"bwp240" (bwp240)
10/25/2014 at 20:58 • Filed to: None
0
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"bwp240" (bwp240)
10/25/2014 at 20:58 • Filed to: None | 0
| 9 |
and it filled my head with a whole bunch of terrible ideas.
After reading !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! about building a cheap LS motor, I learned 2 things.
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
1.) Engines are mounted really far back in Express vans - I mean damn...
and
2.) What are these insurance/auto auctions? I must investigate...
So after some Googling I found out about IAAI and Copart. Basically it is used car buying for the incredibly brave and mechanically talented. However, they have some very interesting vehicles on there. Of course, if I ever decided to buy from something like this I would only buy from lots that I could physically visit and inspect. There are many stories of people buying cars and having them blow up on their way home. These same people then blame Copart for selling them a lemon. Now, I don't think Copart is a perfect company (their fees seem insane), but they sell salvage and very old cars. I would expect it not to be perfect. Here are just a few interesting cars that I found*.
*searches filtered to Clean Title, no all over damage, no rollover, and no water/flood damage. However this does not guarantee that a car under normal wear would not blow a gasket. I also didn't go too far in depth since I have no capability or resources to buy one of these - so there are no in depth Carfaxes or anything like that.
1. 2004 Dodge Neon SRT-4
http://www.copart.com/c2/individualL…
The listing states that the loss was because of hail. Looking at some parts on the hood, it was hail the size of basketballs. Still though, 46,000 miles, manual, and a Neon that didn't completely suck. Definitely worth a look.
2. 2005 Dodge Viper SRT-10
http://www.copart.com/c2/individualL…
For those who are brave and want to go big, here is a Viper SRT-10. Current starting bid is $7,300 with a Buy It Now of $22,000. So after the fees and the extra 10k for a new quarter panel, you are looking at a respectable discount Viper. However, looking at the other pictures, the trunk looks misaligned. What could it be hiding? Are you brave enough?
3. 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air (<- listed title, It's actually a 210 - thanks for the correction)
Here is a "nice looking" Chevrolet Bel Air, honestly, I have no idea why it is there. But there has to be a reason.
4. 2006 BMW M3
!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
Here we have a BMW M3 convertible, looks good but has a salvage title (which is not necessarily a bad thing). Definitely needs a Carfax run on it to get the full details before plunging in.
5. 1995 Ferrari F50
Most people have a 0% chance of buying a 100% Ferrari F50, well for the members of Copart, they had the chance to buy 75% of a Ferrari F50. It is amazing what people will pay. The YouTube link under the preview video is of the actual auction itself...
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Those were just a couple of the cars I found. There are thousands more decent looking (note looking) projects on there. I don't think I would be buying from Copart (or IAAI, which had some interesting cars as well) unless I had a lot more mechanical knowledge of cars, did a lot more research, and had plenty of extra cash lying around.
Would you buy a car from IAAI or Copart? Would it be for a project, LeMons, winter beater, collection, or just a(nother) daily driver.
Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
> bwp240
10/25/2014 at 21:02 |
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Not a Belair, its a 210 Sedan
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bwp240
> Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
10/25/2014 at 21:08 |
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That makes sense, as I said, I didn't do too much research. Looks like somebody put a Bel Air dash (or just a logo) in the interior. They should probably change the listing though.
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Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
> bwp240
10/25/2014 at 21:15 |
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The dash is correct to the 210, but the badging is not. Tri Five Chevys are known unofficially as a Belair/Nomad. But really a Belair only has 2 doors and no B pillar. And The nomads only have 2 doors and are wagons with windows only for the 1956 and 1957 model years. Any other wagon is either a 4 door 210 wagon or a Sedan Delivery panel wagon. The sedans had either 2 doors or 4 doors with b pillars, and was either a 150 2 door sedan or a 210 2 door or 4 door sedan
BZiel
> bwp240
10/26/2014 at 12:58 |
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We utilize Copart all the time at our U.S. shops...and this month alone we have purchased five separate vehicle to strip for needed parts on existing projects.
The most common scenario that we have is a wrecked car requiring repair for a customer, and, instead of buying new/used parts piece by piece, it is sometimes cheaper to buy a entire salvaged vehicle that has the parts we need which are still intact. We use all the parts we need to make the repairs, then, we strip all remaining usable parts off the salvage vehicle and either re-sell them on car-part.com or hold them in inventory for future use. Once all is stripped of the salvage vehicle, we sell whats left as scrap metal.
Yes, their membership fees and transaction/delivery costs add up, so it's not really a great deal for a individual, but, for automotive restoration and repair businesses, it can be a great way to save/make money.
Words of advice: If you really want to try services like Copart, I strongly suggest dealing directly with the auction center nearest you, doing a personal visit to examine the cars before bidding (if possible), and then, making sure you don't get caught up in auction fever and overpaying. The majority of cars are listed through Copart for good reason - and 90%+ of the time it's because they're not worth the money to fix them.
Drakkon- Most Glorious and Upright Person of Genius
> bwp240
10/26/2014 at 21:24 |
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A lot of times someone donates a car for a tax write-off, the insurance auto auctions is the way the charity sells the car to claim the cash. Not every car is damaged.
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bwp240
> BZiel
10/27/2014 at 00:10 |
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I would expect that most of the clients are in the restoration industry.
I don't for-see myself dealing with Copart any time soon as I don't have the resources or knowledge to warrant purchasing anything from them. However, they do have some pretty tempting project cars. I can deal with some work depending on price and difficulty, but there is always more that meets the eye. I would only look at cars with clean titles and simpler damage which I expect would drive up the sale price (probably enough to negate any gain over Craigslist or similar). Of course I would try to stick to local lots, that way I could look at the car before I buy it. Just from watching some videos, it looks like you can go down and check out each vehicle and see if it runs and stuff. Also it shows the necessity of going because it looks like most of the people that get burned buy sight unseen, which isn't very smart of them.
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bwp240
> Drakkon- Most Glorious and Upright Person of Genius
10/27/2014 at 00:25 |
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True, but it begs the question of why they go through Copart instead of partnering with a dealer or through an auction house that doesn't mostly deal with salvage auctions.
Looking through some of the lots listed as normal wear or minor dents, most look pretty decent, but there are a few that I am not sure why they are labeled as such. They look a lot worse. I read a story where someone bought a car listed under normal wear and it had a blown gasket (of course he bought it sight unseen and tried to drive it home - both idiotic maneuvers).
There are many fun "looking" project cars on there, but before I would make any purchase I would pre-inspect the car(s). On that Viper listing, I didn't even notice the misaligned trunk until I was looking for a picture for the OP.
Just like a Craigslist car, or any used car for that matter, it is a gamble, and are you willing to risk it given the information.
Tohru
> bwp240
10/27/2014 at 04:46 |
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I bought a car from Copart in July. The TinyTohruTruck is a 1988 Dodge Ram 50 Base, with a 2.0L SOHC carbureted 4G63B and a 5-speed trans. I bought it with 86k miles on it, and with taxes, gate fees, and registration it was $1510. I bought it through the body shop my dad works with. We did not have a chance to inspect the vehicle in person before purchase.
^ How it looked when it came home.
It was listed as Run & Drive Certified, and a donation vehicle. It did run and drive, but not very well. It refused to idle and the exhaust from manifold-back was laying in the bed (along with a spare set of wheels that don't even fit it). An inspection of the vehicle found a 6" long section of the boxed frame was rusted (the outside face of the box is gone in that section), a hole through the RR wheel the size of a Galaxy S5, and a torn driver's seat.
The paperwork showed I was the second registered owner of the truck. It was bought new in December 1988 from Don Miller Dodge in Madison. The guy who bought it lived in Stoughton, a Madison suburb. When I looked him up, I found his obituary - he had died of heart disease in June 1996. The obit said he had retired from his job in 1988. Presumably the little red pseudo-import was his retirement gift to himself.
The paperwork showed it was signed over by his wife to a vehicle liquidation service based in Washington State, in exchange for $300, in June 2014. I bought it two weeks later. These liquidation places like to use Copart because it's sold as-is with no guarantee or warranty, and since it's usually salvage yard guys bidding on these they can usually get more money for them.
From the condition of the truck and how it wouldn't idle, I'm assuming it sat undriven from June 1996 to June 2014. Eight years, just sitting in a garage - the paint is far too nice for it to have sat outside, this is still single-stage paint they were using. The dash is almost perfect - no cracking anywhere on the plastic, just a couple stains.
^ How the TTT looks now, at 91k miles.
I'm working on getting something safe and boring for a winter car, something sacrificial. For that, I'm looking at Adessa because they disclose all the flaws before the auction.
This winter, the TTT is sitting it out in the garage. During that downtime, she's getting patched up and mended - new repair panels for the frame, new metal for the wheel tub, seat repaired, either a carb rebuild or a new rebuilt carb, and carpet cleaned.
Would I buy from Copart again? Maybe, but I'd try to go with Adessa first. We would've done that to start, but the body shop didn't have the paperwork together to bid there at the time.
Would I have bought the TTT if I had been able to do an inspection on it? Probably not. $1510 is a lot for a vehicle with fairly serious structural rust. But I would have missed out on a charming truck with a very interesting story to it.
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Drakkon- Most Glorious and Upright Person of Genius
> bwp240
10/27/2014 at 07:07 |
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charities would use copart instead of s dealer because they would rather be 100% sure it drills in one day than get the highest price.
Also, the damage coding is usually done by somebody who didn't actually look at the car. At our IAA it was a bunch of older women that looked like they worked at the DMV and Copart was hot added girls. They did not visit the cats to make sure the code matched.