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When there isn't much going with craigslist auto searches.... I find myself looking at auto auction yards. Watched the Samcrac 911 restoration recently and I have an itch to buy a salvaged car. Please talk me out of it.
2002 C2 with 85k miles... current bid is $7,300 but hasn't met the reserve.
Minor fender bender. Listed as AUTO but you can clearly see this is a MANUAL https://www.copart.com/lot/23251958
2004 C2 with 14k miles... current bid is $4,150 but hasn't met reserve
Car looks brand freaking new inside.... needs fender, fender liner, passenger headlight, rear bumper and possibly tail lights https://www.copart.com/lot/29253959
Be very careful with these cars with salvage titles. You will end up paying a lot to repair them and monthly insurance costs will be much higher for a salvage 911. Also, resell value even after you repair it will be at least 30-40% less than one with a clean title.
IF, yu do buy a car with a SALVAGE or REBUILT title, it can be VERY hard to resell...BUT keep a well documented history and tons of photos before during and after...
and if it comes out looking super good, and you don't expect top dollar, it could be a very good deal if you keep it a few years....
I've had that itch a lot of times as well; there is a copart lot about 1.5 miles from my house and I've been there looking at motorcycles before. After watching videos like samcracc's and richrebuild's etc its mighty tempting to jump into one of these projects...
I decided against it for lots of practical reasons for the kind of car I was looking at buying (not porsche but daily for my wife) plus I have limited garage and space resources, time and she didn't like the kind of car I was looking at buying/fixing.
I've sold salvage cars before, they are a little more tricky to sell but not too bad. Just make sure you photo document everything along the way and stuff you repaired so you can show the potential buyer, seeing how minimal the damage is on one of these things puts a lot of minds at ease.
Ok. So you could get a 14,000 mile 3.6 M96 engine for $7500 or so? Dang! At that price point does resale even really matter?
I don't think the sales price is $7500.00, not to mention it's bent!
Has no one noticed the damage on the passenger side of the silver car? You'll quickly be upside down before you know it...
I don't think the sales price is $7500.00, not to mention it's bent!
Has no one noticed the damage on the passenger side of the silver car? You'll quickly be upside down before you know it...
Yeah, and this silver one is a resale that was sold at auction a couple of weeks ago....my guess is the reserve is much much higher so they either get their money back or even try to make some by flipping. It will be fun to watch however.
I don't think the sales price is $7500.00, not to mention it's bent!
Has no one noticed the damage on the passenger side of the silver car? You'll quickly be upside down before you know it...
I get that. Figuratively speaking ref. post #2. Also only talking about getting the roller for it’s engine.
If you can wrench it makes life a lot easier. I've rebuilt a car and it wasn't too bad sourcing used parts, wasn't perfect but it wasn't bad. I've had a few rebuilt titled cars and while some insurance companies wont insure them the ones I have had insure me cost no more to insure than a normal car.
Ok. So you could get a 14,000 mile 3.6 M96 engine for $7500 or so? Dang! At that price point does resale even really matter?
Low mileage on these engines is irrelevant and arguably could be a detriment. Since the old-school thinking was performing maintenance based on miles and not time, think about how few oil changes have been performed over the years and how long that engine has steeped in contaminated oil.
If someone buys it, they have to decide if they are prepared to put $10K or more into the engine if necessary, or if they will be the person trying to figure out whether to sell it as a roller or part it out after the engine "inexplicably" blows up at 16K miles.
Having bought a 996 with engine issues, the minimum I would do if I bought this car is send it through the Flat6 IMSB prequalification checklist performed by a competent shop--that doesn't guaranty the engine is not going to blow up, but at least it would catch some of the possible problems that could cause engine failure.
All of that said, a $5K coupe with 6MT with a usable engine core would be a nice starting point for a track car. Personally, I wouldn't pay $10K or more for any salvage non-turbo.
Yeah, and this silver one is a resale that was sold at auction a couple of weeks ago....my guess is the reserve is much much higher so they either get their money back or even try to make some by flipping. It will be fun to watch however.
I would be very leery of a non insurance company resale. I would have to lay eyes on it. It wouldn't surprise me to find that the engine and transmission were swapped out with worn out units from another car. The crooks run it back through the auction and you get stuck with the "as is" car, with no way to prove what they did.
I thought of this after watching a YouTube video where a YouTuber bought a Corvette at auction that ended up having an iron truck engine in it.
I would be very leery of a non insurance company resale. I would have to lay eyes on it. It wouldn't surprise me to find that the engine and transmission were swapped out with worn out units from another car. The crooks run it back through the auction and you get stuck with the "as is" car, with no way to prove what they did.
I thought of this after watching a YouTube video where a YouTuber bought a Corvette at auction that ended up having an iron truck engine in it.
Ditto that one. I've seen a bunch of that stuff on various youtube channels--there was a non-flood car with the audio amp that was from a flooded car, Teslas with batteries removed, etc. Plus the second buyer tidies stuff up so it looks better than it really is. Samcrac did at least one video on these tricks.
I have rebuilt several salvaged cars from the insurance auto auction (IAAI). ...1999 Mercedes SL600, 2005 Range Rover, 2003 BMW 330I, 2004 BMW 330I, and two 1999 Porsche Carrera 2s.
If you can do most of the work yourself, they can be a tremendous bargain and a fun project for you and your family. They are not a problem to insure or register. The only issue you will find is you can not finance them. I took hundreds of pictures of my rebuilds. The two Porsches that I rebuilt, I documented here. You will find this forum to be an invaluable tool for information and parts.
My biggest problem with resale was parting with them. I still own one of the Porsches and the Rover. My son kept one of the BMWs throughout college. When I sold the other salvaged cars, I fully disclosed the repairs that were necessary to rebuild the cars. I priced them attractively......about 10 to 20 percent less than a clear titled car. I never had a problem selling them.
03-13-2019, 09:38 AM
Today on Copart... I found
