting out the heavily optioned cars. The standard parts are $.10/dozen, but the IROC/Z28, GTA/TA/formula stuff is always in demand. Some parts that seem like theyd be worth $$, like rear hatches adn doors, are worth very little because all the cars came with them. Also, some 4th gen parts are usable on thirdgens, might be worth while to get a few of those, especially T56 trannys, seats and wheels.
I would stockpile the optional parts and sell them locally and on the net, ie Ebay and this site. Also, parts that cant be shipped (Hoods, rear ends) have a slightly lower value than they "should" unless there are a lot of thirdgenners in your area.

 

92 Rag,

I'm surprised you haven't had better luck at the auctions!! A friend of mine used to attend 1 in Western Ma on a regular basis, and he not only found IROCs and T/As but even a few Grand Nationals!!

I do agree with you though that many of these cars are sold privately, and that dealers take very few in on trade. That annoys the hell outta me, because I've been hoping to take one in on trade and grab it!

I know you gotta make $$....I just hate seeing cars that can be restored being parted out. There are so many online sources for parts now though, even parting out might not give you the profit margin you're looking for.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

92 Rag, what part of ontario are you from? There is a place in Toronto Called Paradise Alley. This guy deals in nothing but fbody parts (3rd & 4Th Gen). This guy is a rip off artist! He wants a fortune for his parts, he must think he is a GM dealer or something. For instance he wanted $40 bux a piece for front marker lenses and I got them from a GM dealer for $46 New. His prices are way too high. He must be making money though because he has been around for a while. It makes me angry when people start seeing dollar signs when they look at these cars. Its bad enough that the General takes us for a ride when we need parts, but when privateers start doing it I see red. Its places like this website that make me smile , where you can find people with a common appreciation for these cars that like to help others in need and are not always seeing dollars signs, but an opportunity to see their used parts put to good use.There were over 2 million of these cars made (3rd gen F bodies)so hopefully we little guys can find our parts from other sources for a time to come before we are forced into paying an arm and a leg for used parts.

 

chop em up man...If thats going to make u money. when you come across tan leather GTA seats e-mail me you can also try putting cars on ebay for bid you might do well there to

 

yeah,Zedder, I was at Paradise Alley about 3 weeks ago...he does have a ton of stuff, if the market is a little soft right now, when it explodes, he make make a ton of dough.

He also has alot of NOS stuff that they knew were going obsolete, so they are buying up alot of that stuff from GM.

I would be their major competition, as I am about an hour west of Toronto, so I could cover From Detroit to Niagara to Owen Sound...I think I would like to be able to sell the stuff cheaper than they do...

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Drive It Like You Stole It!!!!
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MUSCLE BY REDLINE...