Scrap Yards
One of the things that has always amazed me when I’ve been in breakers yards is how nice some of the junked cars look. A few years ago I took a very old VW golf to a scrap yard when it had finally reached the end of its life. That car really looked like it had done its time. I had replaced just about every working car part but the body work was rusted, it had a different colour door, in short it was an absolute banger. Once the engine gave up it needed the breakers yard very badly.
I looked around the yard and there were the usual cars that looked fine from the back, but once you got round the front the bonnets were up to the windscreens. Cars that had been in accidents and Insurance write-offs I guess with more damage than could be repaired economically.
But the thing that shocked me was a black Audi A4 that didn’t seem to have a scratch on it. It was actually shiny.
I don’t know what was wrong with it, but it certainly wasn’t the paint work.
Of course there could have been almost anything going on under the pristine shell, but it was very hard to put that car in the same category as mine. If you had seen it parked outside a house you’d have said it was perfect.
I think people assume that if parts are coming from a breakers yard then it’s going to be hard to find good panels or doors, but I don’t think that’s true at all. There are some great looking cars that end up in the breakers’ yards so it’s always worth a search even if you need a bonnet.
