# What are the odds of finding a Alpine 7909 in a junk yard?



## Ultimateherts (Nov 13, 2006)

I have a customer I talk to frequently and he works for a company that does auto repairs/scrap cars. I told him about the Alpine 7909 and he had no idea about it. He said he would keep an eye out for me, but my question more or less deals with odds of finding one in any workable condition?


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## dallasneon (Nov 3, 2005)

It would be tough, but anything is possible.


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## impulse (Jul 5, 2014)

A couple of years ago I was doing a job next to someone's house and my co worker noticed some junk sitting around and on a car hood with other junk was 2 amps. One was called Tektronics or something like that...said Japan on it somewhere and the other was a huge U.S Amps, looked like ones I used to see advertised in Car Audio mags back in the day. He asked the guy if he could have them and he said sure.


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## Ultimateherts (Nov 13, 2006)

impulse said:


> A couple of years ago I was doing a job next to someone's house and my co worker noticed some junk sitting around and on a car hood with other junk was 2 amps. One was called Tektronics or something like that...said Japan on it somewhere and the other was a huge U.S Amps, looked like ones I used to see advertised in Car Audio mags back in the day. He asked the guy if he could have them and he said sure.


Yes I could definitely see that as a lot people my age left then at their parents house when moving. 

I could also see this happening with a lot of gear from the 80's too. At garage sales I could see this too as most people would consider it in the same category as tube tv's.


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## generalkorrd (Jan 10, 2009)

If you find a 7909 in a junkyard, you should immediately buy lottery tickets, or go to Vegas, as I imagine the odds would be about the same.


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## seafish (Aug 1, 2012)

Just curious how much a 7909 goes for these days??


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## Navy Chief (Jun 14, 2010)

I review Craigslist weekly for stuff like this. A couple of years ago I found a BNIB Alipne 5900 (first Alpine CD player) for $10, yes $10. I drove to the guy as fast as I could to get it. It smelled like the Marlboro man owned it but it was new including all the screws, manual and box, it even had the cd transport screw still installed. Needless to say it sold on eBay for $500 plus shipping to a guy in Australia restoring some 80s car. Good luck and happy hunting.


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## Ultimateherts (Nov 13, 2006)

seafish said:


> Just curious how much a 7909 goes for these days??


That's the thing. Each day that passes they become more valuable. Ever since it was ranked the best cd player of all time they have skyrocketed. You could expect to pay upwards of $1000+ for a semi-good condition one.


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## Brian_smith06 (Jan 31, 2008)

Anything is possible. My dad owns a tow lot and gets random stuff all the time. A lot of cars too. Has a decent mid 90's 7 series out there right now that I can't tell of anything wrong with it. A 2001 camaro that the only thing wrong is the fact that its a v6 and a purple charger that is wrecked and needs a front clip basically but hell he only has the cost of his time and fuel invested into each car. I want him to let me strip some and sell parts but he doesn't want to deal with a salvage title. He usually just waits until he has about 200 cars and starts selling to scrap. 

My first 2 cars were covered anytime something went wrong. He usually kept like 5 cars similar to use parts off of.


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

My brother in law works at a salvage yard and he finds all kinds of stuff. Nothing like a 7909, but several Linear Powers, US Amps, double Din DVD players, etc.

It's possible...but after you told your buddy how much they are worth, I would be surprised if he ever told you that one came through there or not


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## locotony (Feb 28, 2009)

Stranger things have happened, A buddy of mine used to prep cars for a used car lot and they striped anything aftermarket other than the HU if they did't have a stock one to use. He pulled all kinds of stuff usually stuff like a punch 45/75/100 or a good mid line HU, but the best haul was a car that had a Soundstream SA 244, D200II and a Nakamichi PA-304, along with and older Clarion Pro Audio HU, 2 soundstream ref 10's and audio control 4xs, had other speakers as well but they were pretty well shot. 

Also as said before some people have no idea what they have, I have had folks walk into my buddies shop with old school Zed built amps and bought them for 20-30 bucks then sold them for a few hundred all because they never heard of the brand.


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## CK1991 (Jul 13, 2013)

I found a Harman kardon ch161 in a station wagon once. For 15 bucks, that and a Kenwood mini amp followed me home. Pulled a decent amount of mid grade stuff, some of which I have sold, some I kept. Found a set of Infinity kappas once, but they were newer, and the crossovers were shot. Also got a set of klipsch $300 bookshelf s from a fiesta of all things. They were water damaged, and one crossover was shot, but the raw drivers were still good. passed on a lot of low end junk and cheap subs/ amps though. STL isn't exactly a high end audio market though...high end to most people here means Rockford amps, Infinity speakers, and giant cheap subs....most of the good stuff gets pulled prior to the cars getting set out anyways


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## cAsE sEnSiTiVe (Jun 24, 2008)

I would say the chances are very remote, but I managed to find a mint condition Threshold S/350e amp at a Goodwill store in Hollywood, Ca in the late 90's for $50. It was apparently donated by a recently widowed lady who had no idea of its worth. So it can happen....


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## JuiceMan88 (Jun 13, 2012)

Totally possible, also never count out simply stopping by random stereo shops and asking if they have anything laying around in back they might be looking to move out. I've found some real gems like that. Found a BNIB Clarion ADCS-1 for $700 once as well as some nice older Pioneer stuff.

I know of a store fairly close to me that up until last year had an entire BNIB Sony XES setup laying around in back. They didn't want to part with it until someone out $2500 in their face.... They loaded it up and took it home that day.

CL is also your friend. I found a very clean Pioneer M88 on there for $45 shipped about two years ago. This thing was physically mint in the box with everything. Ended up not reading CDs (even after a reset) but I was still pleased for the price. 

Most people on CL will ship if they've had the item for a while and not had any luck selling it. Picked up a Clarion 7770 on there as well from a guy out in Vegas that was mint and worked perfectly got it for $105 shipped.


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## 63flip (Oct 16, 2013)

JuiceMan88 said:


> CL is also your friend.


 You got that right. I've had many scores off CL. You might not find that 7909 but there are a lot of Old School gems to be found out there. Here's a couple I've had in the last year. 

PPI Art Series a600.2 black working w/original plugs 9 of 10 condition $30
Pair of Lanzar DC15/4 $70
Kicker zr240 w/caps and emblem + a s10c SoloBaric $50
PPI Sedona 200iqx that was mint for $25
Rockford Power 250m w/end caps, manual, and birth sheet $100

Those were some of the best deals right there. Most were guys my age that have had the stuff in the garage or closet for 10+ yrs and just wanted to get rid of it. You have to check the listings regularly for those kinds of finds because they don't last long.


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## JuiceMan88 (Jun 13, 2012)

^ wow awesome deal on that PPI Art!


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## 2010hummerguy (Oct 7, 2009)

generalkorrd said:


> If you find a 7909 in a junkyard, you should immediately buy lottery tickets, or go to Vegas, as I imagine the odds would be about the same.


x2, impossible find.


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## probillygun (Oct 10, 2013)

good idea, never thought of that...hope he finds you one


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## 2010hummerguy (Oct 7, 2009)

cAsE sEnSiTiVe said:


> I would say the chances are very remote, but I managed to find a mint condition Threshold S/350e amp at a Goodwill store in Hollywood, Ca in the late 90's for $50. It was apparently donated by a recently widowed lady who had no idea of its worth. So it can happen....


OH MY HOLY LORD how did I miss this post earlier? That thing is GORGEOUS, that is the Goodwill find of the century!!!


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## Roadbird (Jul 8, 2013)

I have three project cars. All Mid to late 80's. 
I often go to salvage yards, to look for parts and keep an eye out for electronics.

The reason it will be hard to find a 7909 is because at least in my area it is hard to find any salvage cars earlier than about 1993. 

Every third car used to be a car from the 80's up. They all disappeared with the "cash for clunkers" program.

You remember that? People who were deeply in debt at the start of a recession that is still ongoing were encouraged to scrap their working paid for vehicle and buy a new car [with more debt] Most of the "clunkers" were working vehicles. Never mind. They were destroyed! I think by running glass pellets through the engines or something like that.

So. Probably hard to find old car audio because there are no old cars.

Last thing good I found in a salvage yard was some fairly high end speakers out of a BMW.

Roadbird


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## fredridge (Jan 17, 2007)

right before the economy took a dump I was making pretty decent money buying and selling stuff on craigslist and ebay. 

I put work into it and earned my money, but it was decent money for a part time "job"


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