by Tom Simons

Created on: March 01, 2010

Unfortunately  I myself use lots of second hand parts to fix cars, the very obvious simple reason of this is because of the cost factor.

As soon as something goes wrong its the same thought proses "off to the scrap yard I go". But even thought I do it myself does not mean that I agree with it. You can never tell the history of a second hand part, whether it's a simple part like a wing or something a bit more complex like a gear box. The chances are that the car you are studying for salvage is in the scrap yard for a very good reason even if nothing appears wrong.

However the worst and most annoying thing about a second hand part is that you can never guarantee that it is A, the right part or B, it is any good. I have gone miles to pick something up before to be told it is a perfectly good working part, only to put it on my car and find a week later it has broke again.

A good example of this is in the middle of last year me and a friend where out driving in my pug 306 and my drive shaft snapped on the near side. We had to coast about half a mile down the road till I found a car park to pull into. An hour later we had managed to get a toe back to my house. the next day I went on eBay found someone who was breaking the same car as mine phoned him up and arranged to come and collect the part the very next day. Now when I phoned him I made sure it was the right part for my car and he stated that it was. The next day we went and collected the part. All in all it was a good trip and the guy was very friendly, we got back to mine later that day and I striped and fitted the part. Although it was the right part for my car, as soon as I started to drive it again it became apparent that this part had had a very hard life and it was very noisy to say the least. two weeks later I was having to look again for the same part as it had broke. A new part would have cost me around £40-£50 and I paid £30 for a second hand one. You do the math.

The main point I'm trying to get to here is yes its much cheaper in the short run, but wouldn't you rather have a part that comes with some sort of guarantee?

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