The Vehicle Categories of a Salvage Yard

Did you know salvage yards assign categories to their vehicles? These categories are used to figure out which vehicles have usable parts.

Category A

Category A, for instance, means a vehicle has no usable parts. These are the vehicles which typically get melted down, sold as scrap metal or destroyed. Most times, they’ve burned to a crisp in a fire or have been through terrible flooding and insurance companies have written them off. They’re so “totaled” that they’re not worth much anymore.

Category B

How about Category B? These vehicles have been damaged such that they’re undrivable– but they still have some usable parts that could be re-sold. Typically, parts from Category B vehicles are less expensive than other categories, such as C, D and X.

Category C

If a vehicle has been damaged but is somewhat drivable and has many usable parts, it’s Category C. Interestingly, these vehicles are repairable but the money that would have to be spent to get them back-to-good just isn’t worth it… so they’re used for their parts, which can be quite affordable to people looking for used auto parts. There are a lot of Category C vehicles in salvage yards around the country– they’re quite common.

Category D

How about Category D? If a vehicle has light damage and could be repaired but it’s still not really worth it and it’s considered an “insurance write off,” then it ends up in Category D. These vehicles usually have a salvage title. This is another popular category.

Category X

Finally, there’s the most rare Category X… vehicles that end up in a salvage yard yet they have no visible damage and they’re still drivable. Why are they at a salvage yard, then? Usually it’s because they’ve been repossessed. Or they were stolen vehicles which never got claimed. Finding a Category X vehicle could be equated with finding a diamond in the rough.

Are you looking for used auto parts? All American Auto Salvage has plenty to choose from– please visit us at 192 Leesville Road in Rahway, New Jersey or call 732-574-1945 for more info. We’re a family owned company that has been around for more than three decades– we’re here to meet your needs!

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