Copart Adventures- Buying Your Dream Car For Less

"maristgrad" (maristgrad) 10/29/2013 at 12:38 • Filed to: Auction Cars

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What heck is Copart? How the hell did you pay $400 for a Cadillac Eldorado? How can you afford to buy a super car when you make $40k a year? Welcome to the wonderful (and nightmarish) world of Copart.

Hello fellow car lovers. Over the weekend I shared a few of my experiences from my favorite car auction website Copart.com. I received so many questions about the auction site I decided to put together a guide to assist people with buying great cars with the lowest possible risk. While I finish putting together this guide, here are a few projects from my Copart adventures.

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Welcome to my series about the world of insurance auction cars. Now you may be wondering "Why would I want to take a chance on a damaged car?" I'll show you why taking a gamble on an auction car pays off and how much fun you can have in the process. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

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This next Copart insurance auction car was some of the most fun I've had in a long time for $460. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

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What's the fastest you've ever sold a car? From time of purchase to time of sale, the fastest I've sold a car was 3 1/2 hours. Amazingly for me, the car was a sky blue 1995 Mazda 626 with manual transmission. A good car for a good price can be sold to anyone. Profit !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

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This was a car that brought in my first big profit to add to my super car kitty. When bidding on auction cars you always dream of getting hold of a high value car for a steal. This Lincoln LS was the first of many for me. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

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This beauty needs no introduction. But if you're a one on the scale of how much a Jalop loves cars - one being a person who has no f'ing idea what this car is - ten being a person willing to break up his family by hiding financial problems due to a car/s, its OK I'm a seven on that car scale and I'm here to help you. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

Feel free to shoot me any questions

Carl (@stuffcarlsays) > maristgrad 10/29/2013 at 13:06

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That was a quick way to squander 10 minutes of my day... now having the desire to bid on an early 90s Saab convertible that I have no room or disposable income for.

maristgrad > Carl (@stuffcarlsays) 10/29/2013 at 13:08

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Hah I hear you, that website is a time sucking black hole

Meatcoma > maristgrad 10/29/2013 at 14:06

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hmmmmmm..... I've been outbid twice.

http://www.copart.com/c2/homeSearch.…

maristgrad > Meatcoma 10/29/2013 at 14:23

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I would wait until the night before the live auction to put in a high bid or wait til the live auction and sniper in your bid towards the end if it isn't already above your budget. I personally prefer to put in my max bid the night before so competitors instantly get outbid by my max offer during the live auction. Competitors usually give up pretty early because they have no idea how high they need to go to beat you. Excellent choice in vehicle by the way, that thing is freaking sweet. Low miles too!

Meatcoma > maristgrad 10/29/2013 at 14:36

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Yea I've played the bid game before, I just wanted to own it for 7500 haha.

f86sabre > maristgrad 10/29/2013 at 14:39

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2005 Evo MR. $525. Doesn't look like all is right with the world, but not all is wrong either.

http://www.copart.com/c2/homeSearch.…

RW53104 > maristgrad 10/29/2013 at 14:56

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So do you recommend avoiding any damage categories? I would avoid flood damage like the plague, but hail damage appeals to me. I'm looking for a low-mile Subie on the cheap, and I could live with some dents for a bargain. Found one bidding around a grand, which, for a 2011 with 5k miles is a pipe dream.

I'm not looking to flip, but am actually considering finding a vehicle on that site for personal and long term use. Obviously there are risks involved. Based on your experience- any other advice?

Great write-ups, by the way!

Dogapult > maristgrad 10/29/2013 at 15:08

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I had come up with a new slogan for them. "Copart: Where your Engine Swap Dreams Come True"

maristgrad > RW53104 10/29/2013 at 15:30

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Thanks for the question. I would definitely avoid flood cars, cars that have "mechanical" listed as the primary or secondary damage and any donated cars. Donated cars always look like they may be a good deal, but they're donated for a reason (which is usually a slipping transmission or overheating engine lol)

I typically search for cars with a "Run and Drive" badge and no reserve (pure sale).

This cuts down the thousands of cars you're sifting through to working cars which can be won at auction. It's okay to bid on cars with reserves but I just dislike putting in all the work to beat out competition only to be denied by the seller because my bid didn't meet their reserve.

I would recommend paying a couple extra dollars for an inspection if the car cost over $1000, especially if you plan on keeping it. Inspections will save you from the nightmarish hell copart can turn into. I've been lucky, Copart took back the only car I've ever gotten from them with major issues because they failed to list the mechanical problems. Even though it was their fault, an inspection would've made it all avoidable. Also, when paying for a car - use a money order or cashiers check so if there's a problem, Copart can easily give you a refund.

HeelToe Do-See-Do > maristgrad 10/29/2013 at 15:33

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What is the title process like? How hard is it to get it titled and transferred?

maristgrad > HeelToe Do-See-Do 10/29/2013 at 15:42

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Great question. The titling process differs from state to state an can be tricky depending on where you live. I would check your local DMV for information on registering salvage cars etc. When you buy a car that runs from copart they will hand you either a salvage, reconstructed or clear title in your name. Its easy to register reconstructed and clear titles in many states. However the rules differ when it comes to salvage titles. In Oregon, after the attendant hands me the title I can take the car from Copart's facility straight to the DMV with a trip permit. From there the only requirements to get a reconstructed title are

The car passing emissions

The VIN numbers matching on all the panels

In Oregon, I can usually get legit plates and tags the same day as long as the car passes emissions. If I lived in the country I wouldn't even need to pass emissions.

However in Washington State its a different story. The car needs to be inspected by State Patrol before you're given a reconstructed title. So make sure to check local laws before splurging on salvage titled cars, or stick with reconstructed and clear titles to avoid the headache.

RW53104 > maristgrad 10/30/2013 at 20:10

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Great advice. I'm going to hold off on jumping into this for now, since I just don't have time to deal with any potential headache. I'm definitely keeping it in mind for the future, however. I'll definitely keep an eye out for your continuing "diary"!

taz94 > maristgrad 12/18/2014 at 02:03

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What would you say about getting a car from here as a project vehicle? I'm looking at a car currently with mechanical damage as the primary damage type, but it IS going to be a project..

Also, if the Ownership doc type reads: PA-CERT OF TITLE, does this mean the title is clean, or possibly not?

Lastly, I live in Wisconsin and would have the car inspected and delivered, and I want to make sure the car is as it looks in the provided pics when it arrives.. So my questions are; are the inspectors truthful, and is the moving of the vehicle on Copart property safe, or should I expect more damage when it arrives, from what the photos show, and the inspector reports?

Sebsmash > maristgrad 12/28/2014 at 22:09

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I've heard a lot of negative reviews of cop art. I'm a college student looking to get a cheap cheap cheap car to drive to get home once a month, about a 2 hour drive and there's a pretty car on copart that I'm looking at.

Once you win a car, what do you check for before you drive it off the lot? I've heard people have cars blow up ten miles down the road and I want to make sure that doesn't happen to me. Thanks

Ops > maristgrad 11/08/2015 at 22:49

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check autoexpert.us, they have more pics if a vehicle was being sold at auction. if you going to buy any from copart, check bidndrive.com. they have more info and can tell if this car a junk before you buy.

OctaneMotors > maristgrad 06/13/2016 at 20:00

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If you’re thinking about buying a vehicle from Copart for anything else than parts. Don’t. They lift the cars up and move them around the lot using a forklift. This not only damages the car’s doors and skirts but causes damage to the under carriage. I recently purchased a car that was damaged due to forklift but it couldn’t be seen on inspection unless I lay on a dirt and gravel floor in 100 degree heat in Phoenix. It not only dented the skirts but pushed in the trunk. Why would they forklift a running, driving, clean title vehicle? Don’t ever buy a running vehicle from Phoenix Copart. It will be damaged in some way from the forklift.

sebpl > maristgrad 05/11/2017 at 16:04

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Did you know that you can check final auction price on poctra.com? They hosts all Copart auctions from February 2017.