Have any of you bought a parts car?
 

I am still trying to figure out what to do with my Civic, but until I have the money to do anything, all that I can do is plan. I finally started work today! I have seven clients here in town and one in the next town, which is great. Another ten or twenty clients and I can buy stuff! :)

I ended up watching a ChrisFix video. I am not sure that it was relevant, just entertaining and educational. One day he drove past a 2003 Jaguar X-Type with 130,000 miles for sale for $3,000.

Used Jaguars go for Accord prices?

Chris found fifteen problems with it, but all were cosmetic. Both bumpers were somewhat damaged. One of the side skirts had a hole in it. Worse, they covered it with duct tape! I don't want duct tape on my old Hondas, but a Jaguar?!

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1527369448

Also, the fender had three small dents, and it looks like the metal is actually pushed out in the middle. I thought a hammer and dolly would make short work of that.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1527369497

He said his goal was to purchase the car for $2,000, but talked the guy down to $1,900. He then used Dashub to find a parts car. Strangely, it was physically a 9.9, the only blemish was the fender he wanted was repainted--the color was a slight mismatch. He removed the parts he wanted, someone hauled off the rest and paid him $190, and he said he sold the remaining parts for $1,500 more than he paid.

That means he bought his Dad a beautiful Jaguar for $400 and a couple days of his time.

Well, I own old Hondas, and the parts that interest me most are an HX engine and an Accord catalytic converter.

Yeah...

Dashub does not show submodels. I could look at the 100 - 200 1996 - 2000 Civics and try to match up VINs (when shared), but I just looked at rims. According to the VINs (and a sunroof) one LX and one EX had HX rims. I have seen many HXes with steel or aftermarket rims, but why make the exercise in futility even more wasteful?

I found some decent-looking cars, but not all of them run and drive, and each of the 5 HXes that I found had autocraptastic transmissions. I consider those to be parts cars regardless of condition.

Here are EX, HX, and LX engine compartments side-by-side, in that order. The EX has a different exhaust manifold. The LX has a different intake.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1527371416

CX VINs start with 2HGEJ6.
HX starts with 1HGEJ7.
GX starts with 1HGEN1.
DX and LX can start with 1HG, 2HG, or JHM, but the next 3 are EJ6.
EX start with xxxEJ8.
1HG means a Honda built and assembled in the U.S.
2HG is a Honda built and assembled in Canada.
JHM is a Honda build and assembled in Japan.

California98Civic gave me some information on the differences between submodels on the rest of the car. The DX did not have pinstriping, alloy wheels, a center console, or power windows. The LX had power windows, but was only available as a sedan. Thanks California98Civic! :)

I did not look at too many Accords. I am not driving one from another state, nor paying to have one transported. There is one in Phoenix, and if nothing else, it has a bad battery. Starting bid is $50 and there are $488 in fees. Yeah, no.

All of the Insights that I found were also autocraptastic. Well, he bought a 2003 Jaguar X-Type. Maybe someone--not me, but someone--could purchase one of those and sell it for parts. There is one for Phoenix! It goes up for auction in nine days. Starting bid is $1,150, with $712 in fees, $28 less than ChrisFix paid for a car that ran well. This one is unknown condition.

There were only five other 2003s across the country. There are thirteen 2004s. Here is one with 170,000 miles, a $50 starting bid, $488 in fees, and looks decent, but is in unknown running condition. Damage is listed as vandalism, so I guess it was stolen, insurance paid, and then it was recovered: https://dashub.com/car-auction/2003-...type/lt8832070

ChrisFix said that the parts were interchangeable up to 2008. I found fifteen cars 2004 - 2008. One was in Phoenix, but totaled, and does not run or drive, so I do not know how many usable parts it might have.

Here is a 2008 with 134,000 miles nowhere near me: https://dashub.com/car-auction/2008-...type/lt9009811

I do not know why they have it, it runs and drives, and has a clear title.

Here is a 2004 Prius in Phoenix with 216,000 miles, runs and drives, and has a clear title. It goes up for auction in a few days, starting bid will be $120, and there are $498 in fees. Listed damage is "mechanical." Would a CEL or error code show up here? It says it is a charity donation.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1527374978

The front bumper cover needs to be replaced. The back should be fixable, but it could have a bad engine, transmission, and\or battery pack. If you can pick it up for $620 I am sure you could part it out and make a profit, but I am not picking up a third project car!

In another video, ChrisFix said to look for cars that need head gaskets, those are cheap and easy to fix, and then you have a good car for cheap. He bought a Del Sol for $300. I looked on Craigslist and all of the cars that I found that had bad head gaskets were priced higher than they should have been with a drivetrain functioning within specified parameters!

Thanks for making it this far! His mom's dream car was a Thunderbird. He fixed the fake chrome on her door handle: https://i.imgur.com/TVJ1RwY.gif

With the cars I "buy" it can be hard to tell if they are parts cars or not.

If I had room, a parts car has crossed my mind now and then. Would have been seriously handy for the Echo, the Civic not so much. On a lark, I nosed around a week or so ago for body parts to make a rednecky version of the Harlequin VWs out of my Honda. Completely worthless fun unless I had a YouTube channel and I could deduct it from taxes as work-related :D

I do have actual, designated parts cars. I bought another '59 Bel Air because it had a good gas tank and the price was right. And I drove it home so now I am making plans for that one...

I made a GIF of ChrisFix fixing the fake chrome door handle. Unfortunately, I forgot to link it correctly, so if you have not seen it, please scroll up just a bit. Thanks!

I have peeling fake chrome handles like that, so that is a very helpful GIF. :thumbup:

My Mazda was rear-ended a few years back.
The damage was mostly cosmetic, I was still driving it while I decided what to do next.
I found the same model (even the same colour) online for less than the excess of the potential insurance claim.
I was able to drive it home, take the parts I needed, take a few more parts I wanted ( including a tow bar), then sell it again for a total cost of $140.

RedCelica needed new seats when I bought it.
I bought a whole low mileage car for less cash than buying seats from a wrecker.
I swapped the interior and a bunch of other bits that were in better condition than the red car.
That spares car is still in the yard under a tarp.

I always have a parts car for whatever I commute in. I am playing with Saturn L series for the last few years, after the Metros all went away. My current driver is a loaded 4 cylinder 5 speed. It has an engine from a $100 rollover I bought that runs great. I bought my current parts car because I hit a deer just before Christmas. It is color correct and has a bad transmission, also a $100 car.

Here is the before picture:
https://i.imgur.com/RgdMdHM.png

Maybe you guys will appreciate this more than others have so far:
https://i.imgur.com/mHbGq8k.gif

It is cool. Someone will repost it and earn large quantities of imaginary points.

Another thought on parts cars. All but the first Saturn were found on Craigslist. Most of the Metro stuff was local word of mouth locates.