Teach me about Copart auctions... worthwhile, or for suckers?

I was watching a video on youtube and the auto-follow video after it was about a guy who buys exotics from Copart.  I think I might get hooked.  Any of you do it?

Copart sponsors many of the youtube channels, so beware a bit of bias first off. In my experince, there are deals to be had, but not many. Pretty much the highest prices of any auto auction I have used, but the big fish in the industry. Lots of selection and lots of eyes leads to less pricing variability, ala ebay. Most states require a licence of some sort, and a registered towing service. Add to that the auction fees and the good deals become average imho. Still, for an astute buyer, there are many deals to be had. Beware I hear many reports of shady listing, unlisted water damage, and the fact the cars are shoveled around like meat on forklifts means extra damage is very very common. But also a few stories of a fuse being replaced and driving away a 'totalled' car. There are more than a few yt videos that document the pitfalls and opprotunities. Seems most of the deals are in niche markets now. 

Some people wih more experince can chime in and correct me as its been quite a while. 

Copart is one big auction company, IAA (Insurance Auctions of America) is the other big company.  I live 20 minutes from an IAA location and more than 1 hr from a Copart location.  As such, I have only dealt with IAA.  In the past 1.5 years I have bought about 8 cars.

• 3 were sold
• 3 were used in my business
• 2 were kept as personal vehicles

These activities are detailed in thread like this with sub-links added. 

I do not buy exotics.  My specialty has been cars that have a value of less than $6k before accident.  The ones that I am attracted to have been "financially totaled" meaning the insurance co would rather just pay off the customer rather than spend on the repair.  This has netted me running cars with little to no damage needing little to no repair if you are willing to live with a bump/bruise/dent.  

Ford Focus

F250 Super Duty

My two main pieces of advice are:

• Understand the FEES
• See/Inspect the cars before bidding (unless you have a very strong threshold for "gambling")

As for buying exotics I expect this also means buying expensive cars. 

Do the videos explain that the cars must be paid in full with wire transfer or certified bank check in 2 business days (or additional fees).  Can you come up with $20k or more, in cash, in 2 days?  I can't. I buy $500 to $2,000 cars. 

Were these guys buying exotics to part out or were they repairing the cars to put back on the road? 

If headed to back on the road, do you have a clear understanding of what your state requirements are for converting a car from Salvage Title to Rebuilt Title? 

Is the goal to buy cars for yourself, or for flips? I've been monitoring auctions in my area for the last couple of months. To me, I usually see a couple of decent flips per auction, but they don't always sell for a price that leaves much room for profit after fees are considered. But that doesn't mean they would be a bad deal for a personal vehicle.

STM317 said:

Is the goal to buy cars for yourself, or for flips? I've been monitoring auctions in my area for the last couple of months. To me, I usually see a couple of decent flips per auction, but they don't always sell for a price that leaves much room for profit after fees are considered. But that doesn't mean they would be a bad deal for a personal vehicle.

I actually hadn't thought that far ahead.  I got as far as "cheap cars," I started salivating, and I posted here.

I'm not really a flipper.  I do go through cars pretty quickly because I get bored with them.  I would say I'm kinda halfway between the two.  I buy cars for me, but I buy bargains that I know I can sell for at least what I paid or not lose an appreciable amount.

I wouldn't buy exotics.  It's just not in my wheelhouse.  The only exotics I have ever considered were classics that are so clapped out that I wouldn't feel guilty replacing the unobtanium running gear with something else.  The only "exotic" I would consider is a 1st-gen NSX, but even that is outside my budget.

I'm more of a jaguar/corvette/mercedes kind of person.  Some of you might recall my wishes for an XJR this past year.  I never found one that really fit the bill so I decided to put the money I would spend on that to start tearing into Duke's old 67 LeMans and give it the attention it deserves.

I'm thinking about future car purchases.  If I can find a salvage Z06, XJR, or something that has some panache without being a money pit, it might be something to consider some day.  I did look at some cars on Copart that were valued around $5000, but the issue is a lot of those cars require a larger amount of damage to be scrapped given the cheapness of parts.  Sideswiped Camry?  Buy four panels and paint it.  Hit a curb with a depreciated S500 and it's totalled, but can be repaired at home for $1000 at LKQ

I'm just kinda thinking ahead in case I come across something cool.

When I was big into Corvettes, I looked at a few auction cars to buy and flip just like I did with Eclipses 5 years prior.  There was no money to be made except on a grand scale.  C5s as parts were not worth a ton, the hotrod Z06 had common body and interior to the plebeian automatic coupes with notably few exceptions.  Buying a heavily modified one from auction would have been nice, but most of them just had an exhaust, intake and some ugly wheels with one or two of them bent.

Turns out a complete, running, clean title non-Z06 was only a few K more than the same car after it was wrapped around a guardrail.  

Curtis said:

If I can find a salvage Z06, XJR, or something that has some panache without being a money pit, it might be something to consider some day.

I'm gonna start sending you all the XJR craigslist ads, they seem to come up somewhat often and they're never over 5k.

Bonus points if you find an X308 supercharged VDP or an X350 Super V8

They were basically the XJR supercharged motor/trans put in the VandenPlas body.

I have bought 2 with good results. But I have bid on quite a few and most get priced out of my comfort zone really fast.

The 2 that I won were stupid low bids with no hope of winning, but it does happen.

My buddy bought one for a parts car for his Fox Mustang/Terminator engine project that worked out well.

There are folks that are well set up to fix these cars, but they still are close to 50% that just end up getting parted out.

Bruce

Curtis said:

Bonus points if you find an X308 supercharged VDP or an X350 Super V8

They were basically the XJR supercharged motor/trans put in the VandenPlas body.

https://cnj.craigslist.org/cto/d/supercharged-rare-2003-jaguar/6764456297.html

I forget where you are exactly but that's within 2-3 hours right?

Actually bought a run and drive car from Copart yesterday:

I feel like this topic comes up once a week or so. There are some pretty good discussions if you search 'Copart'

RedGT said:

Curtis said:

Bonus points if you find an X308 supercharged VDP or an X350 Super V8

They were basically the XJR supercharged motor/trans put in the VandenPlas body.

https://cnj.craigslist.org/cto/d/supercharged-rare-2003-jaguar/6764456297.html

 

I forget where you are exactly but that's within 2-3 hours right?

Thank GOD the listing was deleted.  I might have bought it.

Good news, it was renewed/reposted!  :p

https://allentown.craigslist.org/cto/d/rare-supercharged-2003-jaguar/6771910093.html

Seems legitimate, i think it's just some guy attempting to relist for more views in a bunch of areas, lot of people think that is how craigslist works.  

so what's the deal with IAA and "auction not assigned" ?

bluej said:

so what's the deal with IAA and "auction not assigned" ?

The car is on the IAA property but it has not yet been determined what week it will sell.  I suspect that this waiting has to do with paperwork being finished or maybe lawsuits being finalized. 

When I pay for a IAA car, I get the title to the car the very day I pay for it.  This means IAA has all titles in the office for the cars being sold that week.  I figure there are probably delays that have to deal with getting the loan paid off so State Farm/Geico/Progressive can then fully own the car and fully have the right to sell it.  

If you look at the time stamp on the IAA pictures for cars selling any week, at my location those pictures are usually 3-4 weeks old.  I have seen some be as much as 6 months old.  This means that most cars sit on their lot for 3-4 weeks before the are then in their actual week of selling.  

Real examples in my current watch list:

To be sold Dec 18th.  Picture Nov 30th

To be sold Dec 18th.  Picture April 25th.  

Buy it - what a great looking car with performance and good parts availability.