Organ Transplant for cars...a fruitful day at a Defu junkyard

I have a 19 year old mercedes benz and in the age of rapid car switching my car is probably the equivalent of 60 years of human age! I have never found a good reason to buy a new car for myself in singapore so far - it is expensive and the depreciation is silly.

Even though I am still very happy with my old dame, some of its parts are a little worn out. At the last service "car version of medical check-up), a small pipe in the engine was found to be slowly leaking oil, it was fixed at no cost and settled a nagging concern about the car. However, there are other things that were beginning to cause some asthetic disatisfaction. The central console was sagging to the side, the right side mirror has a lever control that was broken, dust was beginning to creep into the meter set...all small issues but enough to prompt me to think if I should be considering another car.

Today, I decided to make a trip to the junkyard at Defu. This is a place recommended to me some time back but i have been resisting the visit as the thought a junkyard is not exactly inviting. As I am on leave, I decided that there was nothing to lose. On arrival, I asked if they sell mercedes 124-model parts and the lady told me to look for a man outside amidst all the scrap iron. I soon found a man, asked him in english but was met with a rude grunt. Decided to speak hokkien and this time I was met by a more collegial response. lesson #1, speak hokkien at junkyards. He told me that I was "very lucky". There was a Mercedes Masterpiece that was taken in the day before for scrapping and had very new parts. I was shown the car and he was right. All the parts, door boards, central console, side windows and even a solid wood steering wheel was much better than those that i have. I asked him if he would transfer those parts to my old dame mercedes and what he said was music to my ears, "you just pay for the parts, I install...no labour charge." I took almost everything because having checked the various parts from a dealer recently, the new parts cost some 4 to 8 times what I quoted. So, in no time, the 4 side door panels came out, the steering wheel too, followed by the console, the body moulding, the stainless steel masterpiece door moulding, the sunshades, the side mirror, the windows mechanism...

I then spent the whole day there watching them install painstakingly each individual parts to my car. With every piece, my 19 year old car became more attractive. By 530pm, the whole process was done, my car restored and the other car hollowed out. What I was most impressed is the extent to which old car parts may be reused. We are so used to buying things new that we may have developed a habit of being wasteful, throwing things out at the first sign that they are worn out. I think there is a market for used things, it just require a different midset to run it.

With the basics fixed, I will set off to put a new coat of paint on my car tomrrow and await the correct time to buy a new lease of life (COE) at the appropriate time next year.

Sounds a bit like "Organ Transplant" in healthcare!