Question for some of the pro wrenchheads ....

[RockJock]

Probably kinda naive but here goes anyways. Say you find a part that you need off a car in a boneyard. How do you know the mileage?? What 2 do:

1) Trust the guy selling the part? cuz' they're always honest!
2) Try to verify the mileage via Carfax or similar such service?
3) You'll never really know, take the risk and live with it!
4) All of the above.

thx!

[calmloki]

Look for clues in the remainder of the car - carpet, pedal pads, seats - overall condition. Pay a 1/4 or less new cost. Trust the guy selling the part - bigger yards log mileage on wrecks that come in, so if the odometer was working at the time of the wreck... Content yourself with the fact that every car on the road is running with used parts - and if you're shopping your parts is busted!

Tom (bought a used water pump once - shiny clean, blue silicone extruded out the sides attesting to a recent shade tree owner replacement)

[Bill R.]

junkyard will offer a minimum of 90 day warranty anyway and i always try to deal with places on a repeat basis so they know me and are far less likely to give you problems over parts. Good luck finding parts for 1/4 of new, most places now charge more like 1/3 to 1/2 depending on what the part is.

Look for clues in the remainder of the car - carpet, pedal pads, seats - overall condition. Pay a 1/4 or less new cost. Trust the guy selling the part - bigger yards log mileage on wrecks that come in, so if the odometer was working at the time of the wreck... Content yourself with the fact that every car on the road is running with used parts - and if you're shopping your parts is busted!

Tom (bought a used water pump once - shiny clean, blue silicone extruded out the sides attesting to a recent shade tree owner replacement)

[Kalevera]

If it's an E32/4 or later part, and the car still has a dash module, put power on it and press the trip reset.

best, whit

[RockJock]

thanks guys!! your advice/help is always immensely appreciated!

[Rigmaster]

Around here at least, most boneyards will "shave" some miles off of the real mileage on the car. Some are really bad about it, not afraid to knock 100k off of a 200k engine, etc- most just knock 20-30k off, or try to get it down under 100k if it's over, etc.

If it's a good sized investment (engine, tranny, etc) I would definitely check the carfax report- it's likely that the final mileage recorded will be the mileage when the car was totalled + sold via salvage auction- but not always.

Stick with a reputable source if at all possible, ask BEFORE you buy how they would handle it if the part turns out to be bad, broken, or whatever. Don't expect them to cover any labor costs, but make sure you have something in writing about their warranty/return policy.

Just curious, but what part/parts are you looking for ????

Bret

[RockJock]

Just curious, but what part/parts are you looking for ????

Bret

Bret.

a guy i know was looking for an m50...
thx for the tips.

[Toomas]

I dont know where you guys live but where i come from most used cars get clocked way way way back like 200k miles off a 350k mile car.
Not to mention milage is not really good measurment unit anyways, it makes a huge difference where and how the car was driven and how well it was maintained.
And when you buy a junkyard part you never really know how the part got on the car in the first place, it might have been bought from the dealer like 2 weeks ago or it might have been bought from a junkyard...
Best bet is to just try to figure out if the part is good or not and take the risk.