Every car owner will have to deal with this at some point. The day you say goodbye. It could be your reliable first car that got you through college or that family van full of school runs, vacations, and other memories. Or maybe it’s a hard-working ute that finally gave up after years of hard work. Los It’s one of those things that you usually want to get rid of, whether it’s because it was lost in an accident, broke down, or just got too old. When you hand over the keys to a wrecker, it often feels like the end of the line. But what if it wasn’t?
We at WA Auto Parts know that you’re not done yet; you’re just getting started. We’ve been Perth’s top auto wrecker for more than 15 years and have seen thousands of cars come through our yard. It might look like a place where cars go to die from the outside. But we hope you’ll think about it from our point of view: as a place where the legacy of a car is honored, its risks are lessened, and its worth is renewed.
You’ve relied on your car long enough to get you back on the road, so now let us help you make its last moments look professional, respectful, and with an unwavering commitment to the environment. It’s time to pull back the curtain and show you how the sausage is made. This is what happens to your car after you drop it off at our WA Auto Parts for service.
1) Intake and first evaluation
As soon as you walk through the gates of our home in Perth, Western Australia, the adventure begins. Your number one is always the most important thing, whether it’s towed in or driven there one last time. We know this is the hard part, but our friendly staff is here to greet you, help you, and make things as easy as possible.
First, we take care of the paperwork. It’s important to let the world know that we’re doing things right. We can help with the legal transfer and deregistration. Thank you all for taking on this duty! No more loose ends, and no more worrying about the future.
After the usual small talk, our judges need to get to work. That’s where our team’s 15 years of deep industry experience comes in. What they see is more than just a car; it’s a complicated puzzle of possibilities. C imports or domestics, model year 1992 and up, whether they run or not. Why? We have cars from Japan, Europe, Australia, Korea, and the US, from cheap imports to V8 muscle cars, as well as cars that are good for people with L or P plates.
Our assessor walks around the car, using their trained eyes to look at every part of it and figure out its potential. Is the engine in that Toyota Hilux still running well after it got hit on the nose? Are the doors and leather seats in that Holden Commodore any good? Would this Hyundai i30 be sending another car thousands of kilometers down the road? This first impression is very important for how we can get the most money out of your car—money that we can give to you and your community through fair prices or cheap used parts.
Depollution—”Making it Safe”
The vehicle is then put in our specially designed depollution bay after all the bolts have been removed and no parts have been taken out. This is also where most of the environmental risk is, and as a demolition man, it’s our biggest risk. Your car is a beautiful piece of art and an engineering marvel. But it’s also a machine full of fluids and other things that you never want to get out into the environment in Western Australia.
Our team gives this process the care it needs by using specialized tools and containment facilities. We catch the following in a safe way, in an orderly, clean, and by-the-book way:
Fuel, Oil, and Coolant: All of the oil and coolant from the diesel engine was drained into airtight metal drums.
More Fluids: We won’t take brake fluid, transmission fluid, or wiper fluid anymore either.
The Battery: Lead and acidic fluids are inside car batteries. We carefully take them apart and send them to licensed recyclers who can safely get their contents back.
Ozone-Depleting Gasses: Certified professionals collect the cooling refrigerant from the A/C to make sure that those gasses don’t get out.
Other Hazards: We look for and get rid of other dangerous things, like mercury switches (which are found in older cars), to make sure that all airbags that haven’t been deployed go through a safe process.
This strict process makes sure that the car won’t hurt our land or water when it moves on to the next step. It’s a clean shell that can give back its treasure without hurting the earth or costing anything.
Step 3: “The Precise Harvest”—Taking Apart and Collecting
And this is where things start to get interesting after the car has been locked up. That’s why our yard is the best place in Perth to buy used auto parts. Our crew are artists, and they do the breaking bad art at our Dismantling Station. Not only are they tearing cars apart, but they are also going through them with a purpose and a plan to get the parts that can be used again.
They are street-smart knowledge workers who travel in a tribe that knows everything there is to know about cars and trucks from all over the world. For example, they know exactly where the alternators are on a Ford Falcon or which bolts hold a headlight assembly in place on a Mazda 3. They also know how to take off side mirrors from Mitsubishi Tritons without damaging them.
This “careful harvest” is highly systematic:
THE DRIVETRAIN:Now let’s look at the engine and transmission to see what makes this car go. These are often the most expensive, but they can also be the lifesaver donor transplant for another car.
Of course, there are the main parts, like the starter motor, alternator, radiator, steering rack, suspension members, and brake assemblies that give the picture depth.
Body Panels and Lights: If the doors, hoods, and trunk lids are in good shape, the bumpers and guards will be taken as well. Headlights and taillights: When they are brand new, headlights and taillights can be very expensive, so they are a must-have.
Interior Parts: This includes whole seats, but we also offer interior parts that let you make the biggest difference in your home.
Every item is checked before it leaves the factory to make sure it is of the highest quality. Then, the maker gets ready and tests it to make sure it meets their original standards. After that, it gets a part number and is added to our huge database, which is all done by computer.
Because we pay attention to every little thing, we can proudly say that we have the largest selection of used car parts for sale at the lowest prices ever. By calling us at (08) 9358 1392 Monday through Friday between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. WST, you can access this huge collection of great, hand-picked truck parts. We can tell you right away if we have what you need, so you don’t have to waste time and money making a part.
Step four: the very important change from car to commodity.
The cannibals take everything useful, leaving you with an empty metal shell. And even now, its journey is not over. This monster is all potential; it’s crouched here, waiting for the day when it becomes raw material.
First, the shell is taken off of the big pieces that aren’t metal, like the dashes or wire looms that held them up. After that, it is taken to the yard’s strongest piece of equipment. Inside is a huge hydraulic crusher that turns the car into a rectangle that can be thrown away.
Next, the crushed car goes into a huge industrial shredder. And with a loud crunch that shakes the ground, giant hammers spinning in the air break everything into little fist-sized pieces in just a few seconds. At the other end, a mix of metal and everything else comes out. This is where the real alchemy takes place. This flow goes through a number of separatrices:
Giant magnets pull all the iron and steel (ferrous metals) out of the stream.
The Eddy Currents make a magnetic field so strong that it pushes the non-ferrous metals out and sends the lighter, more valuable aluminum to another container.
Air and water jets are used to screen, sift, or filter out things like textiles, plastics, embers, and other unwanted contaminants.
At the very end of that line, where a car would sit, there is a neat stack of raw materials, mostly high-quality steel and aluminum, that foundries and mills are waiting to buy.
In conclusion, that’s one way to get your car to start.
So, what’s wrong with your car? It was given a new job. Its heart could be racing as it drives through Perth’s main streets. Someone’s accident damage would probably have been easy and cheap to fix on its door. The nuts and bolts on some other project’s machine might keep it together.
And what about the steel frame that held it up? It is being shipped right now to be melted down and turned into a load-bearing beam in a new building, or maybe even a part of someone’s refrigerator or even the parts of a brand-new car—recycled from start to finish.
That’s the history of WA Auto Parts, and that’s what we see every morning when we wake up. We aren’t the end of the road for a car; we’re the beginning of life again, in your next favorite coffee table. We are an important part of a circular economy because we try to get as much value as possible from our trash and leave as little waste behind for our community, all at a reasonable price.
When you buy WA Auto Parts, make sure you make the right choice. It’s no surprise that you trust a professional with more than 15 years of experience. You are choosing a team that cares about your car’s history and its future.
We want to buy your junk car for cash. Call us today! We’ll come pick it up and pay you cash on the spot for the car, no matter what condition it’s in. Call the guys at WA Auto Parts at (08) 9358 1392.