Hey guys, hope all is well with everyone and their mini's!
So my 03 MCS needs some loving on the inside which is fine because it gives me many "mini" projects to do over time. There are a few things I just want to replace instead of trying to repair and I was thinking about going to a junk yard to salvage parts from other cars/mini's. Near where I live there are a few junk yards that allow you to walk around and pull the parts yourself which for me personally sounds like a lot of fun.

Have any of you guys roamed a junk yard for parts for your cars? Not just for your mini, but for other vehicles too? Is this a bad idea? The place I plan on going allows you to pull your own stuff and then you get a discounted price once you bring it back to their office.

Thanks,
-Roo

 

If you can find junked mini's....go for it.
Mini parts are so $$, specialist usually buy the wrecks, and part them out....parts end up on eBay, or various sites that sell used parts....
Just keep in mind, you are buying the REMAINIG life of the part...so if it is labor intensive to swap a part, used might not make sense...but some parts are no longer so new....so sometimes, used is the ONLY option....
Keep in mind, the PRODUCTION date of the cars involved will affect the compatibility of the parts...things like dashboards changed from 5 part to 3 parts, etc....so be sure you know what you are looking for vs buying....

 

doubt you will find any minis in salvage.
as zippy says, people buy the entire car and part it out for top dollar on the ebay... which kinda sucks for the rest of us.

 

I like roaming salvage yards. It is a good way to get parts if you can find any Minis.
You can scout the yard for parts that you might want to pull then come back with the tools required to pull the part(s). Ask about the price before you go to the trouble of pulling a part because it might not be worth the effort, especially on a Mini when so many parts are hard to remove.

 

Thank you guys for the input! Sounds like we're on the same page because I don't think that I'll find too many totaled mini's with good parts but I still think it's worth a shot.

Either way it will be the thrill of the hunt and my fat butt could use the exercise.

 

Look for the usual suspects: PS pump, charger&waterpump, alternator, AC compressor, steering rack & column, BC1&key, fuel pump, etc....That'll be good exercise.

 

Most salvage yards are connected to each other on the internet. If you're looking for a particular part from a particular model there's a good chance your local yard could do a search of other yards and find the part for you.

 

I did it for my winter beaters and I had someone else grab a license plate holder off a second gen Mini. It had no powertrain tho and when I went back last week, I took a look at it and not much was remaining from it. Pretty much shows how fast a Mini will get picked apart in a salvage yeard.

Depending on the place, you can get away with fairly expensive pieces for pretty cheap.

 

I highly recommend looking up what the dealer charges for each part your are interested in. Maybe even print out that info and take it with you to the yard for negotiations. Some yards think MINI==$$$$$ parts. There are some salvage prices that leave me scratching my head wondering why someone would go through the trouble when they could buy it new... obviously not true for everything, but I have seen prices for things such as glass where the yard wants more than new Genuine MINI!

 

Wandering around You-Pick wrecking yards is one of my favorite things to do! I have a small toolbox just for those occasions. My mother needed some interior parts for her VW I took her with me to the local import wrecking yard and got everything she needed for a few bucks. She loved it, she said she'd go again any time.

Dave

 

This particular junkyard does that. I'll definitely call them ahead of time to make sure they have a mini instead of looking for something that isn't there.

 

However, the list of parts that yards have on their available list are usually already pulled parts sitting on a shelf. There are usually many more parts available in the yard that you can pull yourself. But call to make sure they at least have some Mini Coopers in the yard.

 

The items I need are mostly cosmetic so hopefully those will be untouched if there are any mini's in the yard.