Hey Everyone!!!

I have some questions regarding salvage yards...

I'm fairly new to the vintage car world and I've never been to a salvage yard so I'm kind of confused about how this works. Many of you mention going to junkyards and grabbing parts off old cars and I'm curious about how to go about this (sorry, I know this is rookie stuff). I live in Los Angeles and when searching for nearby salvage yards, I usually find ones with websites that list all their parts or have a parts request form but I was wondering if you could also just go down there and dig through the cars and look for parts yourself? I always seem to be looking for random little interior parts that are never listed on their websites so I figured it would be better (and more fun) to go digging around through the yards myself, but maybe that's not how it works anymore?? I can see scrapyards not wanting people to rummage around because of safety concerns. I know this thread exists: Row 52 Thread and let's say a junked car comes up, can I go down their and pick parts off of the car?

I have an 81 300D sedan and I've been scouring the internet looking for and buying up parts as needed but I would love to go digging around if possible. Which brings me to my next question... Are there any salvage yards left in Los Angeles (or close by?) that specialize in old Mercedes parts? Apparently there were some in the valley but it appears that most of them have closed. I'm sure finding old Mercedes parts in a junkyard isn't as easy as it once was but I'm wondering if anyone else is having any luck doing so. Thanks!

If you post this in the right section of the forum and then you'll get some more help.

I am near los angeles (orange county) and have lots of parts for your 300d, you can PM me. If I don't have something you need, then I know someone who does.

About 50% of Auto wrecking yards in Southern California are self serve while the others are not. Self serve yards normally charge an entrance fee of about $2.00 and you are allowed to come into the yard with your own tools and remove the parts that you want. The other yards allow you to come to their counter, request a part, and if they have the part you pay for it and go on your way. Row 52 will send you an email alert when a car Model that you have selected is placed in a yard. Row 52 also provides a service where you can contact a local Parts puller and they will pull the part and ship it to you for a fee plus the cost of the part and shipping. As stated before, many members of this forum have been collecting parts for years. Just ask and you will probably fund what you need. Finding Mercedes W123 cars in Southern California wrecking yards is becoming harder and harder as days go by. Most of the W123 cars that pop up on Row 52 are in yards located in Northern California/Nevada.

https://www.lkqpickyourpart.com/locations/
then "Go to store"
then "Vehicle inventory" You can search for something like "merce" for Mercedes and "198" for everything in the 80s...

Search for cars you are interested in to have an idea whether or not you will find what you want. You will find some W123 cars some of the time.

Bwhitmore,

I sure hope row52 is paying you a sales commission for all the traffic you're sending them!

Not a nickel. I enjoy sharing the information.

Sorry, I thought this was the right section. I considered putting it in the California section since I'm asking about L.A. scrapyards but I figured since I'm also asking about parts it could go in this section??

Regardless, thanks for the input and I just got your PM and I'll respond shortly with some parts that I'm looking for. Hopefully you'll have some of them.


Thanks for the heads up, I'll definitely check it out.

Thanks for the info!

Go to lkq wrecking and register. I think they give you one free entry for the first time. There are quite a few in LA. Register the car you wanted for parts, make, year and model etc. If they have the car coming in then the website will notify you in email. Extremely convenient. Just rush down there and harvest your parts. $3 to get in and you can take all you want. Pay at exit.

__________________
Not MBZ nor A/C trained professional but a die-hard DIY and green engineer. Use the info at your own peril. Picked up 2 Infractions because of disagreements. NOW reversed.

W124 Keyless remote, PM for details. http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/mercedes-used-parts-sale-wanted/334620-fs-w124-chasis-keyless-remote-%2450-shipped.html

1 X 2006 CDI
1 x 87 300SDL
1 x 87 300D
1 x 87 300TDT wagon
1 x 83 300D
1 x 84 190D ( 5 sp ) - All R134 converted + keyless entry.

Thanks for the tip!!!

Thanks for the suggestions/info everyone!!! I'll have you all know that I picked my first few parts this last weekend at the Sun Valley location. The car was pretty stripped but I was still able to find a few little things that I needed and now I'm excited for the next W123 to pop up. Hopefully I'll be able to get to it a little sooner next time. Thanks again!

For full serve yards and the occasional self serve look on car-part.com this searches participating salvage yards inventory. Be aware that not all of an older car is inventoried so look for large parts like an engine or door then call and ask if the entire car is still there. Many salvage yards have not figured out e mail so be sure to call not e mail.