My wife and I are among the few remaining newspaper readers. She peruses the ‘Living’ section, scouring every square inch for coupons. I just look for deals on motor oil. Sometimes my eyes will wander around to cheap tires or the latest headlight cleaning shtick. I despise cheap tires and God knows cleaning Chrysler headlights is far from my list of to-do’s these days. But finding a great deal? That’s what I live for. At least when it comes to eliminating any future purchases. For those of you seeking the frugal nirvana I have two words for ya. Forget retail.
I’ve found perfectly good tires at thrift stores. Motor oil? Freecycle has enabled me to get dozens of quarts for . . . well . . . free. Then of course you have the treasure troves of everything automotive. Junkyards and your mechanic’s mini boneyard.
Junkyards are always the obvious place for a long list of hardware. Engines, trannies, body and trim parts. Heck . . . you can even have sensors galore and reincarnated interiors if you look hard enough. However what has truly amazed me over the years is that wearable items can be truly had for a song.
Want some near-new tires? Ask. Of course you may end up with a perfect set of three but ask anyhow. Has a car come in with good seats? Ask again. A lot of yards will try to remarket seats but there are many who will let you have it for cheap to free if you’re buying a bunch of stuff or are a regular. Then there is what I consider to be the true Shangri-La.
Audio systems. It just amazes me that these things are seldom if ever removed from the vehicle. Perhaps it’s an Atlanta thing. I don’t know. But for every car that I saw with crappy aftermarket wheels that weren’t worth a damn, I’ve seen stereo systems that were truly expensive works of automotive art. I’ve literally put one in a Euro-spec Benz that I purchased for a mere $250 last year. It got the best Alpine system I could find for the time. Ipod compatible? Check. USB connectivity? You betcha. How much? Free from an impound auction. One of my friends was in the crushing business and he cared as much about the radio as I care about the Atlanta Braves.
One more thing. For those without the free time or resources, your local mechanic may be a very good resource. Early in my career I found many of my favorite future resources from an independent repair shop. That eventually lead to new sources and before I knew it, I conquered another mountain of frugality. Now if only I could manage my time as well.
Then why would a thief bother to steal a car audio? A few years ago, the bog standard radio/cassette player was stolen from my Mercury. Why?
I am undecided as to which social fashion I dislike more: conspicuous consumption or born again frugality?
I have two old vehicles, a 72 El Camino and a 76 Matador, so I frequent junk yards on a regular basis. I get some good prices on stuff, but I’ve never seen any decent radios still in the vehicles.They have them inside and they are priced reasonably, but not cheap by any means. I have gotten good prices on tires though.
There is only one pick-n-pull junk yard left in my area (Chicago), and it’s selection is pretty rough.
But it is definitely worth looking online before going to the dealer for a part. I bought a car whose previous owner had taken out the rather nice OEM stereo and put in a crappy after maket stereo that had lots of flashing lights and silver paint. The dealer price for a new deck was $1200, but I got the proper recyled OEM deck on eBay for $60.
Robert Schwartz:
Basic used OEM audio systems are worth more than high end used aftermarked audio systems. But if the thief really knew what’s what the air bag is probably the best small quick snatch-and-grab.
Stupid thieves are the worst, $500 deductible in glass and interior trim for a well under $100 (used, hot) stereo.
By the way, my deck was for a Toyota so I didn’t get yours.
carguy:
What about when they are combined:
http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2007/07/bentley-continental-gt-turned-hyundai.html
Back in the day when the car radio was an AM radio, period, the big thing for car prowlers was to steal the radio. Boy, those were worth money, I guess. And not just prowlers. I remember in about 1967 looking at a fully customized 56 Ford pickup on a car lot. It had just come in, a beautiful truck, and it was show-prepared with everything under the hood sparkling clean and chromed. Yet the owner had pulled the radio before he traded the truck, and left wires hanging out of the dash. His new truck didn’t have a radio? Who knows?
So maybe it’s just the custom of car prowlers to steal radios, or a family thing passed down from wastrel father to ne’er-do-well (there’s an old expression) son. Consider the mentality; chances are they’re not audiophiles.
Even retail chains offer bargains. Canadian Tire (sorry, my American friends) was selling off ‘old’ stereos, amps, and speakers near me recently. They could all be had new in the box for $50 to $75.
Store closures are good too. I’ve scooped up some amazing deals are stores that were moving or being remodelled. You just have to be patient.
Good to find someone else who takes pleasure in being frugal.
One thing that I am finding expensive though is used (vintage) engines. I was helping a friend find engines lately, and scrapyard were asking a fortune for older V8s if they had them at all.
Steve L:
Are you my dad? ‘Cause you sound just like him….
I spent many a Saturday afternoon following him around the bone yards looking for cheap parts.
None of this is new. Gearheads like me have been doing this since the first Model T went to the junkyard. In the fifties, all those Caddy tail lights that went onto Fords came from scrounging aroung. Pre-Craigslist. Pre-eBay. Pre-everything.
In actuality, junkyards have become useless to the true scroungers. With their computers and kids behind the counter that can’t even spell “interchange”, and “insurance” regulations that prohibit you from walking the yard, the boneyards that we think of are all but gone.
Us true scroungers now look elsewhere and we ain’t telling where because then everybody will go there.
Being VW owner I have learned to never buy new. Thankfully there are two VW-specific breaking yards near me. One near my house, the other near my office. I’ve never had issues finding parts for low prices using this method.
–chuck