*Pull-A-Part* Three Atlanta Area Locations ( South, East, North)

[kboehringer]

Georgia Firebird Folks,

I've been stalling on writing this one up because there is a great deal of information to convey (I am getting tired of typing).  This will likely take a few posts to convey everything.  There are some important tips that will make your hunting easier and keep some extra money in your pocket....Let's get started.........

http://www.pullapart.com/

First of all the three ATL area yards are all operated by the same parent company.  In addtion, there is another GA Pull-A-Part in Augusta.  Although I have never been there, I am sure it operates pretty much the same. Those of you in South-East Georgia that have been to the Augusta Yard...Please chime in!

These guys have about the most organized yards you will EVER find.  Although they do make an occassional error and call a Camaro a Firebird (and vice-versa), that is pretty rare.  Every vehicle in inventory is accessible from your home computer where you can search for the Year, Make, & Model you need.  They also indicate when the car was placed on the yard and this is VERY important information for those of us with older vehicles.  A 1st Gen is fairly uncommon (but not unheard of), 2nd Gens are similiarly getting more hard to find, but not impossible.  Finding 3rd Gen & 4th Gen parts in very simple as there are always multiple units of each on the lot.

Each of the Atlanta Yards has a different turn-over rate. The South-Side rate is exactly 70 days.  Honestly, anthing there that long won't have much left on it anyway. The East-Side yard is pretty new and they tend to keep their vehicles a good bit longer.  I assume that once they get their feet truly planted in the ground, the East-Side will start turning cars (rows) over a little faster.   The North-Side seems to be on about a 60 day rotation.   These guys dont' care what's left... a row gets cleared and crushed on the due date like a swiss clock.

CONTINUED NEXT POST.

[kboehringer]

Continued

PRICES
Each of the yards will charge you $1 to enter.  The prices are posted on-line and I recommend you review the price lists before you go. Everything is CHEAP but once in a while you'll get charged for the wrong part so know how much the parts are that you are looking for BEFORE you get there.  Generally the prices are non-negotiable but if you have an extra rusty part or something with a minor defect they are sometimes willing to skip the core charge or charge you for a smaller or less expensive part.  Negotiating is not really worth the effort as the prices are super reasonable to start with.

Some parts have an additonal core charge and nearly every sale gets charged an "Enviromental Fee".  The environmental fee can vary but is typically only a dollar or two.  This envirormental fee is just another way (in my opinion) to hit you for a couple extra bucks.  If you are charged a core, make sure to bring the core back within 30 days, else you loose the core fee.

Although I have not noticed any difference in the price lists for the Atlanta yards, some of their other facilities have a different price structure.   Augusta seems to have slightly lower prices.  The price differences are minor.

I have found that the North-Side and East-Side customer service/check-out folks seem to be much more generous.  I usually find I get charged much less than I had expected.  The South-Side is a different story all together, they are very thorough and charge the posted prices for everything you have.

CONTINUED

[kboehringer]

http://www.pullapart.com/Inventory/Main.aspx

INVENTORY:
You can check inventory from home (link above).   For those of us with the older cars (1st & 2nd Gens) we need to get to the yard within a week (preferably less) of the time the car was placed on the yard.  Otherwise, you'll be picking the few remaining feathers on that Firebird.   3rd & 4th Gen guys can take their time there are multiple vehicles and  you're really not fighting for parts against the E-Bayers (more on that later ).

E-Mail & Phone Inventory Notification:
You can sign-up for e-mail & phone notification of new arrivals.  This is a great system except that the "E-Bayers" are also signed up for notification.

Here's a TIP most people don't know....once they put a new car on the lot and notify you that it is there, YOUR NAME IS DELETED FROM THE DATABASE!  If they get another car in the next day you will not receive a notification.  Therefore, when you are notified of a new arrival, IMMEDIATELY go on-line and sign-up again!  In additon, you can use multiple e-mail address to sign-up for multiple cars.

TO BE CONTINUED......

[hcr13]

I can vouch that the Pull-A-Part here in Augusta is similarly organized like all the other Pull-A-Part's around the country (or atleast the South).  Gravel ground, wheel barrels, and cars lifted on welded rims...