Cliff, they usually buy preestablished yards and then add/take what they see fit in/out of the equation. The one I worked at was the first Pull-A-Part and it was originally ____ City Auto Parts. I can't remember what it was called, but all they had were pre-80's cars as far as the eyes could see. there's still a few old hulks out in the woods behind it, but doubtful there's any good parts on em anymore. For about 6 months, they let about 4 or 5 select people in to pick what they wanted then crushed everything in the yard and bought new inventory til they opened. This is all what I have been told by the old timers in that area. Though the pre-existing yard was just an old school junkyard with no intention of metal recycling so alot of stuff was just hulls and rotten bits sitting around. I could describe how Pull-A-Parts operate as they all operate the same, but each one is different. Almost like a Dart to Dart comparison.