Have any of you bought a parts car?

[Xist]

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?!



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.



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.



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.



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:

[Frank Lee]

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

[jcp123]

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

[Frank Lee]

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...

[Xist]

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!

[Daschicken]

Originally Posted by Xist

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.

[D.O.G.]

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.

[me and my metro]

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.

[Xist]

Here is the before picture:


Maybe you guys will appreciate this more than others have so far:


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

[me and my metro]

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.