I've always been a fan of Pick N Pulls, visiting various locations all over the state on and off for years. It had been a while since I had visited the yard since I hadn't owned an old enough car in a while, but my recently acquired hooptie needed a starter so I packed up the car and motored on down. Some things have changes, some have stayed the same. They now ask you exactly what you are looking for at check in so that they can point you in the right direction. On the surface that seems nice, but in reality the cars are just as unorganized as they ever were. The trucks I was looking for were scattered all over the yard in three different sections, mixed in with the mini-vans, VW's, and SUV's. Their computer system doesn't match the actual location of the cars. The other irritation here is that this REALLY slows down the line. It used to be that you just signed your name, paid your $1 (now it's $2+), and walked on in. The line gets super long now, and some folks will spend well over a minute talking to the clerk. They also charge you $2-$4 MORE to browse the "premiere yard". What kinda sham is that? Pretty soon you're payin' $6 just to LOOK. Back in the day, the $1 made sense because theft of "pocket parts" is pretty much an expected part of pickin'. They have to cover the cost somehow, and try and detour people who come in for no other reason than to pilfer shift knobs, but up to $6 just to LOOK is insane.
Anyway, enough of that. Back to the yard. The cars are WAY more picked over than they used to be say, 10 or so years ago. I think there are a lot more "career pickers" out there now a days trying to find the hot parts and resell them. The prices have also really gone up which is a huge downer. The savings over say e-bay or craigslist is minimal now. Anyway, so I'm walkin' the yard and pickin' my parts. I find the starter I'm lookin' for, as well as some other nice odds and ends that I needed. Pokin' around all the old cars and tryin' to find hidden treasures is really where the fun is. If it weren't for the fun factor, I'd probably just spend the few extra bucks and buy my used parts online. There's a lot of hidden gems out there in the yards though. Sometimes you'll find options off of a higher trim level, or perhaps some aftermarket parts or modifications (rare, but they show up).
Well, now I've got my stuff and now it's time to check out... errrrrrrrrkkkk Big ol' long line. What happened to this place? The service at checkout is also quite slow when it used to be a quick cash and carry (and they seem to have three times the employees now than in years past). Sometimes the lady disappears into the back somewhere and doesn't come back for a while. There were also people trying to haggle the prices and wasting everyone's time. Anyway, finally I get to the front and I ask some questions about their return policy. The clerk ends up telling me what I later found out to be some little white lies in an attempt to get me to buy a warranty that's more expensive than the part I'm buying. Luckily after a little bit of talking I get her to hold the part while I go and get the old one out of my trunk to compare before purchasing (technically this is not allowed per a big sign at the gate). That was pretty cool +1 on that. When it came time to seal the deal she was really pushing various warranties again. I don't know why anyone would pay $36 for a warranty on a $20 part, but whatever.
Now for the rating. Despite all their shortcomings, Pick N Pull remains one of the only local businesses of it's kind. That and the fun factor of hunting down deals bumps them up from three to four stars. There's some real bummers about Pick N Pull, but a good time is always had.
Protips:
1: ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS keep an eye on your tools, and be wary of people asking to "borrow" your entire socket set for "just a minute". I've heard too many stories.
2: If you're gonna be working under a car for a while, bring some cardboard for your back (the ground is gravel) and maybe some towels to catch falling hardware so it doesn't get lost in said gravel. read more