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Several months ago, owner Tim Stockard moved to his current 4,200-square-foot-building from a smaller facility on McCormick Drive. The move gave him more space to dismantle wrecked cars and retrieve parts to sell to customers.

"We outgrew the building," Stockard said. "We're looking to expand on the current building."

Currently offering automobile parts from all Chevy and GMC vehicles, the owner is looking to add another section of the building to have 10,000 square feet of space by spring of 2008. In doing so, Stockard will begin to offer Ford products and parts.

Calling it an indoor salvage yard, he has been in business for 2 1/2 years. The process is a simple one. He purchases wrecked or distressed vehicles and one by one dismantles them, puts the parts in inventory, and recycles the rest of the vehicle at North Lapeer Recycling. Parts include engines, transmissions, glass, body panels, rims, tires, fenders, bumpers, axles, doors, hoods, and more. Wholesale and retail parts are available.

Cost to buy a vehicle depends on its condition.

"It really depends what's wrong with it," Stockard said. "If it has a blown motor or if it's been smashed, it'll be a couple hundred bucks."

He also purchases engines and transmissions separately as well.

One advantage he noted he has over traditional salvage yards is the opportunity to get parts in an instant, instead of one having to drive around a yard looking for their respective part.

If a part isn't on hand, Stockard can connect to a database and search for other salvage yards all around the United States for availability. Most parts can be shipped overnight, but some may take longer depending on how far away the order is shipped from.

Stockard called it "divine intervention" on how he got into the business. He was a contractor in the Macomb County area for 20 years and was looking for a new line of work. He found that niche of an indoor salvage yard.

"I can't emphasize enough how clean and neat and how functional the parts are," he said. "The vehicles have not been stored outdoors where there getting rusty, rained on or snowed on."

AAA Used Auto Parts, Inc. is located at 244 S. Court St. in Lapeer. They are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. They can be contacted at (810) 245-9222 and be seen on the Web at www.aaausedautoparts.net.

Jeff Hoard can be reached at (810) 664-0811, Ext. 8127 or jeff.hoard@lapeergroup.com