Good chance for a cheap 2015? Copart DCSB

I have been thinking for a long time about the advantages/ disadvantages of copart.

I saw this guy just now:

https://www.copart.com/lot/42291539



Looks pretty fixable- main damage is hail. I am actually not interested in buying a tacoma, since I already have one, but I would definitely get a 2nd runaround car (leaf/ 500e/ abarth/ gti/ mini) and thought this 2015 made a good conversation piece about copart.

Anybody bought off copart? Thoughts?

 

I can def chime in on this...

My first job was at a local car lot/used parts place. There is a reason why you can get these cheap, because you wont get as much money from a sale as a clean, clear title car would. The resale value on a car that was salvaged (like this one) is very VERY low, even if the damage was minimal. The previous salvage title will come up on carfax report, and your title (at least in Texas) will always be stamped (previous salvage-rebuilt). If you are ok with that, by all means do a very good inspection on the truck first, make sure that the damage is only cosmetic and bid away.

Another word of advice, not just because it looks clean, and easy to fix, it means it will. Some people are shady and will mask problems and just stuff a vehicle at an auction place. I learned that the hard way with a ford truck, that it looked to only have minor front end damage, and it ended up the frame being completely snapped.

 

Also, if u get into an accident & its another guys fault the insurance company won't pay shit for that hailed out truck. Its really hard justifying buying a hail/salvage anything. What a sweet project - but the hail!

 

Unseen damage is my fear with these things. Clearly there is a certain amount of risk involved with buying these sight unseen. Mostly, I just want to make a mad max electric car- find a fiat 500e with a ripped up bumper skin and build a tube bumper.

 

Looks like a good one depending on what you can actually buy it for. Is it local for you?

 

Nah, like I said in the first post- this one came up in a search for all hail damaged vehicles. I am actually not in the market for a tacoma since I already have a nice 06, but I thought somebody here might be interested. Currently the bid for it is 2k!

 

I would buy it and make a swamp buggy with airplane tires.

 

Make sure to factor in Copart fees and sales tax. This is the gotcha at Copart

I lost a Copart auction again yesterday. I'm kind of looking for a builder VW GTi, but when they start getting to within 30-40% of what a clean title one goes for it makes no sense. It seems that like the stock market stupid money is chasing everything. I watched a 15 year old Corolla go for $2k this morning and it didn't have a straight panel on it.

I think i'm just going to buy a GTi with a clean title private party

 

Sounds cool to me. Looks like all the fender trim and front end parts are in the bed in one of the pics too...

 

Airplane tires are smooth right?

 

It will go for way more than that when it actually hits the auction.

 

I think about 50% of real world resale value (including taxes and repair costs) is about where it would need to be. However, the newer the vehicle the more wiggle room I think it gives you. Take this tacoma for example. A 2015 DCSB with 80 thousand miles and a clean title might retail for $23k? So, this one has front end bits in the bed, assuming no frame damage and that it needs another thousand dollars or so to get on the road, there is a lot of wiggle room before you hit $12k invested. That would leave you driving a vehicle with hail damage, but I couldnt care less about that- I would drive it for years that way.

If a 2k VW gti needs one thousand in repairs and a used clean title one is 5-6k, thats a lot less wiggle room to deal with...

 

Im sure it will go for more, but I could see spending almost 10k on it and still coming out ahead.

 

You have to wonder why the prior owner is not fixing it

 

I bet fixing all the hail damage would be prohibitively expensive. Body work all over every panel on the truck? Plus repaint, plus front end stuff? What do they say totals a vehicle? 30% or so of it's total value?

 

Pilot here...depends on the tire, just like anything, but the most common tread you'll see is a handful of straight channels so water has someplace to displace. This tremendously helps prevent hydroplaning. There are some bush planes that have smooth tires, so who knows which type he was referring to!?

 

The bad part with most insurance companies you can get liability only insurance on a salvage title. So even if you spend let’s say 18k for a 25k truck, get it all fixed and it gets totaled a month later(and your at fault)you get zero. Even if your not at fault you will only get salvage value and if that happens to be 8k of your 18 you eat 10k.

 

Most insurance it’s 70-80% of value to total.

 

It looks like someone was in it well before it was put up. The front plastics for the wheels are super clean looking, compared to literally anything else in the engine bay. It looks like that front end was just put on, although it doesn't look bad from the terrible quality pics. I would imagine that the airbag(s) had to have deployed, but are put back now. Just looking at all of that, and it being "so close" to done, I would guess there has to be some serious damage hiding.... like look at the split from the windshield on the drivers A pillar.... I bet that cab is super twisted up. And if the cab is...

Edit: Unless that's just the windshield gasket. But even in that case... no way I would touch that truck. I'm guessing someone just shit hung a new windshield. Nothing is going to line up well in that cab.

 

I added up all the parts both used and new and it came out to over $1500 plus I figured another $1500 to paint them. I was also assuming the car had no other damage.

I'm sure someone will chime in how they know a guy who knows a guy that can't do parts and paint on the cheap, but I don't.

I'm sure there's deals to be had on Copart, but in my limited experience i'm not finding them.