parts getting harder to find everywhere?

[Acidburn]

I don't know about most of you but just lately at the few breakers yards i've been to i've been so surprised at just how hard it is to find cars I would have expected to find years ago.

For example years ago I could walk into a breaker and find a mk3/4 escort no problem and it would most likely have what I needed.

This weekend I had some friends come down because i'd spotted two cars that was of use to them in my local breakers yard.

Whilst they was removing the bits they required I went for a look around to see what else was there. Not one mk3/4 escort and only 2x audi's (both bog standard saloons with nothing of interest there) and one coupe gt5s mostly stripped.

Even seeing cars for sale second hand is getting harder as people either want the earth for something they "consider" collectable or believe its worth more because they get more weighing it in now.

I used to hear of quite a few cars that people either wanted little or nothing for i.e.

20v saloon - £60
20v saloon - £200 (mot'd/taxed etc)
mk4 escort h reg - free

plus loads of others, but in the last year or so its getting harder to find cars to actually pay a decent amount for.

Not all of us can be like jas's brother and find coupe's let alone with carbon that they get for nowt

What are other people's experiences lately as I know a couple of other forum members have asked me to look out for cars for them as they are finding it quiet atm.

[stiglet]

I think now is just a bad time for anything. The government want to get rid of old cars because they can potentially make more money if everybody goes out and buys a new/newer car.

Then again, new cars are depreciating at an insulting rate, so what effect will this have on the retro car scene?

It's very easy to be a sheep these days. Owning an old car is getting more and more difficult by the day!

[martinjs]

They are all in Audibits back garden

[shark_90]

Am I right in thinking that cars now have to be recycled or something.. which means the scrappies of old are gone. I might be totally wrong but I think you have to either be actively dismantling a car or you have to crush it.

[martinsavage]

my brother in law works for an car auction and he tells me that there has been more and more scrappies bidding for old cars. I think they can get about 500 for an average size car its got some thing to do with the demand that the Chinese have put on the market.

[spink]

my brother in law works for an car auction and he tells me that there has been more and more scrappies bidding for old cars. I think they can get about 500 for an average size car its got some thing to do with the demand that the Chinese have put on the market.

fifth gear were on about that a couple of weeks back,i didn't see it but apparently someone bought a car eg. astra for £80 then stripped off the cats/alloys and made £200+ in a couple of hours.

Some breakers have actually closed their doors to people wanting to buy parts,they just crush everything that come's in.

[S2central.net]

An intelligent scrappy or sole trader selecting the right cars could make a LOT money alright for communities like ours - where the finite resources of parts are starting to dry up and where enthusiasts are willing / able to pay for original parts in good condition.

For example - that car Jason's brother found probably looked utterly uninteristing to the average scrap man - they mostly deal in bulk after all, but there was a very nice interior and trim that could have fetched healthy market prices on auction sites... For the sake of an hours work taking them off the car and documenting some part numbers.

We should be thankful for the likes of ALLAudi, Sal and Audibits for seeking out these cars and making parts available where they can... Most breakers will just crush stuff after going thru the environmental steps on fuel, battery, refridgerant disposal etc etc

[Acidburn]

I agree, sal's helped me out a lot with my car and is still helping me with it and more importantly some good advice with it.

The cats on most cars alone are worth a bit, and as mentioned above because of the prices the chinese are prepared to pay most stuff gets crushed quite quickly which is a shame as there is still interesting/usefull bits on some cars and some don't even have anything wrong they are just scrapped as the owners upgraded with the rest of the sheep.

[Flat on my back]

.

I can find stuff on ebay.de easier than in the UK only fug is getting it back here!!!

Should we organise a 'scrappy' trip?

[Acidburn]

I have not yet tried searching ebay.de for anything ford I only stuck with audi parts (hence where my rs2 under headlight trims came)

PPC did a scrappy hunt and tbh I think that would be a good idea, give it a couple of weeks karlos and once the scorts sorted I might be tempted as its that good on fuel and has a huge load space being an estate and a work horse. Put £15 in it last night and got 3/4 of a tank of fuel.