I live in Maryland near DC and have a 1978 FJ40. I am looking for a good junkyard in the area, a real salvage lot where I can roam around and pull parts on my own. So far in looking online, LKQ Pick Your Part appears best. Thanks for any recs!
Any recommended junkyards in the area?
- Thread starter Schaefo
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Brandywine auto recycling at the intersection of 301 and 5 have some toyotas.
Crazy Rays, it appears is now called "LKQ". This is the largest family of you pull it yards in our area. The Jessup location is supposed to be their largest. I've only been to the Mr Airy location. They have good prices, but charge for multiple parts of an assembly. For instance, the pulley on that water pump in not included in the price of the water pump. Be sure to carry their price sheet with you as you pick so you don't get to the counter and have a price surprise. Unless something has changed, they have no inventory records, so don't bother calling and asking them about specific parts. Their inventory changes daily, depending on what comes in, and what they crush.
The Brandywine family of yards around PG County generally don't like you to walk the yard. They are an "inventory" yard, and you can shop their entire inventory online on car-part.com, along with every other inventory yard in NA. You will soon find you can probably ship the same part from AL, GA, MS, NC, etc, for cheaper than they sell for locally. Their business model seems to be to sell to local repair shops, who will pay top dollar for used parts, and pass along the cost to the customer. I have always been successful in talking them into letting me walk the yards. Because they are an inventory yard, many of the yard vehicles have already been stripped by the employees, cataloged and shelved. I haven't taken the trip to one of their yards for many years.
Leon's junkyard, Rt 29 Culpepper is a real old school junkyard. Junkyard dogs and all. It's an all day experience, and you probably still won't cover the entire yard. It's worth the trip if you want to see some vintage cars rusting away and sinking into the mud. If you decide to go there, go on a weekday, bring your lunch with you, and arrive shortly after they open at 8AM. No one is allowed into the yard after 10AM, and they close at 3PM. Be certain you are back at the office before closing time. Leon takes closing time very seriously. His prices are very reasonable, especially if you are buying multiple things. He has already pulled parts on shelves in his sheds. So if you are after something in particular ask him before you head out into the yard. His Web site is dead, but this is a link about the yard. Leon - Leon's Auto Parts
What exactly are you looking for? Because most older Toyota stuff was sent to the crusher years ago. Ryan and I, along with others cleaned out Leon's of most of the good old Toyota truck stuff many years ago. He may have replenished though, and he doesn't crush anything, unless something has changed from years ago.
If you are not a frequent junkyard customer, be warned, you better have a thick skin, and not be easily offended. Most counter people seem to live to abuse their customers. I find it's best to wear coveralls or clothes you change out of before going home. Unless you don't mind a muddy and greasy interior of your vehicle. The coveralls also help with keeping you from being eaten alive by the mosquitoes. You only need to worry about your hands, head, and neck. The mosquitoes are no joke at junkyards, anytime of the day. If you have any Zika fears, stay home, or wait until Fall / Winter. Keep an eye out for "Bio" written on vehicle's glass, that means blood and guts in the car due to the crash. If it has rained recently, I would wait a few days before visiting any yard, unless you like to sink into mud that threatens to pull your boots off your feet.
At the local pick and pulls, there will be random people who will approach you and offer to "help" you pull parts. They are expecting money in return for their services. These same people will probably steal your bag of tools if you turn your back. Never ever walk away from your bag of tools to go check our some car one row over. And only carry the minimum tools you will need to pull what you are after; that bag of tools gets really heavy walking around the yard. It becomes more of a burden when you also need to carry heavy parts back to the office. I carry my tools in a backpack and bring another empty one for parts I want. For large parts, like axles, trans and transfer cases, you can get a yard employee to bring a tractor and drag it back to the office for you. If you have a friend willing to go with you, pay their entrance fee, and buy them lunch, it's worth the help to pull and drag the parts back to the office, unless you are only after small stuff.
The Brandywine family of yards around PG County generally don't like you to walk the yard. They are an "inventory" yard, and you can shop their entire inventory online on car-part.com, along with every other inventory yard in NA. You will soon find you can probably ship the same part from AL, GA, MS, NC, etc, for cheaper than they sell for locally. Their business model seems to be to sell to local repair shops, who will pay top dollar for used parts, and pass along the cost to the customer. I have always been successful in talking them into letting me walk the yards. Because they are an inventory yard, many of the yard vehicles have already been stripped by the employees, cataloged and shelved. I haven't taken the trip to one of their yards for many years.
Leon's junkyard, Rt 29 Culpepper is a real old school junkyard. Junkyard dogs and all. It's an all day experience, and you probably still won't cover the entire yard. It's worth the trip if you want to see some vintage cars rusting away and sinking into the mud. If you decide to go there, go on a weekday, bring your lunch with you, and arrive shortly after they open at 8AM. No one is allowed into the yard after 10AM, and they close at 3PM. Be certain you are back at the office before closing time. Leon takes closing time very seriously. His prices are very reasonable, especially if you are buying multiple things. He has already pulled parts on shelves in his sheds. So if you are after something in particular ask him before you head out into the yard. His Web site is dead, but this is a link about the yard. Leon - Leon's Auto Parts
What exactly are you looking for? Because most older Toyota stuff was sent to the crusher years ago. Ryan and I, along with others cleaned out Leon's of most of the good old Toyota truck stuff many years ago. He may have replenished though, and he doesn't crush anything, unless something has changed from years ago.
If you are not a frequent junkyard customer, be warned, you better have a thick skin, and not be easily offended. Most counter people seem to live to abuse their customers. I find it's best to wear coveralls or clothes you change out of before going home. Unless you don't mind a muddy and greasy interior of your vehicle. The coveralls also help with keeping you from being eaten alive by the mosquitoes. You only need to worry about your hands, head, and neck. The mosquitoes are no joke at junkyards, anytime of the day. If you have any Zika fears, stay home, or wait until Fall / Winter. Keep an eye out for "Bio" written on vehicle's glass, that means blood and guts in the car due to the crash. If it has rained recently, I would wait a few days before visiting any yard, unless you like to sink into mud that threatens to pull your boots off your feet.
At the local pick and pulls, there will be random people who will approach you and offer to "help" you pull parts. They are expecting money in return for their services. These same people will probably steal your bag of tools if you turn your back. Never ever walk away from your bag of tools to go check our some car one row over. And only carry the minimum tools you will need to pull what you are after; that bag of tools gets really heavy walking around the yard. It becomes more of a burden when you also need to carry heavy parts back to the office. I carry my tools in a backpack and bring another empty one for parts I want. For large parts, like axles, trans and transfer cases, you can get a yard employee to bring a tractor and drag it back to the office for you. If you have a friend willing to go with you, pay their entrance fee, and buy them lunch, it's worth the help to pull and drag the parts back to the office, unless you are only after small stuff.
- Thread starter
- #5
Thanks! Very very helpful reply. I am not really in need of any specific parts, just poking around. Today, before I saw your post, I went to Pick-a-Part in Stafford. Had a good time picking around and grabbing random stuff, mostly bolts and clips from Toyotas and Lexuses. Just enjoyed hunting. The security guy there was very friendly and told me about Fredericksburg Auto Salvage which he called "Miss Betty's" and described as 118 acres of cars from the 1930s and up. Need to visit. Next time out I will hit up LKQ in Jessup.
The Brandywine's I've been to were pick and pull. I wandered around all over
They have probably changed a good bit in the 18 - 20 years since I last set foot in one of their yards.
They have probably changed a good bit in the 40 - 45 years since I last set foot in one of their yards. Now I feel really old!
- Thread starter
- #10
Awesome, you are the man. Thank you. Is Crazy Rays the same place listed as LKQ Pick your part in Jessup?
Yes, 8125 Washington Blvd, Jessup, MD 20794. Everyone I know still calls it crazy rays. The LKQ people cleaned the yard up, made it much safer and put inventory online.
One of the guys at the front said they only paid $300 for the 80 at an insurance auction, such a shame, Other than the interior it looks to be in better shape than my truck.
