Most profitable cars to break?

[bluebirdpremium]

Just a thought, but what about old Japanese cars?

I know from recent personal experience trying to source panels for my Bluebird that there seem to be very few parts specialists for the old 80's J stuff (thought please feel free to correct me if i'm wrong), hence why i'm mainly dealing with banger racers for parts off cars they're stripping.

Maybe a gap in the market?

[pauly22]

Break decent high spec cars. You'll sell the front bumper off a fiesta st, quicker than a bumper if a fiesta edge imo

[dazcapri]

Dec 19, 2016 19:24:16 GMT bluebirdpremium said:

Just a thought, but what about old Japanese cars?

I know from recent personal experience trying to source panels for my Bluebird that there seem to be very few parts specialists for the old 80's J stuff (thought please feel free to correct me if i'm wrong), hence why i'm mainly dealing with banger racers for parts off cars they're stripping.

Maybe a gap in the market?

Have you tried datman off here he breaks Japanese stuff

[drake1994]

break stuff thats expensive, and fast and can be abit of a handful,
the fast audi's, bmw, vw, skoda, don't think you would go far wrong specializing in the VAG group whether new or old,
or stuff thats coming upto being retro and cool, 90's mercs and volvo's?

[ems1]

A local garage breaks a lot of Leon/Ibiza Cupras, Civic Type R's, Imprezas and Audi TT's

[bluebirdpremium]

Dec 19, 2016 20:27:26 GMT dazcapri said:

Dec 19, 2016 19:24:16 GMT bluebirdpremium said:

Just a thought, but what about old Japanese cars?

I know from recent personal experience trying to source panels for my Bluebird that there seem to be very few parts specialists for the old 80's J stuff (thought please feel free to correct me if i'm wrong), hence why i'm mainly dealing with banger racers for parts off cars they're stripping.

Maybe a gap in the market?

Have you tried datman off here he breaks Japanese stuff

Yeah I have, said he tends to specialise more in 70's stuff rather than 80's, but was very helpful and did give me the number of someone else who may be able to source some stuff I need.

[winchman]

I would have thought the problem would have been getting certain cars. The one make breakers we have had in our area have either closed or just brake any vehicles.
I find at the moment many people are struggling with cash flow, Christmas will also slow this down.

[alecf]

Look on eBay and type in breaking.
That will show how many of a certain vehicle is being done by every man and his dog.

Landrover breakers are ten a penny. There's 4 within 10 miles of my house alone.
Discovery 1 and 2,s break for peanuts and are a big curse word to strip.

Cupras again there's loads of them in bits.
A complete car can be had Cheap enough but this brings the parts cost down.

[vertex]

Have a look at the cars the drifters are using on driftworks mx5,bmw,to name a couple bumpers,wings,front,rear lights,doors,bonnets

[jmcm]

Hi,



My advice would be to stick with particular specialty and then you will learn all you need to know about it quickly, so you don't sell parts to cheap because you don't now what you have. Also as a general rule the big ticket items on the car should add up a least 5 times your outlay, ideally looking for 10 times your outlay when all parts are sold. Also remember that you will not sell all your parts quickly if you are doing this the parts are likely to be to cheap and hard to find items, keep a detailed records of all parts sold at the price sold and the time taken. Also remember to factor your labour in as you are not free !!!!!!!!


Good luck

[BT]

I've broken a lot of vehicles over the years and still do every now and again but not very often.

I find the most profitable things to break are things that are a little more "specialist" of that's such a thing?

I used to break MGs and made a lot of money off of the ZR and the MGF but both the 160 versions. The engines are sought after in the mini conversions, gearboxes seem to sell well on eBay and the ZR came with the wheels which sold very easily. Even did a BRM once which sold very well.

I also broke anything with a Type R badge on it, the accords sold very well as did the EP3. At the time I was breaking the EP3 the engines were selling for around £1,250 bare. The VTi 1.6/1.8 broke very well as did the 2.2 manual preludes.

The VTS and GTI saxos and 106s broke well but I think that ship may have sailed now as when I used to break these they were a favoured first car for young lads who liked to throw the better parts on their 1.1 base models.

I suspec the 172 and 182 may break well, I see some ropey examples for well under £1000 now days and actually turned one down the other day at £350.

The TT breaks well. I have one in at the moment which is proving very profitable.

Please excuse the crude, short and probably poorly slept reply which ha been quickly sent from my phone whilst trying to prepare to go out.

[foxy99]

I think Mondeos would be a goldmine. They are dirt cheap just now but I'm sure demand/prices will rocket in next 10 years. Look on Ebay at the crazy prices old Fords fetch. Granadas are a good example.

I've noticed the Mk3 (Jellymould shape) couldn't be given a way a couple of years ago and now prices are climbing rapidly.

Fill a field with Mk3 Mondeos now and you'll retire rich

[compass]

Christ, I should`ve kept more of an eye on this thread!

Thanks for all the input and opinions, all very useful. I`m still trying to decide what to go for, but pretty sure I`ve narrowed it down to combining Volvo/Saab or the VAG group. Both have their pros and cons....Volvo and Saab are generally cheaper to buy through copart, and I already know the older 9-5/9-3 market quite well. VAG opens up a new market really for me, but there seems to be plenty to go at here, including the possibility of retro/classic stuff too. however, especially with Audi, they`re more expensive to buy. Not a problem if the parts sell well though. The Unit/space I`m getting my hands on is in a good, busy location too, so maybe with VAG stuff being more popular, would also get a bit of passing trade or locals instead of relying on the internet for sales.

It definitely needs to be a specialist only business for a couple of main reasons. These are the ease of braking the cars once used to them, and knowing what parts sell well, where to price them and actually building up a knowledge of the cars to helps customers with etc. Secondly, is space. You need a lot a space to store parts etc. It`s so much easier when you`re dealing with the same stuff on a daily basis.

As mentioned in my original post, I`ve broken cars before, just not with the correct licences in place. I`ve also run my own businesses since I was 21, so am perfectly OK with this side of things. However, I`m not sure how you make 5 x your outlay on just the major bits, and 10 x on the whole vehicle! If anyone managed this, I`m clearly doing something wrong!!

Sooooo, thanks again for the input, and feel free to post any other views or ideas.....all much appreciated.

[oasis6x]

Dec 10, 2016 23:25:14 GMT composimmonite said:

MGF ? In fact all "modern" Rovers (25, 45, 75, 100) as limited new parts available since company ceased.

They have ceased the new parts but theres mountains of NOS at Rimmers. Plus the cars are so cheap in the first place that replacement bits sometimes arent worth your time.

IMO the only stuff you will see good profit from is older Coupe stuff, the T16 turbo engines, PG1 boxes with LSD, VVC engines and some of the random factory extras that came with 75 executives and MGZTs (electric rear sunblind anyone?).

[astranaut]

I dunno what it's like everywhere else, but the scrapyards around North Wales are seriously lacking in anythin Vauxhall, especially over 10 years old, struggling to find Vec B parts now, and a mk3 Astra is a rare find

[SmokeEm]

When I had my W140 Mercedes, everything I needed to replace started at about £200 from every breaker I tried! Mirror - That'll be £200 sir, Pair of headlights? £250 sir. Centre armrest complete - £200 sir. I assume the selling process would be slow but deffo very profitable. I sold my car in great condition for just over 2k! Surely the V8 engine was worth that to someone.

[edk83]

I bought 2 mgf's last year, one for £300 and one for £180

made £500 on the first and £600 on the second and I was selling parts for less than half of ebay listing prices, worked out about £20 an hour stripping them.

[edk83]

Also broken 2 mgzr's - No money in them due to the average owner using them as primary cars rather than summer toys

[compass]

Jan 27, 2017 9:17:32 GMT SmokeEm said:

When I had my W140 Mercedes, everything I needed to replace started at about £200 from every breaker I tried! Mirror - That'll be £200 sir, Pair of headlights? £250 sir. Centre armrest complete - £200 sir. I assume the selling process would be slow but deffo very profitable. I sold my car in great condition for just over 2k! Surely the V8 engine was worth that to someone.

That's food for thought.....I've broken a few W124's in the past, and always done ok on them, as long as they had the MB Tex interior. Might give a w140 a tester soon.....

[SmokeEm]

Be careful... If you've never driven a decent W140 and come across one, you'll be reluctant to break it! Before I got my CL500, I'd owned or driven most fast, stylish or luxury cars. The W140 was better (By miles!) Than either of the list of my previous runabouts. Which include but not all...

16 plate E Class Merc
Any of the 3 brand new Chrysler 300C's I had in successive years
Numerous cars of all ages from BMW
Even better IMO than either my pals new CL63 AMG or my uncles S600 Merc! 

They just are simply the best cars ever built.. If you can afford to maintain one....lol