When it comes to your vehicle, it isn’t always necessary to purchase parts directly from the dealership. In fact, you can often obtain high-quality parts for your car from a reliable salvage yard just as easily. If it’s your first time buying used auto parts, you may have some questions as to the benefits of visiting the salvage yard—check out a few below. 

If your vehicle’s in need of a part replacement, here are four advantages of shopping at one of these facilities: 

• Availability: Have you called your local auto dealership about a part and been told it would be days or weeks before they’d be able to have it shipped? One of the leading benefits of shopping for used parts at the salvage yard is that there’s often no wait at all; you can almost always find the same aftermarket part you’re looking for in stock, making the repair process go much quicker. 
• Savings: Part replacement isn’t always inexpensive, but purchasing a used part from a reliable salvage yard can be much cheaper than purchasing a brand new part or sourcing a pre-owned, original equipment manufacturer (OEM) part. 
• Environmental Benefits: One often-overlooked benefit of sourcing used auto parts from a salvage yard has nothing to do with your vehicle, but it’s an important benefit nonetheless. By purchasing parts already in existence, you’re reducing the need to manufacture more, as well as lowering the amount of waste that will eventually wind up in one of the Earth’s many landfills. 
• Parts Out of Production: If you’re a classic car enthusiast, then finding that original part for your muscle car is likely pretty important to you. Parts no longer in production are often found in salvage yards, but locating such hidden gems can take a lot of ingenuity and a few visits to the junk heap. But isn’t putting those final touches on that classic beauty worth it?