stubs
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Registered: 30th Jun 02
Location: Bolton
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Have been thinking about a career change lately, and was thinking how much I would love to own my own scrapyard... what do you think would be involved in setting up from scratch? And what sort of capital would I need behind me? 
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Ian
Site Administrator
Registered: 28th Aug 99
Location: Liverpool
User status: Online
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I think there is a lot of regulation these days not least health and safety but also environmental. A few places by me have closed as they were on soft ground and this is no good because fluids leak in to it.
Plus you have a general downturn in home mechanics, modern vehicles usually have warranties etc.
Definitely cool though. Perhaps nicer if you could get some special cars in there although most breakers who have more interesting stuff are usually more expensive. Not sure how the figures of buying high end models stacks up.
[Edited on 08-02-2008 by Ian]
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Kurt
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Registered: 23rd Oct 05
Location: Hi
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its not as simple as everyone thinks! my family has been doing it for 4 generations...
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stubs
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Registered: 30th Jun 02
Location: Bolton
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Well I was thinking more along the lines of an indoor breakers, with all the parts available "off the shelf"
There used to be a place in Bury that did this, and they ran the place from a counter... kinda took the fun out of it for me, but I suppose it makes better sense for the buyer, and for the fact that they don't waste good bonnets, looms, etc... the kinda stuff that gets wrecked by people only interested in what they are getting & not concerned about standing all over the other cars. They used to strip a car down as soon as it arrived in the yard, and stored all the parts in the warehouse.
Like you say, I would prefer to deal with the special stuff.. from what I've noticed with my regular visits to the yards, the old places arent really that interested in the special stuff, they just prefer the regular income of run of the mill.
I see where you're coming from with the downturn of home mechanics, but I believe a majority of the regulars would be mail order, and local "back street" garages. Surely the scrap trade will always be around?
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stubs
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Registered: 30th Jun 02
Location: Bolton
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quote:
Originally posted by Kurt
its not as simple as everyone thinks! my family has been doing it for 4 generations...
I dont think its a simple thing to do, which is why I'm asking about it.
What advice would you have to offer, as someone who is in the know?
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Jakey
Premium Member
Registered: 4th Jun 07
Location: Sandbach
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quote:
Originally posted by Kurt
its not as simple as everyone thinks! my family has been doing it for 4 generations...
Which scrappy Andy?
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willhouse
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Registered: 11th Jul 06
Location: Sheffield
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probably better getting in to the scrap metals industry to be honest- easier to make money from what i gather.
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Kurt
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Registered: 23rd Oct 05
Location: Hi
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quote:
Originally posted by Jakey
quote:
Originally posted by Kurt
its not as simple as everyone thinks! my family has been doing it for 4 generations...
Which scrappy Andy?
George Poole's. Clough Street, Hanley..
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Kurt
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Registered: 23rd Oct 05
Location: Hi
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by stubs
quote:
Originally posted by Kurt
its not as simple as everyone thinks! my family has been doing it for 4 generations...
I dont think its a simple thing to do, which is why I'm asking about it.
What advice would you have to offer, as someone who is in the know?
well tbh ive stayed away from due to things id rather no go into but i have worked for my dad in the past..
you seem to want to be a breakers and not a scrap yard though..
as a breakers you need a license for vehicle dismantling.. cant quite remember what it is but its to do with oils and plastics and glass..
my dad takes the odd car but mainly shells with no engine due to not having the license as he doesnt get enough to justify having it... its also man time.. you have to have someone removing the parts
i cant really advise on a breakers as he deals mainly with heavy scrap and non ferrous metals
[Edited on 08-02-2008 by Kurt]
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Jenko_Sport
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Registered: 25th May 06
Location: Stoke-on-Trent
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Never noticed a scrappy on clough street
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Kurt
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Registered: 23rd Oct 05
Location: Hi
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quote:
Originally posted by Jenko_Sport
Never noticed a scrappy on clough street
its next to greenhous vauxhall.. inbetween there main showroom and other lot
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Fro
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Registered: 20th Jun 06
Location: Rainham, Essex Drives: A3 2.0TDi Sport
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My Dad runs his own small Recovery/vehicle collection and removal company in east london. And rents a small yard.
He'll pick up unwanted cars from people and then either fix them if they are smashed / broken into, if they are allowed back on the road or break them and scrap them if they will be too time consuming to put back on the road.
He saves things like petrol, any alloys and Catalytic converters. As petrol is always handy to have (i use quite a bit ) And the alloys and cats can fetch quite a lot of money when saved up for a while and all cashed in at once.
He also recovers vehicles for insurance companies and will charge them storage for how ever long he has to keep them, and sometimes the company will cut there loses if they have alaready paid out and offer him the vehicle cheap to buy.
He is also signed up to a traders site for accident damaged vehicles, and if business is slow he'll have a look and buy something if he thinks money can be made on it (like my golf which was flood damged, ended up saving a few KKKK)
From what i can see it is a very good earner, i'e he stored a moped for 3 months and got over 2K for it and its not like a moped takes up alot of space 
All depends what way you want to get into it.
Shite pic but you get the idea, we'd moved a lot of cars out though its usuall rammed.
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All Torque
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Registered: 17th Nov 05
Location: Milton Keynes Drives: Ford Focus TDCi
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I like the idea of 'tidy indoor' scrapyards 
When I went to A5 salvage for a new fan it was like ASDA "aisle 2, next to the wing mirrors"
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All Torque
Member
Registered: 17th Nov 05
Location: Milton Keynes Drives: Ford Focus TDCi
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*related pic*
A scapped KA with NO body damage, and the engine is intact, but ts only 3 years old
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Jay
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Registered: 26th Sep 04
Location: Liverpool
User status: Offline
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The scrappy/breakers in Blackburn looks good, been past it on the Motorway.
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Graham88
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Registered: 16th Apr 07
Location: South East Kent Drives: E46 M3
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There is a breakers in Rochester that is an indoor breakers. They break the cars and have everything on the shelf. It's a good idea really as most cars in your normal scrappies don't have any real useful parts left.
www.vauxhallpartsandspares.com
There website, you can see some pictures of the way they do it.
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loo_goblin
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Registered: 14th Jul 04
Location: Horsham, West Sussex
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My dads mates had a fire at his scrap yard the other day, just to rebuild it all etc going to cost 1.5 million
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Jay
Member
Registered: 26th Sep 04
Location: Liverpool
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by loo_goblin
My dads mates had a fire at his scrap yard the other day, just to rebuild it all etc going to cost 1.5 million
I remember the one in Bootle (for the members in the know) went on fire, they had to block the road off and had 4 fire engines at the scene and still couldn't put it out.
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stubs
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Registered: 30th Jun 02
Location: Bolton
User status: Offline
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Appologies Kurt, I used the term "scrap" incorrectly.. I have always generalised breakers yards & salvage yards as "scrap yards" simply because people tend to say "the car has been scrapped"
When I think about it now, all the places that I look at for inspiration are called *** Salvage; *** Breakers or *** Dismantlers.
So to establish & run a vehicle dismantlers, what would be involved?
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stubs
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Registered: 30th Jun 02
Location: Bolton
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by Graham88
There is a breakers in Rochester that is an indoor breakers. They break the cars and have everything on the shelf. It's a good idea really as most cars in your normal scrappies don't have any real useful parts left.
www.vauxhallpartsandspares.com
There website, you can see some pictures of the way they do it.
Cheers for that dude! Thay place looks kinda like what I would be interested in.
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sand-eel
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Registered: 15th Mar 07
Location: carluke/braidwood--IRNBRULAND
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the hard bit is getting the land and permission, me thinks
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