Outrun Carbon

“JUNK” Yard

—

by

Shaun Abrahamson
in

We really need to rename these. Fortunately there is already underway with Pick Your Part.

Lemons is interesting because of the tight financial constraint. And this aligns super well with reuse and recycling.

Quick estimate on these new parts, even if they’re not OEM are ~$1300. This shopping trip was $61 including the extra $15 paid to allow 90 day returns. So 21x difference used vs new, assuming the pressure tests hold up. What’s interesting is that for 2 of the parts, the likely difference is 10-20x for emissions!

Quick estimated impact thanks to Claude.ai

“Oil Cooler:

  • New: ~35-45 kg CO2e (Aluminum manufacturing ~25-30 kg, machining ~5-8 kg, transport ~5-7 kg)
  • Used: ~2-4 kg CO2e (Primarily from transportation and cleaning/refurbishment)

Coolant Reservoir:

  • New: ~15-20 kg CO2e (Plastic production ~10-12 kg, molding ~3-5 kg, transport ~2-3 kg)
  • Used: ~1-2 kg CO2e (Transport and cleaning)

Oil Filter Housing:

  • New: ~25-30 kg CO2e (Aluminum casting ~18-20 kg, machining ~4-6 kg, transport ~3-4 kg)
  • Used: ~1.5-3 kg CO2e (Transport and reconditioning)

Please note these are approximate estimates based on typical automotive part manufacturing processes and material weights.”