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Cars, damaged but cheap

Modelworks

Modelworks

Lifer
If you know someone who is good at repairing cars you might want to check out
<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="https://www.iaai-bid.com/hotpicksintro.aspx"><a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="https://www.iaai-bid.com/hotpicksintro.aspx"><a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="https://www.iaai-bid.com/hotpicksintro.aspx">https://www.iaai-bid.com/hotpicksintro.aspx</a></a></a>
They have auctions listed everywhere.

Its where they sell wrecked cars .
Anyone can register to buy.
You don't even have to go to the auctions, they have it setup to bid online, which is how I learned of the site.
My brother doesn't have high speed internet so he has been asking me to bid on cars for him online. The auctions are live and they have software that installs so you can see the cars, hear the auctioneer and bid in real time.

He just picked up a 2007 ford focus with 3900 miles for 1900.00
All thats wrong with the car is the front left corner, needs headlights, hood.
He got a 2006 ford focus for 900.00 . He's going to take parts from one to fix the other.
When finished he will have a 2007 ford focus with 3900 miles for about 4000.00

Good example of some of the stuff they have:
https://www.iaai-bid.com/vehic...5812019&itemid=6388847




Edit:
Man, I know where I 'm going for the next car.
Just watched a 2008 Focus go for 4,000. Only had 99 miles on it.
Must have been wrecked on a test drive or a really unlucky buyer 🙂
 
Looks like it costs $200/month to bid either as a public unlicensed person (can't bid at all auctions -- only those marked with a "P") or as a licensed person (can bid at all).
 
Originally posted by: cmv
Looks like it costs $200/month to bid either as a public unlicensed person (can't bid at all auctions -- only those marked with a "P") or as a licensed person (can bid at all).
Click to expand...

Its a one time $200 fee.
If the car is marked salvage you need to have a license, but there are still lots of good cars that the public can get.
http://home.iaai.com/buyerregi...tionfaq.aspx?linkid=pr

Edit:
I forgot the salvage label doesn't always mean you can't buy it as public.
You really should check each car.
 
You can't even get details on the cars (close up pics, detailed damage report, auction price, etc.) unless you pay the $200 either.
 
Originally posted by: Modelworks
Originally posted by: cmv
Looks like it costs $200/month to bid either as a public unlicensed person (can't bid at all auctions -- only those marked with a "P") or as a licensed person (can bid at all).
Click to expand...

Its a one time $200 fee.
If the car is marked salvage you need to have a license, but there are still lots of good cars that the public can get.
http://home.iaai.com/buyerregi...tionfaq.aspx?linkid=pr
Click to expand...

Is it really a one time fee? Their web site is poorly worded as it says this:

http://home.iaai.com/buyerregi...tionfaq.aspx?linkid=gr
"If you are uncertain about becoming a buyer with IAA, you can register as a Guest for $50. This is a recurring charge, billed monthly.
Registering either as a public buyer or licensed business costs $200. If your guest account is active, you can upgrade to a registered buyer for $150."

So the monthly only applies to the guest account but the $200 accounts are one time? Might be worth a closer look then. I've always been curious about these sites. Does your friend only buy local vehicles?
 
Originally posted by: cmv


So the monthly only applies to the guest account but the $200 accounts are one time? Might be worth a closer look then. I've always been curious about these sites. Does your friend only buy local vehicles?
Click to expand...

Yeah, my brother just paid the fee once, has had his account for about 3 years I think.
He doesn't have a dealer license.
He has started buying the cars and fixing them for extra income.
Sells about 1 a month now, just putting it in his front yard with for sale sign.
Mostly he bids on cars that aren't more than 200 miles away.

 
The prices seem great but for the public that doesn't know how to do major body/engine repair it doesn't seem very viable at all.

Is there any way to find out how much the repair for such a vehicle would cost if someone were to take it to a professional?
 
Originally posted by: Thorin78
ahahaha, that's hilarious, that's a fixer upper.
<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="https://www.iaai-bid.com/vehicledetails.aspx?auctionid=5835602&itemid=6032655">https://www.iaai-bid.com/ve......602&itemid=6032655</a>
Click to expand...

yeah , they got some really messed up cars .
You can see how bad a car wreck can be.

I can't understand why people buy ones like this though:
https://www.iaai-bid.com/vehic...5823521&itemid=6253928

But they do 🙂
 
there's good money in this business as a dealer if you have a solid mechanic to export. where status of the title makes no difference.
 
my dad's businsess partner used to buy cars at sites like these. but he had professional mechanics and a body shop.

a lot of them need a lot of work. i mean the link he posted is for a car that probably has a salvaged title and flood / water damage.

i suppose if you are going to just fix the car, and sell it and not tell anyone that it was flooded and probably will have mold and electrical problems and be completely dishonest then ok maybe it is a "hot" deal.

but yeah with the salvage titles, and requirement of possibly owning a body / paint shop to fix all that for most of the cars that are actually worthwhile its barely worth it.

 
Originally posted by: hans007

but yeah with the salvage titles, and requirement of possibly owning a body / paint shop to fix all that for most of the cars that are actually worthwhile its barely worth it.
Click to expand...

Not in all cases, salvage dosen't always mean total or destroyed. All it means is that it met a certain percentage of repair cost in relation to the book value of the car. At that point an attempt is made to cut losses and label the vehicle as "salvage only"

I'm sure that there are plenty of vehicles (hot rods and classics) that would meet salvage criteria with a fender bender. That's because the book value has no relation to the actual vehicle value.

Not to mention frames get replaced, pulled and straightened every day. An amount as small as a couple hundred bucks can make the difference between a salvage title and something you may buy never knowing how close to a salvage it was.

Last but not least most garages & body shops have down time where mechanics are being paid to sweep or organize their tools, when they could be working on a wreck at almost no cost to the owner other than parts and materials.
 
I think the salvage title is usually invoked by the insurance company on any car they have had to pay off. This could have been due to a collision, theft or a natural disaster (e.g flood).

Usually u cant get a comprehensive coverage on such cars as the insurance companies are not willing to payout twice on the same car.

I know someone that used to buy such cars, fix and export. Over time, with growing foreign interest, the profit margins for such cars have declined considerably, particularly if u r fixing them in the US where labor is a bit on the expensive side.

All in all, if u hav access to cheap repair services (DIY, family, friends etc) and don't need the comprehensive coverage, u can get a really good deal on some of these cars. I wld advise anyone interested to preferentially consider cars with only cosmetic damage.
 
What does it cost to ship these cars though? I am in the NYC area, is it advisable to keep searches in the local area? I would think ordering a car from portland would blow the "deal". I also live in an urban area (subways to work) and no garage space to work on a car, nor do I have a regular mechanic or anyone I trust for that. Probably not a good idea for me eh? Probably keep using Zipcar.

EDIT: Let me summarize my thoughts a little better. I have always figured that if you win an auction, that means some dealer/auto body/mechanic thought it got too expensive to turn a decent profit. They have much better and cheaper means then myself to fix up these cars. At this point my cost would probably be higher then buying a comparable car in good working condition... True? (for someone of my limitations noted above)
 
from what i remember my dad's friend used to say the "theft" ones were the best. the insurance companies would write them off, but they would later be found after the companies had paid out already. so usually nothing is wrong with them
 
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