[Ebeo1]

I'm considering a parts car for my terrain. The aesthetics of wrecked car in the driveway would probably be worth the price. I also like the idea of additional parts available like fenders, doors, upholstery.

I found copart.com they want a $99 subscription to bid or buy a car. Anyone have experience?

 

[Colt Hero]

A wrecked car in the driveway? Do you live in a subdivision with an HOA? If so, better check those rules before you end up getting harassed by a neighbor. Happened in my subdivision years ago. It was a "project car" a young man in the Service left at his mother's house. It wasn't up on blocks, and it even had a car cover on it, but that didn't stop a woman across the street from complaining and calling an HOA meeting about it. The car ended up disappearing, but not sure why.

But that aside, do you really need this level of junk lying around? I mean, if your vehicle is that bad that it needs a junked parts car nearby ... maybe your vehicle is junk, too ...

 

[Ebeo1]

A wrecked car in the driveway? Do you live in a subdivision with an HOA? If so, better check those rules before you end up getting harassed by a neighbor. Happened in my subdivision years ago. It was a "project car" a young man in the Service left at his mother's house. It wasn't up on blocks, and it even had a car cover on it, but that didn't stop a woman across the street from complaining and calling an HOA meeting about it. The car ended up disappearing, but not sure why.

But that aside, do you really need this level of junk lying around? I mean, if your vehicle is that bad that it needs a junked parts car nearby ... maybe your vehicle is junk, too ...

So no you don't use salvaged parts from a car bought from copart.

 

[Colt Hero]

So no you don't use salvaged parts from a car bought from copart.

Well ... I actually have done what you’ve described, but it wasn’t from CoPart. I just bought a whole vehicle (1998 Taurus sedan) off someone on CraigsList to fix the front clip of my 1997 Taurus wagon. I got it for $200, transferred the same-color panels, stripped and saved several parts to a 55-gallon drum, then crushed the donor vehicle for the metal price. After the smoke cleared, I fixed my Taurus for $270 and it looked as good as new!

I’ve used some of those saved parts since, but only about 10% ... but at least I don’t have a junk car sitting in my driveway.

My point here is : this is a bad idea. If you have damage to your vehicle then, by all means, buy a donor and fix it ... but don’t have junk cars lying around just because you might need the parts someday.

 

[Colt Hero]

I’m coming back to this thread because I failed to clarify what I believe the definition of a “junk car” is (on your property). I actually had this conversation with my father years ago ... and my older brother chimed in, too (they disagreed with me)!

My brother lives north of Chicago, in a subdivision where you can’t even have an unregistered car on your property (unless it’s hidden inside a garage!). I think that’s extreme, and I would bet this rule is rarely seen elsewhere. My father used to park on the street in Massachusetts, where it’s impossible to park a “junk” car, so their perspectives are/were too narrow to even participate in the conversation.

Here’s what I think the rule should be, and ostensibly IS in many jurisdictions: (and remember, we’re talking subdivisions here ... if you live “out in the boonies”, nobody cares):

You can have a “junk car” on your property if it has every appearance of being immediately driveable. This means, 4 inflated tires, washed clean, and parked on your driveway.

So - this vehicle could be missing parts of the engine, transmission, exhaust, underneath ... but as viewed from the street, as long as it still looks driveable, that should be the only criteria.