When fixing up a vehicle, there are some parts that no longer work and need to be tossed out. Instead of putting them in the trash, take these items to be recycled. Even if they are not worth a lot of money, some money is better than getting nothing for putting the pieces in the trash.

Most of the large local wreckers near me use a system called a “Hotline.” If auto recyclers near me call a junkyard and ask whether they carry a certain part, they’ll check their inventory database while you’re on the phone. If they don’t find the part you need in their inventory, they can use their Hotline to quickly check the inventories of neighboring junkyards. A quick tip about the Hotline: ask the junkyard that is checking other yards what that particular part would have cost if they had it in their inventory. You may be able to negotiate the price with the other dealer.

Arrange for a deal. Make an appointment for the salvage yard to pick up your car. If your car is still driveable, you may be able to make more money on the deal by taking it to the yard yourself.

For the tower unit where I will have the wind generator unit perched on, I used a few old conduit pipes that I found in the scrap yard. By joining a few conduit pipes together, I manage to build a sturdy enough base for my wind turbine unit to sit on.

Air Conditioning Compressors bring a few bucks too… Most cars that I scrap out have the air conditioning compressor just below the alternator. So while you’re right there, you might as well take out the four screws holding it in place (most models) while you’re at it. That will add an additional $3.00-$8.00 profit for you.

I have bought and sold thousands of junk cars, and just to be honest about it, several of the cars I have bought, were not “junk cars” at all. The owner simply wanted to get rid of the car, so to the owner it was a junk car, however for me buying it, definitely NOT a junk car! On many occasions I have immediately sold the car for somewhere between 2-3 times what I had paid for it in mere minutes of the transaction.