When North Island was really an island

Dear Matt: Two quickies for you. (1) Why is North Island called an island? Last time I went through Geography 101, that whole side of the bay is a peninsula. (2) People always say that ultra-expensive stolen cars are most often sold for parts rather than whole, since they are worth more broken up and hocked piece by piece. If this notion is true, then why doesn’t somebody get a few friends to chip in, buy a luxury car for, say, $45,000, have its parts sold for $50,000, and then split the profits? — TSB, East S.D.

Or you can sink your 45 thou into a chain letter and get about the same return with less aggravation. At least that’s the opinion of the manager of one large (legit) North County wrecking yard. You’re confusing the selling price of a dealer’s replacement parts with the price of parts pulled off something up on blocks on your front lawn. F’rinstance, a fender for a ’94 Escort would cost $180 through the dealer, $22 from a wrecking yard.

If you’d planned to buy a ’97 vehicle, your investment will generate no income for at least three, four years, when people begin to need replacement parts. And most wrecking yards make their money on engine blocks, trannies...the big stuff. The used-parts dealer I talked to estimates that every item he sells has cost him $35, so he actually loses money on the small stuff. See, in order to go into the junker business, which is basically what you’re proposing, you need about $70,000 worth of start-up business and environmental permits and studies, plus the cost of bringing the site in compliance with EPA guidelines. Annual permits cost another $8000; liability insurance on the parts you sell runs about $30,000. By comparison, you can get a screwdriver (to pop ignitions), spark plugs (to shatter car windows), and maybe some hooded black sweats for almost nothing. Besides, if you can’t afford an attorney, one will be provided for you.

North Island facts: Called North Island since the mid-1500s, when it was an island, separated from South Island (Coronado) by Spanish Bight (bay and narrow swampy strip); 1846 Pio Pico-to-Pedro Carillo land grant calls the area “the Island or Peninsula in the Port of San Diego,” so they knew their geography too; 1940-44, the Navy, which owns North Island, fills in Spanish Bight, creating a single land mass and geographical confusion.