What is a pick and pull junkyard?
We hear this question often, often enough that we’ve decided to write an article about it. We are All Import Auto Parts, leading the salvage yards industry in Fort Worth, Texas. Call us for all of your used auto parts and used truck parts needs.
Now, let’s talk about the pick and pull junkyard.
The pick and pull junkyard dominated the early century.
In the first half of the 20th Century, probably a little closer to three-fourths, if a person said they were going to salvage yards, or wrecking yards, they were most likely going to visit a pick and pull.
The principle is a simple one. The junkyard was filled with wrecked vehicles. The customers would come in, with tools, and pull the parts they needed for their own vehicle, and then pay a discounted price for those used car parts.
This method continued until the obvious flaws in this method became too apparent to ignore.
Pick and pull junkyard gives way to full-service salvage yards.
What were those flaws? For one, the makes and models of vehicles manufactured multiplied exponentially over the years. The pick and pull business plan was fine as long as there were only the Model T and a couple other brands made, but by the 70s, Japanese models had infiltrated the market, along with German brands, and American car manufacturers tried to keep up with more makes and models, and it became physically impossible for a pick and pull junkyard to carry all of the makes and models made.
The second flaw: people were injured pulling parts from cars, and eventually the insurance companies clamped down on that scenario as being too dangerous.
A new method was needed, and with the advent of the World Wide Web, it became possible to keep track of inventories in salvage yards across the country, and that meant that any part, for any make or model of car, could be found and shipped to any customer anywhere in the U.S.
And no insurance claims were made!
Which is better?
We could say that this is just a matter of individual preference, but the truth of the matter is, today’s modern salvage yards provide customers with more options and a better price. The pick and pull salvage yards are a dying breed, and we predict within ten years from now, it will be almost impossible to find a pick and pull, them having gone the way of the dinosaurs and Model Ts.
Does this mean there are no parts purchased at today’s salvage yards? Not at all. Commonly purchased items, like tires and rims and lights and mirrors, items which are universal in application and not brand specific, are still sold at salvage yards.
A final word about All Import Auto Parts.
All Import Auto Parts has led the way in Fort Worth for over thirty years, family owned and operated, so obviously our customer skills, and performance, are appreciated by Fort Worth car owners. Give us a call, tell us what you need, and we’ll have it for you pronto, at a very good discounted price.