Z4 Scrap Company
- Thread starter Nova2k7
- Start date
potentially but i think you would have a wider audience if you specialised in performance BMW so M3. m5 etc too.
are there any rules in breaking cars? licences and the type. not to mention the environmental issues. i remember breaking up the old sierra u used as donnor for some bits on my westy. with the best will in the world i still made a mess.
i guess if it was only a few types and you did it one at a time then you might be able to slip by without being noticed
are there any rules in breaking cars? licences and the type. not to mention the environmental issues. i remember breaking up the old sierra u used as donnor for some bits on my westy. with the best will in the world i still made a mess.
i guess if it was only a few types and you did it one at a time then you might be able to slip by without being noticed
A chap on here did buy a Z4, dismantled it and sold it off in bits. Not sure what % of the vehicle he managed to actually shift - there's a lot that will shift quickly but I guess when you get deeper into the chassis it'll get harder. Might be worth a search and some questions to him ? The only up-front issue might be where you get the cars from at a good enough price to make it worthwhile.
You'd need decent space to work and store, a proper man toolbox, and the time to get all the parts off, photographed, matched with part numbers and posted in various places. Then you'd need to be able to manage the enquiries / sale / dispatch process efficiently. No reason why it can't work, there is a market - especially as the cars get older. Would also help if you could be clear on what bits fit other BMWs - specifically the e46 (?) 3 series that the Z shares a chassis & components with.
You'd need decent space to work and store, a proper man toolbox, and the time to get all the parts off, photographed, matched with part numbers and posted in various places. Then you'd need to be able to manage the enquiries / sale / dispatch process efficiently. No reason why it can't work, there is a market - especially as the cars get older. Would also help if you could be clear on what bits fit other BMWs - specifically the e46 (?) 3 series that the Z shares a chassis & components with.
Found one of the other chap's threads - Foxy Stoat -
http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=54270
http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=54270
can't see their being much call for it. Parts are readily available from so many other places and it's not like a the Z4 is some kind of appreciating classic that people will search our parts for and try desperately to keep running. Early ones are getting to the point of cheapness where you would possibly just bin them if something big like the engine went (and in most cases that won't happen as the engines are pretty strong). Unless you were the kind of person that could fit the engine yourself and lets be honest, not many on here are. The same goes for E46s which share many parts.
Mods are also quite limited on these cars. People don't do much to M's and the the other engines being NA don't benefit hugely from bolt on mods. People will search out parts such as aero skirts, M parts, clear lights etc but what is the likely hood of being able to get a constant supply of those parts cheap enough to turn a profit? I think you would have more chance of making a small living out of making clear lights and doing the conversion on a "send me your old set i'll send a converted set" basis if you could find someone to make the clear hockey sticks for you.
Mods are also quite limited on these cars. People don't do much to M's and the the other engines being NA don't benefit hugely from bolt on mods. People will search out parts such as aero skirts, M parts, clear lights etc but what is the likely hood of being able to get a constant supply of those parts cheap enough to turn a profit? I think you would have more chance of making a small living out of making clear lights and doing the conversion on a "send me your old set i'll send a converted set" basis if you could find someone to make the clear hockey sticks for you.
NeilP said:
...but you'd have to be realistic about the pricing and work it all out before you bought them. Our 'friend' who tried to sell parts from his previously crashed, then fire damaged, MC found that out the hard way when he tried to break up his car and sell the bits for near-new / dealer prices. Got fairly comprehensively roasted on here and eBay as I recall.
I've done it with a nice spec E36 328 sport, the car was in brilliant condition (bar the rear drivers 1/4 which wrote it off), nice colour.
Bought it for £600 kept the engine and gear box for my race car, sold the rest for £1100. plus £100 for scrapping the shell.
The painful bit is the selling, I didn't take payment or deposit until i removed the parts incase I damage / broke the item when removing. The ammount of people that went quiet when it came to payment and didn't want parts anymore. The ammount of people that 'will be with you tomorrow to collect' that don't show plus the masses of will this fit my car questions. Its painful
If you can be arsed and have some space to store removed parts it'll be worth it. but be wear of the morons!
Side note I've got an advert running on gummtree atm saying 'E36 328 coupe shell, clean shell ideal for track project reshell etc'. I had a bloke wanting to come and have a look and take it for a spin etc to buy it. When i said its just a shell he said 'yea thats fine i'll come and take it out tomorrow!' the penny only dropped when I said it had no suspension, doors, wings, boot, interior, engine etc :lol:
Bought it for £600 kept the engine and gear box for my race car, sold the rest for £1100. plus £100 for scrapping the shell.
The painful bit is the selling, I didn't take payment or deposit until i removed the parts incase I damage / broke the item when removing. The ammount of people that went quiet when it came to payment and didn't want parts anymore. The ammount of people that 'will be with you tomorrow to collect' that don't show plus the masses of will this fit my car questions. Its painful
If you can be arsed and have some space to store removed parts it'll be worth it. but be wear of the morons!
Side note I've got an advert running on gummtree atm saying 'E36 328 coupe shell, clean shell ideal for track project reshell etc'. I had a bloke wanting to come and have a look and take it for a spin etc to buy it. When i said its just a shell he said 'yea thats fine i'll come and take it out tomorrow!' the penny only dropped when I said it had no suspension, doors, wings, boot, interior, engine etc :lol:
i was thinking about this last night as i have sort of been considering something similar. Basically i was looking for an engine upgrade for my westy. the ST170 focus engine would be an obvious choice so thought about buying one taking the engine and selling the bits. i did that for my donor car and made money but that was a 10 0 quid sierra. 
i think that if you were doing it as part of an upgrade then you may get away with it but i think you need to chose the car carefully and if you only did it one at a time then you would get away with the regs etc.
do you need to have some sort of permit to buy cat d cars?
i think that if you were doing it as part of an upgrade then you may get away with it but i think you need to chose the car carefully and if you only did it one at a time then you would get away with the regs etc.
do you need to have some sort of permit to buy cat d cars?
domsz4 said:i was thinking about this last night as i have sort of been considering something similar. Basically i was looking for an engine upgrade for my westy. the ST170 focus engine would be an obvious choice so thought about buying one taking the engine and selling the bits. i did that for my donor car and made money but that was a 10 0 quid sierra.
i think that if you were doing it as part of an upgrade then you may get away with it but i think you need to chose the car carefully and if you only did it one at a time then you would get away with the regs etc.
do you need to have some sort of permit to buy cat d cars?
Only need a permit for cat b. Cat c and d anyone can buy
Sim_Simma said:domsz4 said:i was thinking about this last night as i have sort of been considering something similar. Basically i was looking for an engine upgrade for my westy. the ST170 focus engine would be an obvious choice so thought about buying one taking the engine and selling the bits. i did that for my donor car and made money but that was a 10 0 quid sierra.
i think that if you were doing it as part of an upgrade then you may get away with it but i think you need to chose the car carefully and if you only did it one at a time then you would get away with the regs etc.
do you need to have some sort of permit to buy cat d cars?
Only need a permit for cat b. Cat c and d anyone can buy
well in that case if you had the space/ability to get the car to the space i don't see why he couldn't do this other than a cost reason. esp if it was done on the basis of 1 at a time and when they come up.
for example this one
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2005-54-BMW-Z4-3-0i-SE-Low-Mileage-Massive-Spec-Crash-Damaged-Salvage-Repair-/291007782486?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item43c16a5e56.
the engine etc could go to johnny E for his engine swap and the rest must fetch the money.