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I got a call from my local junkyard saying that an 08 TL was brought in the other day. Despite the horrible snow and sleet today, I still went to check the car out. The car is in pretty good condition (except the bumpers). According to the workers, the car was salvaged due to a bad motor and transmission. I wanted to grab the cup-holder because as we all know, they're prone to failure. BUT someone got to them before I could (what a shame, really). I was also looking to take the steering wheel + airbag because they were in new-like condition and retrofit it to my 05 TL, but I'm pretty sure it's illegal to buy used airbags even though it wasn't deployed. Don't even want to risk getting into (a lot of) trouble for something silly like that.
That being said, I was wondering if there's anything worth taking from the car? The headlights were in an okay condition. There were a decent amount of small scratches, but it looked like it could be buffed out. The fog lights were also in great condition, but I couldn't wrap my head around finding a way to take the wiring harness or if I could even buy just the wiring harness online. I would also have to retrofit it which, from what I hear on the forums, is a giant pain and very time consuming. The dashboard was in EXCELLENT condition, so I might go back some time this weekend and it'll hopefully still be there (apparently a bare dashboard would cost me roughly $40).
So.. what did I walk away with? The third brake-light which I unfortunately broke a clip on the cover (but not on the salvaged car. F me, right?) and the stupid clip that popped out after I hit ice and cracked my bumper (yea, that's me lol). Turns out it IS a bumper clip, but a slightly larger one. The splash guard was also in terrible condition (maybe even worse than mine)
TL;DR: A junked 08 TL came into my local junkyard. What's worth taking from it?
Here's the junked TL. The bumper looks fine in the picture but it's actually not fine lol. A closer look at the fog light after I took it out (pretty good condition if you ask me)
I got a call from my local junkyard saying that an 08 TL was brought in the other day. Despite the horrible snow and sleet today, I still went to check the car out. The car is in pretty good condition (except the bumpers). According to the workers, the car was salvaged due to a bad motor and transmission. I wanted to grab the cup-holder because as we all know, they're prone to failure. BUT someone got to them before I could (what a shame, really). I was also looking to take the steering wheel + airbag because they were in new-like condition and retrofit it to my 05 TL, but I'm pretty sure it's illegal to buy used airbags even though it wasn't deployed. Don't even want to risk getting into (a lot of) trouble for something silly like that.
That being said, I was wondering if there's anything worth taking from the car? The headlights were in an okay condition. There were a decent amount of small scratches, but it looked like it could be buffed out. The fog lights were also in great condition, but I couldn't wrap my head around finding a way to take the wiring harness or if I could even buy just the wiring harness online. I would also have to retrofit it which, from what I hear on the forums, is a giant pain and very time consuming. The dashboard was in EXCELLENT condition, so I might go back some time this weekend and it'll hopefully still be there (apparently a bare dashboard would cost me roughly $40).
So.. what did I walk away with? The third brake-light which I unfortunately broke a clip on the cover (but not on the salvaged car. F me, right?) and the stupid clip that popped out after I hit ice and cracked my bumper (yea, that's me lol). Turns out it IS a bumper clip, but a slightly larger one. The splash guard was also in terrible condition (maybe even worse than mine)
TL;DR: A junked 08 TL came into my local junkyard. What's worth taking from it?
If the car is a non-NAV version, I'd gladly send you $100 plus shipping if you pulled the central display and the compass unit and send them to me.
The only thing worth taking is the things you need.
If you dont need or want it, then it wouldn't be worth taking.
If you don't need the headlights, why even consider taking them??????
I always wanted to try my hand at customizing my headlights but feared that I'd mess up somewhere down the road and wouldn't have an extra set of headlights just in case. The headlights here would cost me around $50 for both while a set of OEM/OE headlights would be around $200? I was mainly asking because my car has been good to me for the most part, and I was just wondering if there are any small things that break that would be better to take from a salvaged car than buying it from eBay or the dealership haha
I took a look at it as well. It looked like the whole car bottomed out a couple of times. Super deep scratches and paint transfer here and there. I'm going back some time this week, I could take pictures if you'd like?
Haha I was really considering it, but I don't have the extra garage space to put the car unfortunately . It's rare to see a salvaged TL in my area, so I really wanted to buy it out and use the parts I need and sell whatever I don't lol
If the car is a non-NAV version, I'd gladly send you $100 plus shipping if you pulled the central display and the compass unit and send them to me.
If I remember correctly, it was a non-NAV version. Like I said above, I'm most likely going back this week to try and take the dash out. If it's still there, I can definitely take the central display and compass for you!
If I remember correctly, it was a non-NAV version. Like I said above, I'm most likely going back this week to try and take the dash out. If it's still there, I can definitely take the central display and compass for you!
The only thing worth taking is the things you need.
If you dont need or want it, then it wouldn't be worth taking.
If you don't need the headlights, why even consider taking them??????
The TL has issues with interior quality, but in terms of shit breaking or expecting to replace eventually.. not worth the effort.
Plus parts are so cheap.. I can't imagine it's worth the time pruning.
I would definitely grab the headlights. How much are they asking for them? Are 04-06 and 07-08 headlights interchangeable? I do need a set of headlights if they are fresh...
I agree with all of the above. It's probably not worth grabbing anything unless you need it. You'll end up keeping a stash of used car parts that will take you months, or even years to sell.
Trunk release (takes a few mins, can sell for $20)
Silver trims and random trims, folks are trying to hydro dip them these days
Amp, you can always have it redone with new caps and profit!
Dash if it isn't cracked
shift knob
tails/headlights
sidemarkers
ASPEC kit
The TL has issues with interior quality, but in terms of shit breaking or expecting to replace eventually.. not worth the effort.
Plus parts are so cheap.. I can't imagine it's worth the time pruning.
Originally Posted by wusty23jd
I agree with all of the above. It's probably not worth grabbing anything unless you need it. You'll end up keeping a stash of used car parts that will take you months, or even years to sell.
I agree, most of the parts have become super affordable and aren't really worth the effort, especially if I'm saving them for a day when I need them. I really enjoy taking the car apart, especially in areas that I haven't done before. It's great practice for when I actually have to lol. But that might be because it's a salvage car so I'm not AS careful as I would be if it were my TL
I would definitely grab the headlights. How much are they asking for them? Are 04-06 and 07-08 headlights interchangeable? I do need a set of headlights if they are fresh...
The last time I went with my friend, he bought a pair of taillights for his car and they charged by the inch. From my estimation, the pair might cost me between $40~$50? Which I think is a great deal. The headlights ARE interchangeable, but the biggest issue is that 07/08 headlights have DRL in place of where the fog lights would be in the 04-06. So you would have to take that into consideration if you were going to do a conversion
Trunk release (takes a few mins, can sell for $20)
Silver trims and random trims, folks are trying to hydro dip them these days
Amp, you can always have it redone with new caps and profit!
Dash if it isn't cracked
shift knob
tails/headlights
sidemarkers
ASPEC kit
I wanted to take the trims that surround the radio system. However, the last person who took the cup holder destroyed the trims. I really want to transfer the dash into my car because mine is badly cracked. But I have an 05 TL, while the salvage TL is an 08. I know the gauge cluster is different for the two so I'm not entirely sure if it'll fit properly.. I definitely wouldn't mind taking the other parts because they're not as bad as taking apart the dash lol. Thanks for the heads up
The bumpers looked really promising... from a distance lol. I was already telling myself I'd repaint it to match my car, but when I took a closer look, wayyyyy too much damage for me. Definitely not worth the time and effort to repair it lol
lol my neighbor has a few 2006-2008 5 series... like 3...for each of his family members...
like any car from those years, gotta put in work to make them roadworthy...
dude buys parts cars
at any one time; there's like six 5'series parked outside his house. in all sorts of conditions.
I went by yesterday, cuz I saw them working on the cars......and he has trees growing from the trunk, that's how long they sit!
lol my neighbor has a few 2006-2008 5 series... like 3...for each of his family members...
like any car from those years, gotta put in work to make them roadworthy...
dude buys parts cars
at any one time; there's like six 5'series parked outside his house. in all sorts of conditions.
I went by yesterday, cuz I saw them working on the cars......and he has trees growing from the trunk, that's how long they sit!
Ewww, E60s? Yuck. I could understand if he had a bunch of E39s; those are worthy of keeping on the road.
02-12-2019, 10:50 PM
. It's rare to see a salvaged TL in my area, so I really wanted to buy it out and use the parts I need and sell whatever I don't lol
