How trustworthy are pick n pull cars?

I'm thinking about buying a Volvo or Honda from pick n pull and was wondering if a lot of people have come across problems with their car after they bought it from there. Of course I'll have it inspected first but I'd still like to know the chances of getting legitimate good car from there that I wouldn't have to do much to for awhile

Cars end up in scrapyards/pick and pulls because the last owner decided the car was not worth repairing. That could be due to it being wrecked by fire/flood/collision, having severe corrosion, being so worn-out that far too much needs replacing, or because changes to emissions regulations make them uneconomical to run.

Some cars end up at scrapyards as a result of government-subsidised scrappage schemes, and although those vehicles can be perfectly good those schemes are designed to take those cars off the roads permanently and scrapyards are not allowed to sell them to be put back on the road and if someone does somehow manage to buy a scrappage scheme car it can't legally be registered for road usage.

So your chances of finding a "trustworthy" car or one which is a "legitimate good car" which you "wouldn't have to do much to for a while" are somewhere between zilch and extremely unlikely, especially when you know so little about cars that you'd have to get it inspected first.

Even an expert can't inspect thoroughly at a scrapyard as environmental protection and fire prevention rules usually mean that cars sent to licensed vehicle dismantlers have the fuel tanks and sumps (oil pans) punctured, drained, and steam-cleaned, the shock absorbers also usually get punctured and drained, the coolants and brake fluid get drained, batteries removed and the wheels and tyres are removed. But an expert can still usually make an educated assessment of what needs doing and then pay a price which factors in the risks that the vehicle will still only be good for parting-out and scrapping. Scrapyards also are not set up to allow for test drives and the wrecks don't usually have keys.

You're buying a cheap car from a junkyard. Caveat emptor.

That's desperation, buying a frankenstein car from Pick N-Pull. It is absolutely "as-is".

How trustworthy is a car form a junkyard? Gosh, that's hard to tell

There's no standard for them. It will depend on the car and the yard.

Pick and Pull are salvage yards. Why would you want to buy a vehicle from them?

Impossible. Not gonna happen

Expect the Worst at a scrap yard. I wouldn't touch a European car or one with a known bad transmission.

I met a guy with a '78 Volvo, got it from 1st owner for $300 as he thought it needed rings. It was valve stem seals; replacing it in an inline 6 like the Volvo took 2 hours. Now, he has a fine wagon.

Also, saw in Craig's List an '06 Mazda 6 with 66K miles; only really needed new radiator; front end messed up BUT just cosmetics. $600.

Deals Exist.

I was going to buy an old Chevette with 4 speed, and a Fiero, but scrapper closed. Best way to buy is to rent one of those portable compression testers, pull the plugs, take the one with highest compression. If I got one of these, I was realistic, I would expect to have to completely rebuilt engine/carb. New clutch, all seals, all rubber.

U pull it sells PARTS, not running cars 95% of the time.