Car Restoration: How To Shop For Used Parts

Car restoration can be a career, a hobby or a necessity, and throughout your auto restoration project, you’ll need to know how to locate discontinued or hard-to-find auto parts at the best price. How Stuff Works writer Patrick E. George says, “A full factory restoration involves replacing nearly every part on the car with a newer, better working one, from the gauges in the dashboard to the lining of the trunk walls.” If you’re working to keep your late model car on the road, you’re probably also trying to keep repairs and restoration cost-effective.

There are two ways to shop for used and classic car parts: locally (salvage yards, Craigslist, or newspaper advertising) or nationally/internationally (car-specific magazines or online).

Auto parts companies

What used to be called the junkyard was upgraded to “salvage yard/wrecking yard.” It’s the place you might call “nirvana” for used car parts at terrific – and negotiable – prices. The standard operating procedure to locate the used part you need for your car:

1) Call salvage yards and ask if they have the part you want.

2) Give them the part number(s) and what year, make and model auto you’re restoring.

3) If the salvage yard has a parts warehouse, they’ll have a list and can check it quickly.

4) If they don’t have the part, they might invite you to “come out and look around” their yard.

This is most auto buffs’ idea of a good time anyway.

Craigslist

This is a very effective way to locate the part(s) you need, and the price is right. It’s free. Place a looking-for ad and shop Craigslist for your part. Sellers tend to over-value their merchandise, so make an offer; everything’s negotiable on Craigslist. Always remember to ask the seller why he/she is selling the part, then read between the lines.

Newspaper Advertising

It doesn’t cost anything – except the price of the newspaper – to look for your auto part, but the cost of classified advertising has risen substantially in recent years, probably because everyone is using Craigslist. Newspaper advertising is no longer cost-effective because you’re paying more to reach fewer people, but if you can afford it, newspaper advertising might help you locate the right people for your car restoration project.

National and/or international used parts

Magazines. Printed car magazines abound, and auto-specific (like Mustang Monthly) magazines will keep you up-to-date with information specific to your restoration project. There’s even a magazine published monthly called Parts Locator.