Psychological profile of - a wrecker

[steptoe]

Man, wreckers, they are a breed unto themselves aren't they?

One guy* who is now no longer in business used to have old American shells and bits laying at his doorway - never selling anything off them - personal collection. NO NOT FOR SALE FOR ANY PRICE.

I bought a radiator fan off him. Quoted $15 about 15 or 20 years ago, I pull it, he tests it and then says he didn't realise it was so powerful - better make it $25. Stupidly, I paid up. I got some good deals in the past.
Another time I was after a mirror, just for its glass. Was not wrecking the car at the time. Twelve months later he dsturbs our lunchtime pizza on a Sunday to ask if i still want it ????????????? Um? NO, thanks.

* lived on the premises, his mum owned the land, would drink water out of what looked like an unwashed out mayo jar with his hand wrapped in plastic bag. last seen many times at big supermarket in quiet times (read dinner time) in his washed overalls, washed hair, sampling the fruit and veg as he pushed his shopping trolley around.

Another guy in business before I was born has Vortex FWD NA with spark plugs out exposing environment to pots for last two years at least. This car was his own he claims, was gonna do it up, not selling parts (but he has penned all panels with a car number. He is such a Vortex enthusiast that when one member rang him it had to be described to him to remind him he had it. The more interst i showed in it or bits, the price went up to nearly $900 lately. The more rat or possum poo and leaves the more it seems to be worth.

The motor is beautiful he claims but it does not run now - fuel pump no good. So who is the turkey that left plugs out ? why?


I am sure the wrecker is nearly the same everywhere when it comes to these small private operators.

What are your locals like???

[spike]

ummm
i know some pretty good ones actually
subawreck is my best, cause we know the owner personnally

or the one around the place from our shop, walk in, yell at him we'll se him in half an hour
walk straight out the back adn go for a walk to see what he's got. Ive found out i can do that with a lot of wreckers now, no point phoning up and asking cause i mix and match so much. If they say you cant go for a walk cause of OHS just tell em 'if anyone asks i tripped on the footpath'

heard a story a while back
a wrecker had a part, think it was a mini clubman headlight (kinda rare, square) the part cames out and was sitting on the desk in pretty much perfect order. Well the wrecker wanted 30$ for it, the customer said he would only pay 20$. well after all this too-ing and fro-ing the customer said nope i wont buy it for more than 20$. so the wrecker pulled out a hammer and smashed it.
poetic justice

[sven '2']

There are good and bad.

Biggest problem is they call themselves wreckers - the younger guys in the biz that call themselves recyclers seem to run a tighter ship without all the BS.

Real test is when women go into these places and are spun such crap. For example, found a power antenna for my Lib at a wrecker just around the corner from home. Sent the wife to collect. She pulls up in the RS, the guy sees the RS and takes the antenna back saying he didn't know it for the turbo model. Goes out the back comes back with the 'RS Turbo power antenna' worth $30 more...

She phones me to check, I phone him, and well, it was a short one sided conversation.

But I really like U-Pull-It (Pick-A-Part). No BS with prices, all the same, cheaper to as you do the work.

Sven

[sven '2']

* lived on the premises, his mum owned the land, would drink water out of what looked like an unwashed out mayo jar with his hand wrapped in plastic bag.

Yep, seen this before at a wrecker...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YT_X0L9ulVs

Sven

[dfoyl]

>>heard a story a while back
a wrecker had a part, think it was a mini clubman headlight (kinda rare, square) the part cames out and was sitting on the desk in pretty much perfect order. Well the wrecker wanted 30$ for it, the customer said he would only pay 20$. well after all this too-ing and fro-ing the customer said nope i wont buy it for more than 20$. so the wrecker pulled out a hammer and smashed it.

Yep, plenty of stories around like that. I know of one where the owner was pretty set in what things were worth, and a friend (who got on with the wrecker ok) took some mates round to him who were looking for a window for an older truck (International or similar from memory). The wrecker told them the price, they tried to bargain him down and the wrecker threw a wheel hub through the middle of the windscreen and said "Now no ****er gets it" and walked off...

Most of those guys are now gone (at least in the big towns), but there are still a few around the place. At least the smaller ones don't have a million do's & don't - no photos, no jacks, no sample parts to compare against (even if they mark the item you bring in), etc.

Dean.

[steptoe]

Yeah, I forgot my story of the guy that had a dor for a Hyundy or something, right colour, right pinstripe and all he wanted was $40. The haggling individual then saw the door jumped on by wrecker tellng story. Ive got another one the same - $40 you want it? Reckons he got his $40.

[AlpineRaven]

I've been to hundred of wreckers, what pisses me off is their ego heads!!! They often think they know everything but they actually don't!
One time I wanted to buy an LSD diff for Subaru, they have stubs with them, without them it's useless, one wrecker wanted 300 bucks for it and said so rare, true but he can't sell it without stubs!! I said I'll give you 100 bucks he was fuming didn't get what I was coming from, that was about 4 years ago, last Xmas he still had it can't sell it!!!
About 10 years ago he had a gearbox for Toyota and I asked him (it was Friday late noon, will the tailshaft fit? Or not he said yes) so weekend stared I did the gearbox job, found out the spline didn't match the tailshaft and had to go to adelaide on Monday I was pissed off called the wrecker bit their head off, didn't have the shaft anymore so had to chase for one!!
Never trust them, if u don't know ask someone who has same car/knows the parts your looking for!!!!
Cheers
AP