I've realized many people aren't aware of this resource, so throwing this out there.

The website Car-Part.com--Used Auto Parts Market is a resource for inventory of dismantle yards all over the country. A great resource for anyone looking for used parts for your vehicle.

Hope this is helpful to you all. I was able to sources a set of rear seats, as well as a new door panel for my '08 that had damage to these parts.

I recently used it to rebuild the front end of my 97 Camry... She ain't as pretty as she was, but she looks better than she did a few months ago.

Also, always call the yard to verify what you need is available before making a visit.

I found this out the hard way after a long drive.


Eddie

I've used car-part for years. And I've recommended it a few times on here. It's a great resource. And to reiterate what another poster said, always call first. I worked in sales at a fairly large salvage yard for about three years and it's very common for things to still show up in inventory but not actually be available. It's just the nature of the business.

I'll add on some tips when I was looking for parts that weren't trashed...

Call as already suggested.

Also, ask how long the car has been on the yard and if you're having to make a pretty far trip, ask for pictures of the vehicle as it sits on the yard today.

For the yards that do take pictures to post on their inventory sites, they'll take them as they're processed in and then move them by a variety of means out to the yard. The bumper cover was beaten to shit from when they took the inventory pictures to when it ended up n the yard and I couldn't get them to send me pictures of it. One of these days I'll get a replacement bumper cover and have it painted to match...

Anyways, long way of saying, if you care about the ACTUAL condition of a major part, ask for pictures if you have to drive any real distance.

To piggyback off of that, I'll say if I'm dealing with a yard I trust I'll ask the sales person to "put an eye on it" for me. They really don't want to sell you a bad part because if you're not satisfied you're either not gonna buy it or you'll return it after the fact if need be. Does them no good either way. And in a lot of cases a part that was fine when the wrecked vehicle arrived will either be damaged or missing by the time you want to buy it. It's very common. Also, with most salvage yards the prices on a lot of parts can be negotiated. Especially when it's a part that doesn't have a high failure rate. When they have parts for a long time or have a surplus of the same part they're usually happy to cut the price, sometimes pretty drastically just to get something out of it. Example: At one time the salvage yard I worked at had about 12-15 transmissions to fit the 95-99 generation Maximas. These almost never failed and they would sell you one for about $250. My point being, always ask what's the best they can do on it. Of course if it's a high failure rate item they're not gonna budge on it since they know someone will be buying it soon anyway.

I've been looking for a bed for my Tundra. Noticed a Tundra popped up a couple days ago in a salvage yard a couple hours away. I tried calling asking for the condition of the bed, as they only had a front picture of the truck (looked unscathed), and she told me they can't verify condition for me.

So I loaded up the trailer the next weekend and drove there only to realize the bedside is pretty dented from a wreck. Drove home with an empty trailer. It sucked because it was a heavy trailer and I got like 8mpg.

Yeah, some of these shops are pretty poor in their customer service skills. It's just like anything else. You have to find the right shop, or get the right person on the phone.