German Parts Pillagers Roam the American Southwest, Sending Treasures Home For Future Car Museum

Quite a few older European cars are purchased in rust-free parts of the United States and then shipped back to the home continent, and this process tends to intensify when the Euro gets stronger versus the dollar. While that's going on, crews of European gearheads also roam the wrecking yards of the Southwest, filling shipping containers with parts to ship back home; I know of a trio of Swedes who come to Colorado every year and ship home tons of parts, but they've got nothing on this pair of Germans. These gentlemen fly to the United States four times each year, spending two or three weeks each trip, and send home cars and shipping containers packed with parts, all as part of a scheme to open up a car collection showcasing "cars from the road." They were kind enough to send me a bunch of photos of their most recent trip, so let's see what their enviable lifestyle looks like.

Murilee Martin
It all started when I photographed this 1978 Porsche 928 in a Northern California wrecking yard.

I first came into contact with the German Parts Pillagers when they ran across photos of a 1978 Porsche 928 I'd shot in a San Francisco Bay Area wrecking yard, back in 2009. They promptly tore this car apart, shipped most of the good stuff home, and emailed me about the experience.

Mercedes-Benz Heckflosse getting de-parted.

They re-established contact with me via the Home of the Murilee Martin Lifestyle Brand™ not long ago, and they'd been busy since I'd last heard from them. It appears that W110 and W114 Mercedes-Benzes are a favorite target. These cars are quite plentiful in United States junkyards but are mostly rusted-out heaps in their homeland. Here's a W110 getting picked cleaner than a turkey a week after Thanksgiving.

This W114 is going home to Deutschland.

They also buy entire cars. Here's a battered-but-rust-free W114 coupe that will no doubt bring tears to the eyes of Mercedes lovers back home.

Examples of the DKW-based Audi F103 are virtually nonexistent in Europe, but there's at least one in a California junkyard.

Yes, they've managed to scare up an

By Murilee Martin