Anyone have any experience parting a complete car?

[casperz]

I've got about 20 old Porsche's that I've been collecting since the 80's. I've
identified about 6 of them that are not restorable. These are accident damaged
or rusted and just too far gone. I'm thinking about parting these out since it
appears that the parted value is several times great than the un-parted car is
worth. I also have a 20 x 20 storage unit with all types of engines,
transmissions, engine parts, body parts from several other cars.

Anyone tried selling parts on ebay or elsewhere on a small scale and made it work?
I'm not looking to make a living or anything but I would like to afford some other
toys with the proceeds.

My biggest concern is getting about half the parts sold and the rest just sitting
and then I'd just have a hulk sitting around. I have the facilities, tools and know
how to do it. I've rebuilt 911, 914 and 944 engines, restored various models but
I've never parted a single car or sold any parts. Guess that's why I have so many.

Tell me your stories.

[McLovin]

I've sold lots of parts on ebay.

Parting an entire car would be a lot of work, but you don't have to worry about half the parts not selling. If you want to avoid that, just make sure to clean the parts up, lots of good pictures, good descriptions and put them up individually (or in lots, as you choose) on ebay starting a .99 cents, no reserve.

You'll have everything gone in a couple of months. If any particular item doesn't get a single bid, you can be assured it is useless and just toss it.

Even the chassis will likely go if you use that method.

If you want to try to get every last nickle out of every part, you'll be parting it out for many years.

[Brandon-FL]

I haven't parted out any Porsches, but I have had very good luck finding some one off parts for my 964 over the years on E-Bay. In posting questions about a set of parts recently I struck up an offline conversation with one seller who appears to be making a business of it. Here is a link to his E-Bay store for just the Porsche parts listings (carries other makes):

S Auto Parts items - Get great deals on 88 Porsche 911 windshield washer tank cap items on eBay Stores!

I think he is somewhere in the Northwest and he says that it takes him about 4 full days to part a car in decent condition. From a complete car he says he can get about 300 "parts" to sell on E-Bay (some are obviously groups of parts, i.e. intakes, exhaust, etc.). What I find sets his store apart is that most of the parts are auctioned with real-world starting bids, the parts are clean with good photos and descriptions, and items are well packed and shipped very quickly.

I've often considered parting a car out for some extra cash, but once I do the math it doesn't seem like it would be worth all the time and effort. You would need quite a bit of space to keep all the parts organized and you would have to be pretty sharp on shipping costs (especially with odd shaped and heavy items) to maintain your profit margin. I've always thought that you might be able to make it if you worked it with more than one person with each person "specializing" in either parting, managing the E-Bay or CL postings, shipping, etc.

No disrespect to our gracious host intended in this response.

[chaozz]

Ebay is the way to go.. I would hire someone to work on site to take pictures
and make the listings. and you can pick parts and clean.and package as they sell..
I would put in each listing that you are parting out X amount of cars and to email you
with a part list..this way you will get even more sold with out ever even listing them..
I really recommend for the amount your talking about to get help..its a huge job
and a PIA..

personally i would only ship to USA, set up ebay to only allow usa accounts.
and do the same with paypal. anything over $100 add signature to it.

[techweenie]

I have parted one complete '72 coupe. I got it to fill up a rolling shell '72 E (now for sale at stupendous money).

I sold a lot of parts but it took about 5 months. Some experiences were good, but in one case, I spent hours cutting out a right rear suspension section for a Pelicanhead who changed his mind after I completed the cut. Ultimately, I ended up dropping some big chunks in a nearby dumpster and giving away the rear suspension.

At the end of the day, it was a money maker, but only if I figure my time at $0.60 an hour. Not recommended.

[bwall]

If you have discipline then you can sell everything on ebay. If you are the type to give up half way through, then you will find yourself with a half-parted out car.

I know that I could not take on a task like this. I also couldn't rebuild an engine either.

[techweenie]

Ebay is no longer a great place to sell parts. The Porsche parts section is full of Chinese knock-off crap and mis-listed HID bulbs, etc. Sell through on parts is low, and you'll end up relisting several times. Craigslist is far better.

Consider: "pose" and shoot the part, edit/crop, upload to eBay (extra photos & large photos are upcharges). Promptly answer random questions (some, you'll have to research) and relist if nobody bids/reaches reserve/flakes out on paying. That's a big time investment. Then if you sell, obtain packing material and pack safely. Absorb Paypal fees. Absorb risk of claims of loss & misrepresentation.

I used to like eBay for selling stuff (over 400 transactions and 300+ rating) and still occasionally use it, but take a look at (for instance) the stuff S Auto Parts (above link) actually gets bids on -- less than 10% of listings.

A few years ago, eBay moved to favor the high volume buyers (importers) of auto parts and the private party sellers have suffered.

[casperz]

Thanks guys, you've given me some good points to consider. Sounds like it
would take a lot of effort but is doable and might work out ok.

[Brandon-FL]

You've already got the cars and if you have the time it might be worth a try. Techweenie is right, get ready for the freaks to come out. Craigslist does beat E-bay these days, but either way you are going to meet some real winners (or did I mean whiners?).

By the way, what part of the country are you in? Wondering how and where you store/keep 20 cars. You're not in Wyoming by any chance.....?

[Jeff Burger]

Brandon -fl ----- I think you hit the nail on the head - or at minimum our collective chains are being yanked - - 20 cars, engines and trans in pieces and afraid of being stuck with a hulk sitting around ? no details ? no pictures? first post . - Pleeeease .

My apologies if this is legite but my BS meter is pegged

[Jeff Alton]

What state is Casper in??

[fastfredracing]

My buddy and I did it for a couple of years as sort of a side buisness/hobby. We had to buy the cars, so we did not make a ton of money, but we did alright. All sorts of whacko's will come out of the woodwork, but we also met some great people, and of course , we cherry picked and kept what we wanted first before we sold anything off. E bay is probably the fastest and easiest way, but be prepared to spend lots of time, taking photos, writing up listings, answering e maiils, phone calls,, and boxing and shipping all sorts of odd shaped items. I would also use the pellican classifieds as well.
All said and done, it was a fun couple of years, and gave us a an excuse to drive all over the country and buy a bunch of porsches, and parts. We did end up with a pretty nice sized chunk of cash in our account when it was all over, but as stated above, we probably made about a dollar an hour for our time.