Untamed
05-29-2009, 12:39 PM
I visited GI Auto Salvage last weekend to see if they bolstered their inventory after the great purge of 2007-2008. For those who haven't been there in a while, they cleaned out a lot of the rusting stuff they had lying around for years, that had been picked clean long ago, then brought in tons of dirt in an attempt to fill in the lakes and puddles that formed around and under the cars. I was happy to see a more level lot to walk through, but the purge left the place looking pretty empty.
A few other changes have taken place that may or may not have been there for the last few months.
1. There is a fenced in area now where scrap cars are brought to wait for the engine / trans strip that all go through. Employee only area. But what's different is...
2. The fenced area is part of a new entranceway into the yard. Instead of walking past the gate and straight out onto the lot, you have to go through the office to enter / leave. This is both a loss-prevention method, and...
3. There appears to be an attempt to move from a u-pick-it place, to a parts service business. I saw employees stripping more than engines from the cars in the fenced area. I think they are inventorying as much as possible, then dropping frame, sheet metal and seats out onto the lot. I could be wrong, but it looks like they want to provide that parts service portion that they can mark up since they are doing the work.
All of the above comes from observation. I don't speak spanish so I couldn't ask the two guys wearing the GI overalls, pulling parts.
I was left disappointed that there was very little to actually peruse on the lot. One second gen Firebird frame, and one third gen Camaro that was picked clean long ago. They still group cars by manufacturer, but last years purge left the place really empty with plenty of real estate between car groups.
If I get more time I may try to chat up the guys in the office and see what their plans are for the business. But right now, my opinion from what I saw, suggests we're loosing yet another u-pick-it in NJ.
A few other changes have taken place that may or may not have been there for the last few months.
1. There is a fenced in area now where scrap cars are brought to wait for the engine / trans strip that all go through. Employee only area. But what's different is...
2. The fenced area is part of a new entranceway into the yard. Instead of walking past the gate and straight out onto the lot, you have to go through the office to enter / leave. This is both a loss-prevention method, and...
3. There appears to be an attempt to move from a u-pick-it place, to a parts service business. I saw employees stripping more than engines from the cars in the fenced area. I think they are inventorying as much as possible, then dropping frame, sheet metal and seats out onto the lot. I could be wrong, but it looks like they want to provide that parts service portion that they can mark up since they are doing the work.
All of the above comes from observation. I don't speak spanish so I couldn't ask the two guys wearing the GI overalls, pulling parts.
I was left disappointed that there was very little to actually peruse on the lot. One second gen Firebird frame, and one third gen Camaro that was picked clean long ago. They still group cars by manufacturer, but last years purge left the place really empty with plenty of real estate between car groups.
If I get more time I may try to chat up the guys in the office and see what their plans are for the business. But right now, my opinion from what I saw, suggests we're loosing yet another u-pick-it in NJ.