In 1992, a small village owner became the richest man in the village by owning a car.

Chapter 609 Refurbishing a Scrapped Car, Giving an Axe a Vehicle Too

After Yu Dawei brought the scrapped Land Cruiser to the equipment factory, Lao Zhu and others put down their work and rushed over to take a look.

"Where to put it?" The tow truck driver rolled down the window and looked at Yu Dawei, who was getting out of the SUV.

"Garage number three." Yu Dawei pointed to the third large garage on the south side, and as he spoke, he didn't forget to ask Lao Zhu, "There are no cars in garage number three right now, are there?"

"No, no, garages three, six, and seven are all empty." Old Zhu took off his cotton gloves, looked up at the wrecked Land Cruiser on the tow truck, and exclaimed in surprise, "Boss, you got this car back? This...this won't be easy to repair, will it?"

"Well, let's see if we can refurbish it. If not, we'll dismantle it and take it back to Fanfan Repair Shop as spare parts," Yu Dawei explained to Lao Zhu while directing the tow truck driver.

The tow truck driver is a regular employee of the traffic police brigade. He was acting on Captain Liu's instructions and left the car at garage number three after that.

He'll drive the car away only when Boss Yu and his team take the scrapped car down there.

Old Zhu was a shrewd man, and since he was about the same age as the other person, he quickly took out a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes that he usually couldn't afford to smoke from his pocket and handed it to the other person. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he lit the cigarette for the other person before turning back to help the boss.

He knew that there were some things he couldn't let the boss do first; he had to take the initiative. This was a skill that Captain Ji had taught him when he was interning at Fanfan Repair Shop.

"Xiao Tang went to work, right?" Yu Dawei turned his head to look at Yao Jinfu.

Crane driver Tang Chao was essentially a stand-alone individual. He and flatbed truck driver Xiao Wang were in the same fleet, but Yao Jinfu was generally in charge of their operations.

The flatbed truck was a fourth-hand vehicle that Yu Dawei acquired and refurbished in 99. It was usually used by Yao Jinfu and Sun Shunli, who were in charge of vehicle maintenance, to tow trucks to various project sites. In addition, it would also tow trucks for other bosses to earn some extra money for their businesses.

Yesterday, the flatbed truck was towing the excavator driven by Yao Jinfu. Whenever the other party needed towing, they had to be available on call as long as there was no work available.

This time, Yu Dawei also wanted to call Xiao Wang to tow the scrapped car, but firstly, the tow truck was too big, with a total length of over eight meters, and secondly, Captain Liu was kindly offering to help, so Yu Dawei didn't want to refuse.

“Xiao Tang has three jobs today, so he probably won’t have time.” Yao Jinfu said, pointing outside. “I see a temporary excavator outside. Can we use it? If we can, I’ll drive it, and we can lift the scrapped car down right away.”

Upon hearing this, Yu Dawei turned his gaze to Old Zhu.

"No problem! That truck was repaired a couple of days ago, now all that's left is to fill it with diesel." Old Zhu slapped his thigh. "Great, let's fill it up with diesel and test this excavator."

After the group discussed and agreed on the plan, Yao Jinfu got into the Lingong excavator. Compared to imported excavators, domestic excavators are simpler and more convenient to operate.

Perhaps considering the needs of the locals in certain details, Yao Jinfu drove the excavator behind the trailer, and Yu Dawei and others used steel cables to tie the scrap car, and then hung the middle part of the steel cables on the grab hook.

Because the scrapped car was completely broken, Yu Dawei specifically told Fu Zi to be careful when lifting it up.

However, the whole process was uneventful. After the car landed, the tow truck driver outside had finished smoking and said goodbye to a few people before leaving.

Before leaving, Yu Dawei took two Changbaishan cigarettes from the SUV and handed them to the driver. The traffic police brigade was not close to the equipment factory, and several people even went to the funeral home in between. The driver did not say a word of "no" in the middle.

That's already very good; two packs of cigarettes are just a token of my appreciation.

The driver was a straightforward person; he would accept whatever you offered. However, his attitude was better than before. Finally, he waved to everyone, turned the car around, and left the equipment factory area.

The remaining question is whether to refurbish or dismantle this scrapped Land Cruiser.

Although Lao Zhu's skills are not as good as Yu Dawei's, he is still considered Taozi's apprentice and Lao Ji's half-apprentice. In addition, he used to repair cars in a state-owned enterprise, so his skills are not far behind.

After much trial and error, the two finally concluded that this would maximize their profits and prevent them from losing any more money.

If it's to be refurbished, not only will all the interior furnishings need to be replaced, but the hardware, such as the car body, will also need to be repaired and corrected, and the radiator and front bumper will all need to be re-purchased and repaired.

However, it is a Land Cruiser after all. If this car is repaired, it's not a problem to sell it for a million or two without any conscience. This car is considered a top-of-the-line off-road vehicle. Once repaired, it can be used in all aspects.

After all, this thing has another name: Land Cruiser. Even a fallen camel is bigger than a horse. If it's scrapped and repaired, there will definitely be people who will buy it, especially in this era where everyone wants to own a car.

"Boss, I see the frame underneath is deformed, but it can still be used after stretching and repair. The only difficulty is probably the front body shell. From the windshield to the sunroof, everything is squeezed and deformed, which will be very troublesome to repair. The interior and center console are also damaged." After inspecting the car with Yu Dawei, Lao Zhu summarized and concluded, "If we want to refurbish and repair it, all kinds of parts will add up to at least 200,000 yuan."

Looking at the shattered car windows and the large hole that pierced the top of the car body, Yu Dawei nodded in deep agreement.

If all the original imported parts were replaced on this car, 200,000 would be a conservative estimate.

but……

"Old Zhu, how about a replacement?" Yu Dawei turned to look at Old Zhu, then walked to the hood and touched the engine. "Right now, the three main components of the car have some problems, but the repair costs are still relatively low compared to others. The body shell and interior center console might be a bit more difficult to fix."

"As for a replacement... unless we can find a car of similar model that we can modify, we won't feel safe driving it on the road after it's been modified." Old Zhu said, pointing to the large hole in the roof. "Boss, even though this car looks badly damaged, it's not impossible to repair it if we really want to."

"We can cut up the hole on top and the deformed car body, then repair it piece by piece, and even reinforce it with better iron sheets to make the whole car body more stable."

As he spoke, Old Zhu turned to Yu Dawei and grinned, "It all depends on whether you want to open it yourself or repair it and sell it."

Old Zhu had just noticed a hint of longing in Yu Dawei's eyes for the Land Cruiser, and guessed that the boss might be thinking of fixing it up for his own use.

If that's the case, then cost can't be a consideration. Safety is the most important thing first, and secondly, the interior that the previous owner used, such as the front and rear seats, steering wheel, center console, floor mats, etc., all of these have to be replaced.

Ideally, it should be an original import.

"To be honest, this thing costs over a million, but its crashworthiness is really terrible. The front end is basically smashed open," Old Zhu added, as a complaint about the car. Over a million for this? He certainly didn't think it was worth it.

“Okay, let’s disassemble it first and repair the three main components: engine, transmission, and chassis. Lao Zhu, you take the lead and do it. As for whether to sell it or use it myself, I’ll see if I can contact the overseas market.” Yu Dawei patted the scrapped Land Cruiser. “If we can find cheap parts, we’ll use imported ones; otherwise, we’ll use domestic alternatives and then refurbish and sell them at a low price.”

"Okay!" Old Zhu nodded. In any case, the car would definitely need to be repaired.

The three main components are not broken, and other parts can be repaired. Even the entire body shell of the Land Cruiser, which has been squeezed and deformed beyond recognition, can be restored to its original condition in the hands of these experienced mechanics. At least those laymen would definitely not be able to tell the difference.

After finishing his business here, Yu Dawei planned to contact a few friends that evening to see if they had any spare parts from Japan.

Yu Dawei has been driving his second uncle's SUV for a while now, so he should return it eventually.

Yu Dawei had also considered buying a new car, but nowadays, cars costing 200,000 to 300,000 yuan are not durable enough, and cars costing 500,000 to 600,000 yuan are a bit too expensive for him. In addition, there are no cars that are good enough for off-roading.

In fact, whether now or in the future, there are only a few brands of off-road vehicles that are somewhat competitive, and the price that can truly stand out is at least 800,000 to 900,000 yuan.

Yu Dawei doesn't want to spend the money right now. Firstly, this is the golden period for investment. After this period, market competition will become more intense and opportunities will become fewer and fewer.

Now that we have some funds, we should use them where they are needed to make money, rather than putting them into consumables.

In Yu Dawei's view, cars are the biggest consumables.

Secondly, Yu Dawei himself runs a repair shop and also does sedan and SUV restoration, so the cost-effectiveness of getting a used car is ridiculously high.

He could even build an awesome car by hand with his team, provided all the parts were available.

Buy a new car? There's really no need.

At least not at this time.

However, having never been to Japan and lacking its resources, obtaining reasonably priced parts from Japan wouldn't be easy.

"Axe, how do you and Shunli usually get to the construction site?" Yu Dawei suddenly asked on the way back to the gas station.

“We sometimes hitch a ride, in a van or something, sometimes we ride motorcycles. Sun Shunli bought a used motorcycle in Luhe last year, and Taozi from our company helped repair it. Then Old Sun brought the motorcycle to the oil city,” Yao Jinfu said.

"Oh, that red one in front of Dawei's repair shop, right?" Yu Dawei remembered that there was a motorcycle parked there occasionally on the east side of the repair shop.

“Yes, it’s his.” Yao Jinfu nodded.

Yu Dawei stopped talking and started stroking his chin. He had been with the axe for quite some time, and he would probably have many things to entrust to these two in the future. It would be really necessary to have a means of transportation.

We own a Fiat 126P, but my wife drives it quite well, so it doesn't seem suitable for these two men from Northeast China.

One is 1.85 meters tall, and the other is about 1.8 meters tall. It's really not a good situation for the two of them to squeeze into a small car.

“Shunli, did you pass the driving test that I asked you to take last time?” Yu Dawei suddenly remembered this and looked at Sun Shunli through the rearview mirror.

“I passed! It was that guy you introduced, brother-in-law. He was pretty easy to talk to.” Sun Shunli gripped the two seats in front of him with both hands. “Before the exam, I even gave the teacher there two packs of cigarettes. I passed on my first try.”

"Okay, as long as it passes." Yu Dawei nodded. In fact, with Shunli's current driving skills, he could pass without being offered a cigarette.

Next, Yu Dawei took out his phone and called Fanfan Repair Shop. He called Lao Ji to inquire about the types of cars that had been recently refurbished, including SUVs.

"There's a four-times Mitsubishi Pajero that was ordered yesterday, and there's also a 213 that's considered a third-hand vehicle here," Old Ji's voice came from the other end of the phone.

"How about that Pajero?" Yu Dawei asked again.

"Oh no! Boss, that car was damaged by the previous owners. We only got it back for less than 100,000 yuan. Just imagine how bad it was damaged! The key is that it's very difficult to repair. We can't even find replacement parts. I estimate that this car can only be driven for six or seven years after it's repaired, and that's about it."

“A Mitsubishi SUV would have been fine, how could it have turned out like this? It can’t be driving around in the mountains every day, can it?” Yu Dawei asked, puzzled.

"Oh! It really is. The last owner was a construction worker. When he drove it over, the windshield was cracked from all the pebbles." Old Ji said, then changed the subject, "Boss, why are you suddenly asking about the car?"

Yu Dawei glanced at Axe, who was driving: "Axe and Shunli are always on the go. I think they need a means of transportation. I was wondering if you have anything suitable for them. If not, I'm thinking of buying back the SUV I'm driving now."

"No need! Boss! Just let them drive this 213 from our factory! This car was recovered by the Ben Army during a field rescue. Only the front bumper and headlights are damaged, but everything else is fine! And it runs on diesel!"

Old Ji became more and more excited as he spoke on the other end of the phone: "These two always carry some diesel fuel with them when they go to construction sites. With this car, they won't have to worry about refueling at all!"

"If they really want it, I'll have the workers downstairs do a good renovation, give it a brighter color, add more headlights and stuff! I guarantee it'll be spotless!"

"Stop, stop, stop! Don't get excited. I'll have them drive. What are you getting so worked up about?" Yu Dawei leaned back in his seat, somewhat speechless.

"Hehe! The two bosses can drive cars now, so I'll be soon too." Old Ji smiled sheepishly.

Yu Dawei rolled his eyes at his phone, then turned to Fu Zi and Sun Shunli: "Can I make you two a 213?"

The 213 is the domestically produced Jeep Cherokee based on the Chrysler Cherokee model. Its appearance is more trendy than the 212, but it still inherits the characteristics of large interior space and durability.

(End of this chapter)