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pheller
pheller UltimaDork
7/17/23 1:58 p.m.

I was recently educated on how the MAF of a somewhat common car is about a 2-minute removal job, and can net anywhere between $100-$300, and most junkyards sell that part for $20. 

It made me wonder, what else is out there that is easy to remove and might be profitable to resell on ebay? 

My local yards has got a few Camry Hybrids, a newer Bengel era 7-Series in good shape, and a bunch of 2010+ VWs (non turbo). 

Racebrick
Racebrick Reader
7/17/23 2:14 p.m.

Are you keeping the maf of a somewhat common car a secret?

AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter)
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) MegaDork
7/17/23 2:17 p.m.
Racebrick said:

Are you keeping the maf of a somewhat common car a secret?

not at all.  he's already told us it's a MAF.

pheller
pheller UltimaDork
7/17/23 2:23 p.m.

It's from turbo Honda products. 

Slippery
Slippery PowerDork
7/17/23 4:28 p.m.

You probably have to be into a specific brand to know these things. Back in the late 90s/early 00s, the Lexus LS400 AFMs where sought after as an upgrade for the MK3 Supra Turbos. But just like you, there were 10 people looking for it and it was hard to be the first at the junkyard when an LS found its way.

 

DeadSkunk  (Warren)
DeadSkunk (Warren) UltimaDork
7/17/23 4:40 p.m.

Catalytic converters.....and you don't even have to go to the junkyard.

buzzboy
buzzboy SuperDork
7/17/23 5:23 p.m.

I always considered NA Frankenstein Bolts to be "pocket parts" that made a couple bucks on the side.

Depending on how the yard does wheels look for a Mercedes CLK320 with the Lightweight wheel. A good set is worth real money to VW Syncro guys. Or, in my case, they are good performance wheels for older MBs.

 

hybridmomentspass
hybridmomentspass Dork
7/18/23 6:40 a.m.
buzzboy said:

I always considered NA Frankenstein Bolts to be "pocket parts" that made a couple bucks on the side.

Depending on how the yard does wheels look for a Mercedes CLK320 with the Lightweight wheel. A good set is worth real money to VW Syncro guys. Or, in my case, they are good performance wheels for older MBs.

pic?

AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter)
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) MegaDork
7/18/23 9:11 a.m.

i LOL'd at "to VW Syncro guys" because all three of them? 

i keed, of course.

Russian Warship, Go Berkeley Yourself
Russian Warship, Go Berkeley Yourself PowerDork
7/18/23 10:19 a.m.

In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :

 

NorseDave
NorseDave HalfDork
7/18/23 5:13 p.m.

When I bought my MB 190e the previous owner basically strong-armed me into taking a set of those CLK wheels for I think $150.  I had no past knowledge of the wheels but liked the car itself so I acquiesced.  Little did I know!  

For anyone that doesn't know, those are 7x16 forged wheels that weigh <14# per wheel.  Needless to say they are on my 190.

 

John Welsh
John Welsh Mod Squad
7/18/23 6:08 p.m.

BBS center caps are worth just as much as the whole wheel itself but are so much easier to carry out and ship than a wheel.  

Samples:

Asking $119 for less than perfect Miata version

$59 for one rough Infiniti version

$29 Audi version

If the car has factory BBS's then root around looking for the BBS cap tool also

I once sold 3 RX7 BBS caps individually for $50 each....years ago, like 2001.

 

wae
wae PowerDork
7/18/23 6:41 p.m.

Back up a second...  You're being awfully vague about what part you've found to resell for $texas while asking for specifics on what other folks have found?

laugh

Patrick
Patrick MegaDork
7/18/23 7:08 p.m.

In reply to wae :

Right?

vwcorvette (Forum Supporter)
vwcorvette (Forum Supporter) UberDork
7/18/23 7:50 p.m.

A3 Jetta upper glovebox before they added the passenger side airbag. People love to replace the airbag. I made a few dollars off of them. 

Pete. (l33t FS)
Pete. (l33t FS) MegaDork
7/18/23 7:56 p.m.
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:

i LOL'd at "to VW Syncro guys" because all three of them? 

i keed, of course.

I mean, all the VW syncros I care about are 4x100, not sure how Mercedes wheels factor in to it smiley

MyMiatas
MyMiatas HalfDork
7/18/23 8:50 p.m.

If you think a part is interesting, whip out your phone and Ebay it and see if is worth diddly squat or not.

NOHOME
NOHOME MegaDork
7/18/23 9:00 p.m.

I once ran into a seller that would go to the local pick and pull and harvest parts that he knew were in demand. He would remove them and stash them in the trunks of nearby cars. The result was that he had an inventory of parts that he could post on Facebook that had not cost him anything.

When people scheduled a visit to buy, he would run down to the yard and pay for the part and hopefully sell it a few hours later at a profit. Retail sales at their best. I was not sure if I hated what he was doing or admiring the business plan.

Pete. (l33t FS)
Pete. (l33t FS) MegaDork
7/18/23 9:24 p.m.

In reply to NOHOME :

So what you are saying is, to answer the OP's question, look in the trunks of cars for random parts that don't look like they belong there?

grover
grover Dork
7/18/23 9:52 p.m.

In reply to NOHOME :

Sounds like modern supply chains and manufacturing. 

NOHOME
NOHOME MegaDork
7/18/23 10:46 p.m.

In reply to grover :

Sadly.

aircooled
aircooled MegaDork
7/19/23 1:16 a.m.

Years ago I harvested many oil coolers off of 2nd gen RX7's.  They are very nice aluminum construction with built in thermostats.....  still have most of them.

Anyone interested in an oil cooler?

calteg
calteg SuperDork
7/19/23 8:42 a.m.

In reply to NOHOME :

I respect the hustle, but that's predicated on living relatively close to a pick & pull. The closest one to me is 1.5 hours each way. The math stops mathin' when I have to factor in my time

Aaron_King
Aaron_King UltimaDork
7/19/23 9:35 a.m.

I have had good luck selling grills and tail lights from the last generation SAAB 9-3's.

DjGreggieP
DjGreggieP Dork
7/19/23 12:12 p.m.

I know LH platform cars *had* some parts that the enthusiast would pay a lot of money for since 90% of the cars on the road were lower trim level and higher optioned cars had physical parts of nicer quality (painted folding side mirrors vs. fixed texture plastic, stitched leather centre console lid vs. fake pleather etc), but it seems like that market has died out now with most owners focused on keeping the car alive OR having the parts already from community part outs / garage clearouts. 

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