"Arrivederci" (arrividerci)
09/15/2016 at 14:02 • Filed to: None
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"Arrivederci" (arrividerci)
09/15/2016 at 14:02 • Filed to: None | 1
| 7 |
Probably a stupid question, but what’s the old saying? There’s no stupid questions, just stupid people? LOL.
Not necessarily stupid, but at least ignorant in this regard. We have a local Copart nearby, maybe 20 miles from my humble abode. Lots of junk from what I can tell, but interspersed among the junk is some pretty cool stuff that doesn’t look too far gone (at least in pictures).
What’s the process for buying a vehicle on Copart? Can it just be done as an individual? Mostly what I see on the site look to be auctions without bids. Each auction doesn’t have a start or end date. How/when is this determined?
I’ve only just registered, but thought a few Oppos who already use Copart could probably help me learn the ropes.
Needmoargarage
> Arrivederci
09/15/2016 at 14:10 |
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I’ve bought a number of cars through Copart. Depending on your state and the title status of a particular vehicle, you may or may not be able to bid. There are a massive amount of fees attached (as well as a big cost to get someone to bid for you) so the deals don’t end up being great. That being said, I’ve bought some great (and some absolutely terrible) cars through them. Usually not worth it unless you like taking risks.
jminer
> Arrivederci
09/15/2016 at 14:15 |
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Copart is going to vary a little depending on your state. As an individual in Missouri I can only buy clean titled vehicles.
By default you’re allowed to bid up to like $1000 last I checked. To increase thay you have to out down a deposit of 10% of your max bid (so a $200 deposit let’s you bid up to $2000).
You can also only bid on one vehicle at a time. Vehicles sell weekly on the sites specified auction time. By me that is Friday at 11am. The auction runs on multiple lanes (3 by me) until all cars are sold.
Fees are the killer part here. You’ll need to look at the fee schedule for specifics at what you’re looking for. There are flat fees, and a tiered fee based on vehicle purchase price. I bought an explorer for $1200 auction price and it cost me roughly $1700 by the time it got to my house with fees and towing.
On top of all that most cars have a reserve, meaning that the seller gets to look at the high bid and decide whether to sell you the car or not. There will frequently be a offer if the bid is lower than what the buyer wants.
There is some potential at copart, you just have to be careful and are probably better off on craigslist. A lot of cars are bought for parts or sold for export. There really aren’t any $200 cars at copart of you’ve got $3k you can get a decent deal, but the cars likely sat for a while and has no warranty at all.
Hope that helps.
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Arrivederci
> jminer
09/15/2016 at 14:28 |
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Thanks for the reply! You alluded to what I (and probably most individuals using Copart) was thinking - getting something really cheap, putting a bit of cash into it to fix it and then driving or selling it. I didn’t realize the fees were so steep - I’ll have to check out the fee schedule of my local Copart.
As far as the auctions go, do you need to go in person, or can you bid over the internet? If the vehicle is driveable with working lights, would you still have to get it towed? Thanks!
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Arrivederci
> Needmoargarage
09/15/2016 at 14:28 |
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Good to know - thanks for the reply!
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jminer
> Arrivederci
09/15/2016 at 14:37 |
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You don’t have to have it towed, but there is a fee for them dragging it out to the lot for you to drive or for your tow guy to pick up. The tow rates were reasonable last I used it.
Also the runs and drives doesn’t mean that. It simply means that when the car arrived on the lot it started and went into gear. A personal inspection is necessary, the battery is likely dead, tires flat, and probably has bad gas (atleast at out local carport lot).
I’ve only bought vehicles for parts through there. It’s easier and usually cheaper than going to a junk yard if you need a lot. They’ve been advertising to hobbyists and such a lot lately, but that’s honestly a tough sell economically for a project. Partly because you then get absolutely no history for a vehicle.
You actually cannot bid in person, only online.
BorkBorkBjork
> Arrivederci
09/15/2016 at 14:43 |
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http://oppositelock.kinja.com/anyone-ever-us…
The Stig's former college room mate
> Arrivederci
09/15/2016 at 14:51 |
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best used if you need a donor vehicle for a drivetrain swap. Most vehicles that end up there aren’t really intended to ever be on the road again. Except for BMWs. there’s a bunch of russians that show up to all the insurance auctions and they buy up all the totaled bimmers, cut and splice a few of them together until it resembles a whole car, then crate it up and ship it back to russia.
There is also Insurance Auto Auctions that serves the same purpose as Copart. They, too, have some vehicles available to the public.