Car junkyards offer plenty to collectors

JAKARTA (JP): In the eyes of classic car collectors, junkyards along Jl. Raya Depok and Jl. Raya Lenteng Agung in South Jakarta are considered a heaven for finding older cars and spare parts for vehicles.

Interviewed recently by phone and at junkyards, customers from various backgrounds told The Jakarta Post that they were grateful for the locations.

A 50-year-old collector of old Mercedes Benz sedans, Ronaldi, said the junkyards helped him in his search for genuine Mercedes accessories.

"I can find items at the junkyards that are no longer available at (conventional) stores," he said.

Ronaldi said he could get items for the interior of his old Mercedes, such as some knobs for the dashboard and door trim, from a junkyard on Jl. Lenteng Agung.

A 25-year-old classic car collector, Jarot Iman Kusuma, said he got a carburetor, a bumper and some spare parts for his 1965 Mercedes Benz 220 and his 1964 Fiat 110.

"I recently bought a tire for my Fiat for Rp 80,000 (US$8.00) with 60 percent of the tread remaining," he said.

Besides looking for spare parts and accessories, people also frequent the dumps to buy classic cars which still work.

When the Post visited a junkyard on Jl. Raya Lenteng Agung, two men were bargaining for an old jeep.

An employee at the junkyard, Rozak, said the jeep was used by the military.

"That's why the jeep has no documents," Rozak told the customers.

The junkyard's owner, Ahmad Fauzi, said he also bought cars wrecked in accidents from the Jakarta Police Headquarters.

Customers also go to the junkyards to sell their cars or spare parts.

"I've come to sell my Morris, which was manufactured in 1953," songwriter Erwin F. Harahap said, adding that he was going to sell it for Rp 45 million.

Erwin said he preferred to sell the car to the junkyard because he could get rid of it immediately. If he were to put an advertisement in the classified ads, he would have to wait for prospective customers, he said.

Junkyard owners say their business is good business.

From scratch

Twenty-eight-year-old Ahmad Fauzi, who is a junior high school graduate from Madura, East Java, said he only had some spare parts to sell when he started business in 1992.

"I only had enough money to buy spare parts and pay for rent," Fauzi said.

Now, Fauzi has about 80 old cars.

"I earned at least Rp 1.5 million a month, but there was no ceiling to the limit I could make," Fauzi said.

Some employees at other junkyards said Fauzi was the most successful in the business, which is dominated by the Madurese.

Midi, 25, who once owned a junkyard before he sold it to a friend, said the junkyard business was profitable.

"In one month, I could earn from Rp 10 million to Rp 15 million," Midi said, adding that Fauzi should have earned much more than he did.

"You could get Rp 20 million in profit if you sold an old car (which was still working)," he added.

Midi, a high school graduate from Madura, said he only had two cars when he started business in 1996.

"Before I quit the business, I had almost a hundred cars," he said.

He said he lost the junkyard because he had to cover all his debts from his other business, selling used cars to customers in Surabaya and Bali.

"When the economic crisis hit (in 1997), many people who bought cars from me seemed to disappear. Therefore, I had to sell my junkyard," Midi said, adding that he lost more than Rp 400 million.

High price

Classic car collector Ronaldi said junkyard owners had become more aware of the value of items they were selling to collectors.

"They used to sell things cheap, but now they always open the bid with a high price," Ronaldi said.

Other customers said they had to take a strategic approach to get items at cheaper prices.

Ari Ananto Wibisono, 29, who is also a collector of classic cars, said customers should be able to bargain to get a lower price.

"You should not look like a collector when you go there, otherwise they'll charge you a high price," Ari said.

Ari said he always went to the junkyard trying to look like a mechanic by wearing a worn T-shirt and a pair of sandals.

Another collector, Widitya Prayudi, 23, said junkyard owners did not have a standard price for their trade.

"The price (of an item) depends on the sellers' mood," Widitya said.

Midi said the junkyard business was a prosperous one if well- managed.

"If somebody (who has professional qualifications) wanted to manage this type of business, I bet it would be more profitable," he said. (08)