Recent junkyard experience

[schardein]

So I went to the LKQ in St Louis yesterday.

 

There was a sign as you come in the door, stating that any parts sold must have the VIN number of the car it came from at the checkout.  Wish I took a picture as I believe it stated this was a new federal law.  The sign suggested taking a picture of the sticker that the yard places on each vehicle.

 

Has anyone heard of this?  I am curious what the purpose of the law is.

 

Also, they tried to add on warranties to each part I bought, at an additional cost, without telling me.  This is the second time I have seen this, it happened to me at a yard in Oklahoma, and I didn't catch it at the checkout.  While a warranty might make sense for some people, on some parts, it doesn't for me.  I mean, an extended warranty on a brake pedal??  I really find this a deceptive practice.

 

Just passing this along.  Curious if anyone else has experienced it, or can shed light on the new rule.

[jdog]

I've also had that warranty scam applied to my brackets, second time I Went there was a sign that said we add the warranty automatically, if you don't want it tell us before you check out.

Haven't heard anything about a Vin, but that would be really hard to keep track of loose parts

[87MJTIM]

The website doesn't mention having the VIN for the parts.

 

The website says "shooting video or photos while on LKQ property is strictly prohibited."  I guess there are exceptions to the rules.

 

That yard may be doing this for inventory control - to see which vehicles are getting parts pulled.  If a certain vehicle is not getting parts pulled, they can get it off the lot and get another there that can turn "lead into gold."

[schardein]

13 minutes ago, 87MJTIM said:

The website doesn't mention having the VIN for the parts.

 

The website says "shooting video or photos while on LKQ property is strictly prohibited."  I guess there are exceptions to the rules.

 

That yard may be doing this for inventory control - to see which vehicles are getting parts pulled.  If a certain vehicle is not getting parts pulled, they can get it off the lot and get another there that can turn "lead into gold."

That would make sense to an extent, but the sign mentioned a new law.

[Pete M]

that's new to me.   

[gogmorgo]

I would suspect inventory control as well. One of the yards I used to go to spray bombed their own inventory numbers on the side, and wanted you to keep track, although if you came back with a bunch of stuff from different vehicles they would just put it all under one number, unless it was a big part. 

[Jeep Driver]

8 hours ago, schardein said:

So I went to the LKQ in St Louis yesterday.

 

There was a sign as you come in the door, stating that any parts sold must have the VIN number of the car it came from at the checkout.  Wish I took a picture as I believe it stated this was a new federal law.  The sign suggested taking a picture of the sticker that the yard places on each vehicle.

 

Has anyone heard of this?  I am curious what the purpose of the law is.

 

Also, they tried to add on warranties to each part I bought, at an additional cost, without telling me.  This is the second time I have seen this, it happened to me at a yard in Oklahoma, and I didn't catch it at the checkout.  While a warranty might make sense for some people, on some parts, it doesn't for me.  I mean, an extended warranty on a brake pedal??  I really find this a deceptive practice.

 

Just passing this along.  Curious if anyone else has experienced it, or can shed light on the new rule.

Why didn't you inquire?

 

I'd like to see a pic of the sign myself. 

 

I found no new regulations or law, even looked for EPA and KY regulations. 

 

 

I just called LQK but they never answer their phones, of course. 

[scaleless]

I would expect they want it to better manage their inventory, but knew that without some sort of looming threat of consequences - even if only implied - their customers most likely wouldn't expend the effort. 

[PCO6]

Two of the ones that I go to use a paint pen to mark the inventory number of the vehicle on the parts you buy.   Some times I don't care but I often say "no" because it's not always easy to get off.   They do it so you can't bring any old part back for a refund.

[scguy]

It's not a law, it's a new LKQ inventory control tactic. From some of the FB groups I'm in, LKQ employees and customers are upset. It's ridiculous

 

[schardein]

18 hours ago, Jeep Driver said:

Why didn't you inquire?

I'd like to see a pic of the sign myself. 

I was in a hurry, and still turning the idea over in my head as I went into the yard.  I did an online search before posting this and didn't come up with anything.

 

17 hours ago, PCO6 said:

Two of the ones that I go to use a paint pen to mark the inventory number of the vehicle on the parts you buy.   Some times I don't care but I often say "no" because it's not always easy to get off.   They do it so you can't bring any old part back for a refund.

Yes, the paint marker annoys the heck out of me.  It's gotten to the point where I just tell them not to mark anything.  I had a younger guy get adamant about it, but the other guys there straightened him out when I offered to walk away.  

3 hours ago, scguy said:

It's not a law, it's a new LKQ inventory control tactic. From some of the FB groups I'm in, LKQ employees and customers are upset. It's ridiculous

 

Well good to know.  The guy at the counter and I have talked before, and he remembered me.  At one point he asked for the vin numbers, but we got sidetracked in our conversation and he never asked for them again before completing the sale.

 

I just looked back at the receipt from my previous trip, and see that they got me on the warranty scam.  So I have a warranty on a pair of wiper arms and a pulley.  Great.