It is a moment that comes to every car owner eventually. The day you say goodbye. Perhaps it’s your trusty first car that ferried you through university years, or the family wagon with its load of memories from school runs, holidays. Or maybe it’s a hardworking ute that has just given up the ghost after years of tough work. Whether it’s lost to an accident, the failure of its mechanicals or simply old age, when you turn over the keys to a wrecker that can often feel like a final and definitive end. But what if it wasn’t?
At WA Auto Parts, we understand you’re not at the end, but a beginning. We have been Perth’s number one auto wrecker for over 15 years and we have had thousands of cars come through our yard. From the outside it may seem like a place cars go to die. But we urge you to take a look at it through our eyes: as a site where an automobile’s legacy is exalted, its hazards are defused and its worth is reborn.
You’ve depended on your car for long enough to hit the open road, and now you can depend on us in the way that we will treat its last chapter; Professionally, with care, and a fiercely dedicated commitment to the environment. So, let’s unveil the backstage of our process and walk you through the steps your car will go through in our WA Auto Parts care.
1) Intake and initial assessment
The ride commences the moment you drive through the gates to our base in Perth, Western Australia. Whether its towed in, or driven one last time, your number 1 is priority first! We know that this is the hard part and our friendly team are always welcoming, giving you all the help you need to keep things easy and breezy for everyone!
We begin by taking care of the paperwork. This is an important step to reassure the world that everything is being done properly. We can assist with legal transfer and deregistration, so you can rest assured that responsibility has been transferred. No more loose ends, no worrying about the future.
After the pleasantries, our judges have to roll their sleeves up. This is where 15 years of deep, hands-on experience in the industry from our team really comes into play. They don’t see just a car but an intricate puzzle of possibility. C import or domestic, model 1992 and up running or not. Why? Because they can inspect any vehicle: here’s what we offer from Japanese to European, Australian to Korean and American import cars to trucks/SUVs/4x4s/vans/wagons & dual cabs!
Our assessor circles the car, letting their trained eyes run over it and sizing up the possibilities. Is the engine in that Toyota Hilux still sweet after it got clobbered on the nose? Are the doors and leather seats in that Holden Commodore good? Would that Hyundai i30 be transmitting another car thousands of additional kilometres down the road? This first impression is CRUCIAL triage to determine how we can get the most out of your vehicle—all value that we put back into your pocket and back into the community in fair prices and affordable salvaged parts.
Step 2: Depollution- “Making it Safe”
Prior to any bolt being unscrewed, or part removed, each and every vehicle is transferred to our purpose built depollution bay. This is where the majority of environmental risk lies, and our single greatest responsibility as a demolition man. Your car may be a thing of beauty and engineering masterpiece at the same time, but it is also a machine that holds all sorts of fluids and substances you wouldn’t want to escape out into our Western Australian environment.
With dedicated equipment and containment facilities, our professionals handle this process with the level of care it deserves. It’s a clean and methodical as well as necessary process in which we capture safely the following:
- Fuel, Oil and Coolant: Every last drop of petrol, diesel, engine oil & coolant pumped into airtight specific drums.
- Other Fluids: Additionally, we remove transmission fluid, brake fluid and windscreen wiper fluid.
- The Battery: Automobile batteries include lead and corrosive acid. We carefully extract and send them to certified recycling companies where their composition can be recovered safely.
- Gasses That Deplete the Ozone Layer: The air conditioning refrigerant is collected by professionals who are certified to do so to make sure these gases don’t leak out.
- Other Dangers: We also find and dispose of other high-risk items such as mercury switches (found in older vehicles) and make sure all undeployed airbags are treated safely.
This rigorous process means that when the car moves to its next stage it is no longer a threat to our land or water. It’s a clean shell, ready to return its bounty without costs to the earth.
Step 3: Disassembly & Harvesting – “ The Precise Harvest”
Once the car has been made safe, this is where things start to get interesting. This is what turns our yard into the best ONE-STOP USED AUTO SHOP in Perth. Our Dismantling Station is where the art of wrecking comes to life, and our talented crew are the artists! They don’t simply rip cars apart; they pick them over aggressively and strategically, separating out the bits that can have another life.
They are on the move, armed with encyclopedic knowledge of makes and models from around the world. They know the precise position of alternators on Ford Falcons, say, or which particular bolts fasten a headlight assembly on a Mazda 3, and how to get side mirrors off a Mitsubishi Triton with no damage.
This “careful harvest” is quite systematic:
The Powertrain: We take a look under the skin of this vehicle at what powers it— Engine and Transmission. These are frequently the most valuable parts and may be the life-saving donor transplant for another vehicle.
Included also, are the featured players – starter motor, alternator, radiator, steering rack and suspension members that add depth to fill out the picture; brake assemblies.
Body Panels & Lights: Doors, bonnets, Boot lids, bumpers and guards; if they are okay, these parts will also be removed. When new, headlights and taillights can often be expensive to replace so they’re a must for any pick list.
Inside Parts: We recycle interior portions of the car such as whole seats and dashboards, to simple items like stereo systems or steering wheels.
Every single piece is checked as it comes off the plant, ensuring the highest quality. It is then examined, cleaned, and tested by the manufacturer to ensure it will meet the same standards. Only then is it assigned a part number and logged into our vast, computerized database.
It is this painstaking attention to detail that enables us to say with confidence that we sell a comprehensive range of second hand car parts at the best ever prices. In contacting us at (08) 9358 1392, that’s what you are accessing – this colossal dynamic resource of quality vehicle parts. We can let you know immediately if we have exactly what you need, saving time, money and the energy wasted in manufacturing a new part.
The fourth step – the critical period of transition from car to commodity.
Once a team of cannibals has removed all the useful parts, you’re left with an empty metallic husk. And yet, even now, its travels are not complete. This hulk is all potential, eagerly awaiting its ultimate transformation to a raw commodity.
The shell is initially cleared of any remaining larger items that aren’t metal, such as dashboards or wire looms that weren’t stripped. It is then taken to the most powerful piece of equipment in the yard. There’s a monster hydraulic crusher that smashes the car into a disposable rectangle.
The squashed hulk is then fed to a gigantic industrial shredder. With an earth-shattering crunch, giant hammers spun in the air reduce everything to small fist-sized pellets in seconds. What comes streaming out the other side is a blend of metals and everything else, where the real alchemy takes place. This flow goes through a number of separatrices:
Giant MagnetsYanked out by Giant Magnets, all the iron and steel (ferrous metals) are taken out of the stream.
The Eddy Currents generate a magnetic field that result in removing the non-ferrous metals while pushing out the lighter, high-value aluminum into an additional container.
Air and Water Jets Air and water jets are used to separate out remaining materials such as plastic, fabrics and other foreign material.
At the far end of this line where a car would be is neatly stacked piles of raw materials — mostly top-grade steel and aluminum — that will soon be sold to foundries and mills.
Conclusion: That’s One Way to Start Your Vehicle
So, what’s up with your car? It was given a new purpose. Its heart could be in a car on the streets of Perth. Its door likely could have inexpensively repaired someone’s accident damage. Its nuts and bolts might be keeping some other project together.
And what of the steel frame that supported it? It’s en route now to be melted down and reborn as a structural beam in some new structure, a home appliance or maybe even piece of a brand-new car, completing the circle.
This is the story behind WA Auto Parts and this is what we get to wake up to every morning. We’re not a car’s last stop – we’re where it begins anew, through the life of your next favorite coffee table. We’re a cornerstone of the circular economy, committed to get as much value as possible out of our cast-offs, leaving as little waste behind as we can for our community, and at an accessible price point.
When you select WA Auto Parts, you’re choosing more than 15 years of trusted professional service. You’re selecting a team that reveres your car’s history and is committed to its future.
Get in touch with us: If you have an old car that you are trying to sell or if know someone who wants to get rid of their vehicle, do not hesitate to give us call CALL US TODAY!. Call the guys at WA Auto Parts on (08) 9358 1392.