The Atlanta-based chain not only lets customers walk out into itsyards

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Pull-A-Part has made such a neatnik impression since itsIndianapolis yard opened in May that Indiana Department ofEnvironmental Management filmed a video there last week to use intraining the more than 600 auto salvage operators across the state.
"It's an example of how we like to see folks manage their autosalvage yards," said Bruce Palin, an assistant IDEM commissioner.
IDEM likes how Pull-A-Part drains and recycles gas and other fluidsfrom each vehicle, removes mercury switches from older vehicles,and sticks a bar code on every car and van to track it, Palin said.After about three months in its yards, Pull-A-Part flattens everyvehicle and sells it for scrap.
Tidiness isn't the only offbeat idea Pull-A-Part brings to theold-line j-business.
The Atlanta-based chain not only lets customers walk out into itsyards -- something junkyard insurers typically frown on for safetyreasons -- but requires that customers remove the parts they wantwith their own tools. And Pull-A-Part charges one companywide pricefor every type of car part, regardless of age, condition or make.
The no-haggle pricing is posted on Pull-A-Part's Web site and attouchscreen computers at each of its yards. A rim-mounted tire, forinstance, sells for $11.48, no matter if it's a Goodyear orFirestone, brand new or well-worn, or off a compact or an SUV.
In the same way, all rearview mirrors go for $3.94, fenders cost$28.71, and mufflers are $9.46.
Pull-A-Part's growth has made it the second-largest self-serviceauto salvage chain in the country, Levetan says. The industry'stotal sales top $10 billion, according to the Automotive RecyclersAssociation.
Customers at Pull-A-Part's yard last week seemed to like theone-low-price approach, even as they were struck by the tidiness ofthe place. And they didn't seem to mind wrenching off, unscrewing,or otherwise disassembling the parts they need.
"It's worth it," said Bill Etherton, a part-time Indianapolismechanic, who stood by his tool box last week in a blazing middaysun, preparing to extract the transmission from a junked BuickRoadmaster.
"It's 45 or 50 dollars," Etherton said of the transmission's price."For a man who doesn't have a lot of money, that's a big savings."
Jamie McClure said she likes the cleanliness of the 20-acre yardand Pull-A-Part's computerized list showing where each of the 2,100junked vehicles can be found. She was scrubbing her hands afterremoving a radio and a tail light to use in cars her brother isrepairing.
"I've been to several different junkyards, and they are just not asclean," she said. Nor is the male-female ratio quite the same."There are actually women here," she said of Pull-A-Part's yard.
Built atop a filled-in borrow pit along I-70 on the Eastside,Pull-A-Part's Indianapolis yard has taken away business fromestablished competitors.
"It's kind of really hurt us," said Dennis Whisler, co-owner ofImperial Auto Parts, 1130 E. 25th St. The arrival of Pull-A-Partand the weak economy have led to him stocking just 200 vehicles inhis lot now, he said, down from about 500 three years ago.
At Indy Auto Salvage, near Fountain Square, "Our business hasslowed down," partly because of Pull-A-Part's arrival, said ownerJimmie Collins. His purchase of junked cars has fallen from 100 aweek to about 25 since Pull-A-Part opened, he said.
Pull-A-Part's Indianapolis yard, which cost about $4 million tobuild, draws 200 to 400 customers on a weekday and close to 1,000on weekend days, said assistant manager Scott Summers.
Whisler thinks traditional salvage yards such as his can hold theirown against Pull-A-Part by offering newer car parts and catering tocustomers who don't like removing old parts themselves and wantsome assurance that the part they're buying works.
"I've had two or three people buy engines (from Pull-A-Part) . . .and none of them were any good. At least the ones I sell 'em, I'veheard run," he said.
Pull-A-Part, which offers part warranties for an extra fee, tendsto cater to owners of older cars because of the age of itsvehicles, most of which are at least eight years old. Among popularvehicles found in Pull-A-Part's Indianapolis yard, the newest modelyear is 1998 for the Chevy Cavalier and Dodge Caravan, 1994 for theHonda Accord and 1999 for the Ford Taurus.
Levetan said the weak economy has people hanging onto their cars,vans and SUVs longer, which spells more business for Pull-A-Part."There are more people who may not have thought to come to afacility like ours that may now," he said.
To attract them, Pull-A-Part uses advertising akin to auto shoppinup calendars of old. They proclaim Pull-A-Part "the best stripjoint in town" and picture female models posing seductively bycars.
"It's attention-getting," Levetan said. "You want an ad people aregoing to remember."
No trendy appeal to cleanliness or environmental friendliness here.