My worst wrecking yard experience ever:
I found a yard that had a '98 driveshaft that looked good. They had a "chat" so I asked if it was 62-1/4", large rear yoke, small front yoke. After 5 minutes he replied he had it. I Googled the place and it was 1-1/2 hour drive, one way, so I called and asked about shipping it. $50, so ok. They emailed me a credit card approval form that also required front & back photos of my drivers license. Seemed odd to me so I drove in today with my wife. Got there and he wanted me to pay for it before he took it off the truck. I said I wouldn't pay for it until I'd measured it. That's when things got weird. He said "I'm not going to pay my guy for an hour to take off something you're not going to buy, don't you see my position?". I said "I'm not going to pre-pay for a part that I'm not sure will fit, don't you see my position?" We went back & forth until he sat at his computer and said "That truck's been crushed" WTF? I said he told me he had the part last night; he'd made me wait 5 minutes while he "went out & measured it". I was pissed and wanted to unload on him but I've found it's best to always remain civil. I said "Well, it looks like you don't have what I need, thanks for nothing". Still at his computer, he said "I have a wrecked 2002, super cab ... yada yada". So I repeated my measurements and he wrote them down on an envelope. He went out to measure it, came back and said "62-1/4", large rear yoke & small front yoke". I said "It sounds like we have a deal but I still won't pay until I measure it myself". He said "I'll bring the truck over on a forklift and you can measure it before we take it off". I'm thinking a forklift sounds like bad news but said "ok". Then he tells me the wreck pushed the rear axle back & the driveshaft was separated but it was ok. I'm thinking what kind of wreck would push the rear axle back and separate the driveshaft? Now dubious, I said "Bring it over and I'll check it out". THEN, he opens a styrofoam box and says "First I'm going to eat lunch" WFT? It was 2pm. Now, I don't care when anyone eats lunch but you don't eat lunch in front of a customer who's waiting. I said "We'll go eat lunch too, be back in an hour" Him:"Good, I won't feel rushed". We went for lunch and came back an hour later. By now my wife was done with standing in the office so she parked the car in the shade & waited. Meanwhile, I waited 15 minutes in the office with 2 girls on the phone (zero calls came in) and no owner in sight. I asked if they knew where he was. No. Could they page him? No. So I finally told one of the girls "Well, I'm giving up. He tried to sell me a part he doesn't have; I don't trust this guy". I walked out. On the way to the car a Mexican ran up to me with a driveshaft in pieces. I took out my caliper and measured the front yoke, too big, he'd lied. I got in the car and we left. My wife said she saw the guy removing the shaft from the truck and it had been seriously rear-ended. Rear axle pushed back my ass. If the front yoke had been the right size, I probably would have bought a bent shaft. It looked good to me but, as I understand, an imperceptible bend is very bad news. I'd called the guy from my land line, fortunately, and when we got home there was a message on our machine from him: "I saw you about to drive away and sent my guy after you with the shaft. You left anyway. This is exactly why I don't....DELETED. In thinking back, our agreement was that he wouldn't remove the shaft from the truck until I'd measured it. So much for that. I was lucky to get away with a 4 hour drive and my wife was happy to get off the farm after the Covid lockdown. All in all, it was a nice outing. We ate lunch at a place my wife had pre-found on Google called "Shenanigans". I told her it sounded like a stripper joint but it was very nice.
So, thinking over this whole experience, this guy is either the slimiest crook ever or he's mentally off. Being a nice guy, I'll go with mental. It was too odd to be otherwise but my gut says crook. For the benefit of any Florida members (& others) the place is:
ACTION AUTO RECYCLING, LLC
2266 NW 42nd Ave
Okeechobee, FL 34972
Open Monday - Friday 8am to 5pm | EST
Phone: 863-763-2141
email: <
sales@teamactionauto.com>
My wife says they have a Facebook page but I'm not into that.
Rated: AVOID, 4 thumbs down, zero stars, toxic
I'd appreciate any recommendations on good, honest, reliable wrecking yards.