Copart / Salvage websites and the like...

[vit4]

http://www.copart.co.uk/c2/homeSearch.html?_eventI...

This makes me sad; am I right in thinking as a Cat B it can never be returned to the road?

[snuffle]

Should never, not can never.

[spikeyhead]

snowdude2910 said:

spikeyhead said:

If you repair most written off stiff properly then you'll end up being better off if you'd have jsut bought something clean.

Plenty of ways to repair things on the cheap to end up making a profit, yet another reason to stay away from these unless you really know what you're doing.

Not necesarily(sp?) The rangerover for example there is no particularly cheap bodge job way of repairing it so you can't not repair it properly but if you were prepared to do the donkey work yourself or had experience/practice in bodywork it would easily come in well under even the roughest used price. I dare say being just paint thrown over it it may be a case of not even needing to respray it. Glass could be sourced second hand and would be no different from brand new and the same for the interior. In order to write the car off the cost of the repair has to exceed 45% IIRC of the value of the car including courtesy cars etc. Insurers only use brand new parts so the interior alone would cost a fortune compared to a used item +labour to put it back in at god knows how much an hour even though anyone could fit an interior for free + a like for like courtesy car would cost a fortune even if it only takes a few weeks to repair.

The pics aren't perfect, but I can see at least siz panels that have been keyed. If it had just been a water based paint it would have fallen off from a pressure washing. Having said that, it's quite possible that most of it would polish out. I suspect that having it sat of flat tyres for a while won't have done those any good and who knows if it will start, let alone run?

It's probably a reasonable gamble, but do you feel lucky?

[redgriff500]

The way to make money from salvage is to specialize.

So you only buy say 3 series BMW or Range Rover etc.

That way you break some and repair some.

[LukeSi]

b0rk said:

I can sort of understand vandalism could be something to do with drivetrain as there is no "run and drive verification", however how about this 1 series 917 miles http://www.copart.co.uk/c2/homeSearch.html?_eventI... Stolen/Recovered absolutely immaculate. Can't understand why this car hasn't been returned to its owner.

Edited by b0rk on Sunday 15th April 20:45

WTF that 1er is better than some you would see in a dealer. If I had the money I would be seriously tempted. It isn't even run in yet.

[maniac0796]

redgriff500 said:

The way to make money from salvage is to specialize.

So you only buy say 3 series BMW or Range Rover etc.

That way you break some and repair some.

I guess the aim of the game then is to be able to make 2 cars out of 3.

[OldSkoolRS]

I used to do this years ago, mainly with what would now be considered Cat D cars: 8 year old Mk2 Cavaliers that had maybe a bent wing and a smashed headlight, but this was enough to write them off. Easy repairs as the part just bolted on and sometimes a panel the right colour would turn up, thus saving painting.

The trouble was that even if I thought I'd got the car cheap and had a good idea of what it would cost for the parts to repair, I kept getting caught out by the other things that were wrong once you'd got the car running and took it for an MOT. I'd have to replace camshafts, brakes, etc to get the car upto decent running condition, so by then there was little, if any profit left. Also, this was back before much of this stuff was recorded/registered, so if I'd done a good enough job then the damage wasn't detected and the car sold just like any other used car.

Fair enough the newer cars talked about here shouldn't have these issues, but if they've been stolen and recovered, then maybe they could have wrecked the clutch, brakes or suspension during any chase. You'll only know when you get to drive the car, which most salvage yards don't tend to let you do. Finally, once labelled a Cat C or D it can't be removed and will usually mean the car is worth less (and harder to sell) come sale time.

[dhariwab]

Much like the previous poster my Dad repaired a few ford escort, rover metro etc and used them as his daily drivers but there were so many hidden mechanical problems that come to the surface after all the bodywork has been done its not worth it, the car is never "right"

[Viper]

My old car went through Copart it was written off after being t-boned at a junction. It sold on the coparts website for 23K, i had a copy of a detailed engineers report and true repair costing that was above £60K in parts alone.

No mention of anything like that on the auction listing, it finally sold to a Polish company so they would of had no choice but to bodge it back together or strip it down for the parts

[AndrewW-G]

Viper said:

My old car went through Copart it was written off after being t-boned at a junction. It sold on the coparts website for 23K, i had a copy of a detailed engineers report and true repair costing that was above £60K in parts alone.

No mention of anything like that on the auction listing, it finally sold to a Polish company so they would of had no choice but to bodge it back together or strip it down for the parts

If I was a cynical person, I'd suggest that the parts to repair came from a stolen car of the same type . . . . . or they just swapped all the bits around and sent the stolen car back, with the crashed cars identity

[redgriff500]

Viper said:

My old car went through Copart it was written off after being t-boned at a junction. It sold on the coparts website for 23K, i had a copy of a detailed engineers report and true repair costing that was above £60K in parts alone.

"True repair cost" or what a sucker might pay if he bought all new parts from a stealership.

My car was in a minor bump - "repair cost" £2k - repaired perfectly well for £300.

Buy used parts, repair parts and pay £100 a day wages NOT £70/ hr.

[redgriff500]

maniac0796 said:

redgriff500 said:

The way to make money from salvage is to specialize.

So you only buy say 3 series BMW or Range Rover etc.

That way you break some and repair some.

I guess the aim of the game then is to be able to make 2 cars out of 3.

Yes.

It's not about cut and shut but simply transferring usable parts from one to another.

[Viper]

redgriff500 said:

"True repair cost" or what a sucker might pay if he bought all new parts from a stealership.

My car was in a minor bump - "repair cost" £2k - repaired perfectly well for £300.

Buy used parts, repair parts and pay £100 a day wages NOT £70/ hr.

yea, all the parts were priced new from a dealership thats the what the insurance worked on, quite a rare low mileage car so no other option and i wouldnt of wanted 2nd bits on it in anyway and be stuck with a repaired/devalued cat C

To give you an idea there was a dent in the chassis side rail, that was £18,000 just to buy a new chassis, they werent even thinking of repairing it

[Wafflesmk2]

b0rk said:

I can sort of understand vandalism could be something to do with drivetrain as there is no "run and drive verification", however how about this 1 series 917 miles http://www.copart.co.uk/c2/homeSearch.html?_eventI... Stolen/Recovered absolutely immaculate. Can't understand why this car hasn't been returned to its owner.

Edited by b0rk on Sunday 15th April 20:45

Im guessing the owner got paid out, and it was recovered after the payout. It then become property of the insurers, who sell it to try and claw something back.

[redgriff500]

Viper said:

redgriff500 said:

"True repair cost" or what a sucker might pay if he bought all new parts from a stealership.

My car was in a minor bump - "repair cost" £2k - repaired perfectly well for £300.

Buy used parts, repair parts and pay £100 a day wages NOT £70/ hr.

yea, all the parts were priced new from a dealership thats the what the insurance worked on, quite a rare low mileage car so no other option and i wouldnt of wanted 2nd bits on it in anyway and be stuck with a repaired/devalued cat C

To give you an idea there was a dent in the chassis side rail, that was £18,000 just to buy a new chassis, they werent even thinking of repairing it

Oh I'm not blaming you, if it's your car and the insurance co. are paying you want it as it was, not repaired.

But in many cases it's perfectly acceptable to repair a chassis - the reason the Cat C / D status is logged is to allow people to check that it has been repaired OK.

I owned a few when I was younger and TBH they all needing bits a pieces doing and I wouldn't recommend buying one unless you have a comprehensive set of repair pictures and can talk to the owner (at the time) or repairer.

[RDM]

OK, I'm intrigued.
Say you're looking for a snotter and not too worried about scratches, minor dents etc,
just something to take you to work.
Can you just make a bid for an un-recorded car that has the keys etc and if you win
just turn up in the hope that you can drive it away?.
How much are the total CoPart fees, I realise there are registration fees and a percentage of
cost to take into account.

[redgriff500]

RDM said:

OK, I'm intrigued.
Say you're looking for a snotter and not too worried about scratches, minor dents etc,
just something to take you to work.
Can you just make a bid for an un-recorded car that has the keys etc and if you win
just turn up in the hope that you can drive it away?.

Of course you can.

Many cars are stolen with keys, recovered after the insurance has paid out etc and have no real damage.

Sorry I can't remember the fees.

[OldSkoolRS]

RDM said:

OK, I'm intrigued.
Say you're looking for a snotter and not too worried about scratches, minor dents etc,
just something to take you to work.
Can you just make a bid for an un-recorded car that has the keys etc and if you win
just turn up in the hope that you can drive it away?.
How much are the total CoPart fees, I realise there are registration fees and a percentage of
cost to take into account.

Unlikely that you'll be able to drive it away as it probably won't have an MOT on it or even if it has they probably won't have the certificate for it.

Also It may need to have a VIC if it's a CAT C before it can be taxed and used on the road. Older cars can easily end up as CAT C with very minor damage, unrecorded cars wouldn't be CAT 'anything' in theory.

[spikeyhead]

OldSkoolRS said:

RDM said:

OK, I'm intrigued.
Say you're looking for a snotter and not too worried about scratches, minor dents etc,
just something to take you to work.
Can you just make a bid for an un-recorded car that has the keys etc and if you win
just turn up in the hope that you can drive it away?.
How much are the total CoPart fees, I realise there are registration fees and a percentage of
cost to take into account.

Unlikely that you'll be able to drive it away as it probably won't have an MOT on it or even if it has they probably won't have the certificate for it.

Also It may need to have a VIC if it's a CAT C before it can be taxed and used on the road. Older cars can easily end up as CAT C with very minor damage, unrecorded cars wouldn't be CAT 'anything' in theory.

I remember turning up to collect a Ka. Paid for it and stood there with trade plates in hand waiting for it to be brought to the entrance for me to take it away. It arrived, balanced on the forks of a large fork lift. Was an interesting drive back hoping that none of the brake pipes or anything else had been squidged.

[Welshwonder]

If you're not 100% sure you know what you're doing with salvage cars, then just don't bother. Yes, it's a good way of getting the car you want for a low initial cost, but if you're thinking of doing it to make money - or break even, then forget it.

I got into the game a few years ago, when prices for salvage were still sensible. I got myself a bargain and I'm still running it every day. Finding a proper bargain now is extremely difficult, especially if you're not in the trade like me.

The cost of paint alone these days is high, so unless you're very lucky and find same colour panels (which, sure as st, don't come up when you need them) you will almost certainly end up out of pocket.

Don't do it!