Picture Car Glossary
Boneyard
What is a boneyard?
Updated June 2026 · Revolution Picture Cars
Also called car graveyard, or wreck yard.
A boneyard is an off-set storage lot or facility where picture cars particularly multiples, stunt cars, and damaged vehicles are staged when not actively needed on camera.
Productions with large vehicle counts or long schedules use boneyards to keep sets uncluttered while maintaining fast access to backup and specialty vehicles when the shooting schedule calls for them.
Example
After the crash sequence, three wrecked shells, two spare multiples, and a stripped stunt car go to the boneyard rather than back to owners. It is secured, insured storage, and it is billed for the whole run of the show.
Figures are illustrative, chosen to show the mechanics rather than to quote market rates.
Where you'll see it
An off-set lot carried in the budget as storage, tracked on the fleet inventory.
Common mistake
Treating the boneyard as free parking. It is insured, secured storage billed for the run of the show, and vehicles forgotten there keep costing money after they stop being useful.
Related questions
- What goes to a boneyard?
- Wrecked shells, spent stunt cars, spare multiples, and anything not currently needed on set but not yet released back to its owner.
- Who tracks vehicles in the boneyard?
- The coordinator or fleet manager, on the fleet inventory. Anything untracked there is a vehicle nobody remembers to return or stop paying for.
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