Cole_Trickle
Cole_Trickle Reader
6/9/11 10:34 a.m.

To start a junkyard?

I got laid off last week and I really want to be my own boss for once. How much start-up would you guess for some land, a cheap building (maybe a trailer) a fence and some busted up cars? Im thinking 150k minimum, but I really have no idea.

My second idea is to rent a mid-sized warehouse and have a junkyard for higher-end stuff.

I know that I will most likely end up in an office somewhere, but it never hurts to dream...

mad_machine
mad_machine GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
6/9/11 10:39 a.m.

good luck with insurance and the EPA

WilberM3
WilberM3 Dork
6/9/11 11:00 a.m.

i can't say how interested he'd be about talking about all of it, but the owner's a nice guy. up in concord, nh, there's a bmw salvage garage called Euro Depot, and it basically looks like a garage but with bmws outside in various states of disassembly. he's got a couple lifts so he can pull parts cleanly and a lot of storage space to catalog commonly needed parts that dont get scrapped. might be a somewhat easier way around the likely AWFUL red tape the EPA would put around a new pick and pull type.

Cole_Trickle
Cole_Trickle Reader
6/9/11 11:23 a.m.

Awesome. I like the euro depot idea.

ckosacranoid
ckosacranoid Dork
6/9/11 11:24 a.m.

you could look into a yard that is for sale since i have seen some for sale one the net at times..not sure where they where that i seen them though....

914Driver
914Driver SuperDork
6/9/11 11:36 a.m.

Crib to Death law.

Open a Pub instead....

bravenrace
bravenrace SuperDork
6/9/11 11:44 a.m.

In reply to Cole_Trickle:

I tried to buy an existing salvage yard about 10 years ago. It was so difficult to get through all the red tape, I finally gave up. Starting one may be easier or harder, I"m not sure. In any case, I hope you have the cash, because you're not going to get a penny from a bank.

Travis_K
Travis_K SuperDork
6/9/11 11:49 a.m.

Starting a used parts business, yeah, that would be reasonable. A normal outside salvage yard, probably not. The sucessful small scale operations I have seen are like the other one mentioned, you buy a certain type of car, part it out and keep everything thats good in a warehouse to sell, then repeat as necessary.

Maroon92
Maroon92 SuperDork
6/9/11 11:59 a.m.

Look at dC Auto for a good example of an indoor parts yard...It's not open to the public, so I imagine, it would be easier with the insurance companies.

iceracer
iceracer Dork
6/9/11 5:24 p.m.

Don't forget ZONING and all of the local, state and federal regs plus local codes.

BARNCA
BARNCA HalfDork
6/9/11 5:32 p.m.
WilberM3 wrote: i can't say how interested he'd be about talking about all of it, but the owner's a nice guy. up in concord, nh, there's a bmw salvage garage called Euro Depot, and it basically looks like a garage but with bmws outside in various states of disassembly. he's got a couple lifts so he can pull parts cleanly and a lot of storage space to catalog commonly needed parts that dont get scrapped. might be a somewhat easier way around the likely AWFUL red tape the EPA would put around a new pick and pull type.

we need a pick and pull in our area....

John Brown
John Brown GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
6/9/11 6:46 p.m.

To start a NEW salvage yard in Michigan, one that will be "profitable" within 10-15 years, will cost about $1.4m plus property (This is for basic inventory, property improvements and staff) expect to be in the 7 to 20 acre range to be effective. A salvage yard operating system would be helpful at $1500-$5000 per month.

Buying an existing yard can be done between $100k and $4.2m right now depending on what you want to do.

WilberM3
WilberM3 Dork
6/9/11 6:53 p.m.
BARNCA wrote:
WilberM3 wrote: i can't say how interested he'd be about talking about all of it, but the owner's a nice guy. up in concord, nh, there's a bmw salvage garage called Euro Depot, and it basically looks like a garage but with bmws outside in various states of disassembly. he's got a couple lifts so he can pull parts cleanly and a lot of storage space to catalog commonly needed parts that dont get scrapped. might be a somewhat easier way around the likely AWFUL red tape the EPA would put around a new pick and pull type.
we need a pick and pull in our area....

there's Brandy Brow in Plaistow. that's where ive been going. but i dont know of any others up by you or even all that close to me.

You'll need to log in to post.

Our Preferred Partners
l2UuwxIpSFYJJSX416wkbpJJC2T58VjCHHjobp4cP7xNoRzseZoZ9JYn8BOOV17M