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@Kezo, apologies if I mix things up, but I think at some point you advised that you and your son bid on vehicles from places like copart, restore and sell them. Is this one down your line, please?
Thinking of an EV for one of mine to get to and from a Uni – wonder how much it can cost eventually and if this one is a good choice.
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Indeed we do!
There are many video’s to help understand how Copart works and how to protect yourself using third party sites such as auction hunter / car vertical along with Copart extra buyer protection. I stronly suggest you have a look on youtube and famillarise yourself from ist timers and experienced buyers, as I’d be here all day otherwise lol.
You will have to decide whether your going to look at the car prior to bidding or be bidding blind?
Whils’t its impossible to see all the damage untill the vehicl is stripped down, its possible to make good assumptions based on close scrutiny of the provided photo’s – make a list of the required parts you can see need replacing and shop for as many used parts on Ebay/breakers yards, preferably colour coded (especially plastic parts)
One of the more difficult aspects of buying a damaged recorded car, is valuing it agains’t non recorded cars for sale in the market. Whils’t this is less important if your keeping the car, there are sites like checkcarvalue that will give you a vehicle value. However, its good practice to establish an approximate total cost to buy and repair.
Generally nderstant that Copart saying the vehicle runs and moves only means its started and needs to go in gear and move forward a bit.
The car looks OK without heavy damage thats repairable at home if your able to do this!
You would need
Front bumber surround (grills can be resused)- Ebay item# 168203700840 or 136967119473
Headlight- Ebay item# 376715227142
DRL- Ebay item# 406668552277
wheelarch trim- Ebay item# 267596145854
What you can’t see that maybe needed
Crash bar damage/bumper reinforcement bolt on/off – Ebay item# 155694442226
Bumbep bracket reinforcer (looks repairable) Ebay item# 335613838106
Any damaged ancillaries common across Stellantis group or damage to wiring that needs repairing etc etc, I would add £500 to £1000 ontop to cover yourself.
You will have to apply for a V5 and note it only has one key.
@kezo, I will rephrase my question a bit 🙂
If I were to ask someone like you (I don’t know how far away you are or if you’re available at all) to buy this car for me, restore, paint (although it looks like there is nothing to paint) in a same orang-eee colour whatever should be paid, take it to the car valet etc., what should be the highest auction price to make it profitable for the people like yourself and cost no more than £4,500 to me?
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Apologies for briefness and spelling mistakes.Motability Skoda Enyaq SportLine 85x April 2024 (unhappy customer - Ombudsman pending)
Motability Mazda CX-60 PHEV July 2023 (unhappy customer - early termination on mechanical grounds)
Motability VW Touran Family Pack May 2019 (happy customer)Personally we wouldn’t work that way mate, as it would put us under pressure to deliver and on budget, not to mention I’m down south west. Then there’s the distance from Copart’s Sandy increasing delivery costs.
To give you an idea though based on the vehicle selling for betwen £2k and £3k with auction fees added:
At £2k with fees = £2564 / £2.5k with fees = £3094 / £3k with fees = £3666
Delivery to my postcode £450 inc VT
Parts most likely needed to fix £600 inc VAT
Sundries £100 inc VAT
£1150 (parts) + final sale price would give you a car worth around £8500-£9500 once repaied. Its not difficult for a beginner to replace these type of parts and doubt it would cost the earth if you know someone who’s mechanic/bodyshop. Be interesting what it does sell for!
The all-round fees they charge for sale and delivery is an extortion. I will monitor the sale indeed.
Thank you.
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Apologies for briefness and spelling mistakes.Motability Skoda Enyaq SportLine 85x April 2024 (unhappy customer - Ombudsman pending)
Motability Mazda CX-60 PHEV July 2023 (unhappy customer - early termination on mechanical grounds)
Motability VW Touran Family Pack May 2019 (happy customer)The Copart vehicles that are easy fixes, a few panels bumper bar etc, are usually bid too high for many vehicle repairers or body shops, because the amateurs push up the prices way too high.
I used to do this as a sidelines and even 30 years ago it was getting very difficult to buy a salvage vehicle which was profitable.
Its good to have a look and do your research.
But you would have to be extremely lucky to get a decent car at a good price.
Sometimes luck favours the bold, but more likely to get your fingers burned.
@kdwolf The Copart vehicles that are easy fixes, a few panels bumper bar etc, are usually bid too high for many vehicle repairers or body shops, because the amateurs push up the prices way too high. I used to do this as a sidelines and even 30 years ago it was getting very difficult to buy a salvage vehicle which was profitable. Its good to have a look and do your research. But you would have to be extremely lucky to get a decent car at a good price. Sometimes luck favours the bold, but more likely to get your fingers burned.
Agree. For me though if I go auction route, I am not planning to restore and sell making profit, but to save some money. If all-round this particular example will cost me £7,000 I still keep £3,000 – £4,000 in my pocket: same 2022 GT trim model with this mileage costs over £11,000 on autotrader.
It should do the job for the next three four years and then can be sold for parts or recycling.
N.B. reasons for GT spec: it has rear camera, sensors, adaptive crouse control and lane departure.
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Apologies for briefness and spelling mistakes.Motability Skoda Enyaq SportLine 85x April 2024 (unhappy customer - Ombudsman pending)
Motability Mazda CX-60 PHEV July 2023 (unhappy customer - early termination on mechanical grounds)
Motability VW Touran Family Pack May 2019 (happy customer)I will start by saying that I have zero first hand experience of this approach and zero mechanical knowledge but, like many millions of people, I have watched with interest a number of these rebuilds on YouTube. The most notable of course being Mat Armstrong, an East Midlands based mechanic, who has amassed 6.3m subscribers worldwide by buying crashed cars (mostly from Coparts) and rebuilding them. He only buys luxury and sports cars, but the principles are the same. If I was to sum up what I have learned from watching quite a few of these rebuilds, it is the following;
1) The damage that needs repairing is never restricted to just what you can see from photos, or even an on site inspection. Every rebuild has uncovered multiple, and often difficult (and expensive) to fix issues. This can often involve welding structural elements or having to source difficult to obtain parts.
2) The time that it takes to complete these rebuilds means that it would almost only ever be viable if you can do the vast majority of the work yourself (as @kezo has done). If you had to pay someone commercial rates to undertake the work I can’t see the sense in it. It’s also worth keeping in mind that due to the size of Mat Armstrong’s following, and his savvy use of YouTube as an income stream (he makes his money from YouTube, not the cars), he won’t pay anything like the rates that a normal punter would pay for using third parties (bodywork, paintwork, electrics etc) due to the publicity that these companies generate from his vast following (I suspect that much work is done free of charge as a result).
3) Mat Armstrong keeps most of the cars that he rebuilds, or ‘gives them away’ through raffles at £10 a ticket (raffles that generate an income per car of many times what they are worth), so you never really hear about resale value post rebuild. However, any car that has been written off or crash damaged, even when rebuilt, is never going to be worth the same as a car that hasn’t.
I’m sure that there are some great success stories out there from people who have managed to buy their dream car for a fraction of the price and, even after the cost of the rebuild, have still saved a chunk of money, but I strongly suspect that just as many people have had their fingers seriously burned by completely underestimating the level of damage. After all, cars are written off for a reason! In summary, I would only go down this route if I could do the work myself and did it as a hobby, not expecting to make any money from it then, if you do end up making money, it’s a bonus.
The all-round fees they charge for sale and delivery is an extortion. I will monitor the sale indeed. Thank you.
Where are you?
On the left of the page below the vehicle pictures, theres an option to do a delivery quote – what price is it giving you based on your postcode?
Copart have several locations, so check those closer to you first as its cheaper to get delivered/collect however, if the price is right, the budgets there to include extra delivery charges.
For people like you there are bargains to be had, patience, but don’t overbid. Once you have a maximum bid in mind place it before the auction starts, its cheaper and the auction will increment your bid bit by bit up to your maximum and if you don’t win smply move on, sometheing will come up, but be realistc.
Reputable dealers are less interested in insurance write offs, they take up space and are harder to sell. Like wise the electric car market s jittery at the moment so that keeps prices down, but you will always get some dickhead who will who will over pay, believing the auction valution.
Get to know the letter at the end of the windscreen number “x” means its direct from an insurer, so less likely to to be dishonest.
Youtube is a wash with repairs giving valuable insight to beginners, you can also learn alot from beginners tackling their first car and saving they have made doing so. I’m here if you need advice or parts/diagrams and be assured we never lost financially buying and selling. Also check ebay!
A good bit of research can be had at
Salvage Rebuilds UK YouTube channel.
These 2 guys, it used to be their job, but they make more money from the Youtube channel than actually working.
I will start by saying that I have zero first hand experience of this approach and zero mechanical knowledge but, like many millions of people, I have watched with interest a number of these rebuilds on YouTube. The most notable of course being Mat Armstrong, an East Midlands based mechanic, who has amassed 6.3m subscribers worldwide by buying crashed cars (mostly from Coparts) and rebuilding them. He only buys luxury and sports cars, but the principles are the same. If I was to sum up what I have learned from watching quite a few of these rebuilds, it is the following; 1) The damage that needs repairing is never restricted to just what you can see from photos, or even an on site inspection. Every rebuild has uncovered multiple, and often difficult (and expensive) to fix issues. This can often involve welding structural elements or having to source difficult to obtain parts. 2) The time that it takes to complete these rebuilds means that it would almost only ever be viable if you can do the vast majority of the work yourself (as @kezo has done). If you had to pay someone commercial rates to undertake the work I can’t see the sense in it. It’s also worth keeping in mind that due to the size of Mat Armstrong’s following, and his savvy use of YouTube as an income stream (he makes his money from YouTube, not the cars), he won’t pay anything like the rates that a normal punter would pay for using third parties (bodywork, paintwork, electrics etc) due to the publicity that these companies generate from his vast following (I suspect that much work is done free of charge as a result). 3) Mat Armstrong keeps most of the cars that he rebuilds, or ‘gives them away’ through raffles at £10 a ticket (raffles that generate an income per car of many times what they are worth), so you never really hear about resale value post rebuild. However, any car that has been written off or crash damaged, even when rebuilt, is never going to be worth the same as a car that hasn’t. I’m sure that there are some great success stories out there from people who have managed to buy their dream car for a fraction of the price and, even after the cost of the rebuild, have still saved a chunk of money, but I strongly suspect that just as many people have had their fingers seriously burned by completely underestimating the level of damage. After all, cars are written off for a reason! In summary, I would only go down this route if I could do the work myself and did it as a hobby, not expecting to make any money from it then, if you do end up making money, it’s a bonus.
Salvage Rebuilds UK is another such site however, they have the equipment, which is out of reach of your average backyard mechanic, who’d be a fool to tackle anything with structual damage and whilst these guys are more fun to watch than the BBC, they are the wrong people if your in the market wanting to have a go yourself as a beginner. Cars for Paul (ex mechanic) and beginners on their first or have done a few cars are by far the best to gain knowledge on the type of vehicles to tackle.
Were lucky, my son was head tech at Audi, went through evey department at Bentley and is now has is own business situated next to body repair shop owned by a friend he grew with and of course little old ElectroMechanical myself😂 with cat U,X and repossessions when we have time.
A good bit of research can be had at Salvage Rebuilds UK YouTube channel. These 2 guys, it used to be their job, but they make more money from the Youtube channel than actually working.
Your looking at the wrong people for backyard beginners!
A good bit of research can be had at Salvage Rebuilds UK YouTube channel. These 2 guys, it used to be their job, but they make more money from the Youtube channel than actually working.
Your looking at the wrong people for backyard beginners!
I disagree, they do show what equipment and skills you need to tackle a rebuild.
It should scare off the wannabe guys who want to have a go.
Still the same rules apply, you not gonna get a car cheap with an easy fix.
What would help if you got a good painter, as its paint cost that writes many cars off.
If I was to sum up what I have learned from watching quite a few of these rebuilds, it is the following; 1) The damage that needs repairing is never restricted to just what you can see from photos, or even an on site inspection. Every rebuild has uncovered multiple, and often difficult (and expensive) to fix issues. This can often involve welding structural elements or having to source difficult to obtain parts. 2) The time that it takes to complete these rebuilds means that it would almost only ever be viable if you can do the vast majority of the work yourself (as @kezo has done). If you had to pay someone commercial rates to undertake the work I can’t see the sense in it. It’s also worth keeping in mind that due to the size of Mat Armstrong’s following, and his savvy use of YouTube as an income stream (he makes his money from YouTube, not the cars), he won’t pay anything like the rates that a normal punter would pay for using third parties (bodywork, paintwork, electrics etc) due to the publicity that these companies generate from his vast following (I suspect that much work is done free of charge as a result). 3) Mat Armstrong keeps most of the cars that he rebuilds, or ‘gives them away’ through raffles at £10 a ticket (raffles that generate an income per car of many times what they are worth), so you never really hear about resale value post rebuild. However, any car that has been written off or crash damaged, even when rebuilt, is never going to be worth the same as a car that hasn’t. I’m sure that there are some great success stories out there from people who have managed to buy their dream car for a fraction of the price and, even after the cost of the rebuild, have still saved a chunk of money, but I strongly suspect that just as many people have had their fingers seriously burned by completely underestimating the level of damage. After all, cars are written off for a reason! In summary, I would only go down this route if I could do the work myself and did it as a hobby, not expecting to make any money from it then, if you do end up making money, it’s a bonus.
I agree in general, but would assume bids like this are very (not 100% of course) safe:
NissanSent from a mobile device.
Apologies for briefness and spelling mistakes.Motability Skoda Enyaq SportLine 85x April 2024 (unhappy customer - Ombudsman pending)
Motability Mazda CX-60 PHEV July 2023 (unhappy customer - early termination on mechanical grounds)
Motability VW Touran Family Pack May 2019 (happy customer)I think if you are in @kezo situation, with the knowledge and equipment, it could be a really enjoyable hobby that could also have the potential to make some money. However, unless you can do the vast majority of the work yourself I can’t see that it’s a risk worth taking.
As I say, I have no experience of this so this is a genuine question, but whilst EVs have less mechanical parts, if you buy from Coparts do they guarantee that the battery absolutely has no damage, or all cars sold as seen? Given that used EVs are very difficult to sell even without a crash history, I would have thought that any battery damage means game over?
Maybe I’m naive, but if the cars are easy and economical to repair then why are they written off? Presumably because the cost of repairs using a garage makes the repair unviable, which further emphasises that this approach only really works if you can do the restoration yourself and therefore don’t incur labour costs – just your time?
A good bit of research can be had at Salvage Rebuilds UK YouTube channel. These 2 guys, it used to be their job, but they make more money from the Youtube channel than actually working.
Your looking at the wrong people for backyard beginners!
I disagree, they do show what equipment and skills you need to tackle a rebuild. It should scare off the wannabe guys who want to have a go. Still the same rules apply, you not gonna get a car cheap with an easy fix. What would help if you got a good painter, as its paint cost that writes many cars off.
Take a thorough look at my first post with the initial car in question and tell me what equipment you would needother than a socket set, torx set, some screwdrivers and why you wouldn’t need a paint shop.
I cant look at the vid, and wouldn’t waste my time anyway.
Any pics or vids make a pig in a poje look good. You cannot tell what it is involved without viewing it first.
It really is the first rule never buy anything unseen, in the rain or at night.
I had my own setup 2 post ramp, jig and hydraulic rams. Back then I could paint straight colours but metallics were hit and miss.
Wouldn’t like to do it now though, the electronics and body modules add another 6 dimensions of difficulty.
I cant look at the vid, and wouldn’t waste my time anyway. Any pics or vids make a pig in a poje look good. You cannot tell what it is involved without viewing it first. It really is the first rule never buy anything unseen, in the rain or at night. I had my own setup 2 post ramp, jig and hydraulic rams. Back then I could paint straight colours but metallics were hit and miss. Wouldn’t like to do it now though, the electronics and body modules add another 6 dimensions of difficulty.
Why would vid’s would make a pig in a poke look good when the person is showng the damage is not disimilar to Salvage rebuilds but instead on someones drive. Pic’s are godsend for part numbers that make up bigger part.
Most cars I buy other than examining the picturers are unseen, as untill stripped you can’t see what needs replacing anyway. Looking at the impact zone, damage, panel gaps, whether air bags have gone off tells you an awful lot what needs replacing and how superficial it is.
Good luck with that methodology.
But the question is what do I actually do different buying compared to everyone else – not alot?
Good luck with that methodology.
Ah!
The old “posts getting deleted” strikes again.
The live bid stared from £3,450 and went all the way up to £4,750.
Plus all the fees and delivery would cost me circa another £1,000. Assuming I would have to purchase all the parts @kezo mentioned, plus a couple of hundreds to the neighbour lad to give me a hand – another £1,000.
So the total price of £7,000 vs £10,000 cash I can get from a dealer for the same car, trim and year didn’t warrant the risks to me. Obviously someone who snatched the car had a different opinion.
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Apologies for briefness and spelling mistakes.Motability Skoda Enyaq SportLine 85x April 2024 (unhappy customer - Ombudsman pending)
Motability Mazda CX-60 PHEV July 2023 (unhappy customer - early termination on mechanical grounds)
Motability VW Touran Family Pack May 2019 (happy customer)@kdwolf I think you made a wise decision. Buying used EVs isn’t for the faint hearted, even ones that haven’t been in an accident!
The live bid stared from £3,450 and went all the way up to £4,750. Plus all the fees and delivery would cost me circa another £1,000. Assuming I would have to purchase all the parts @kezo mentioned, plus a couple of hundreds to the neighbour lad to give me a hand – another £1,000. So the total price of £7,000 vs £10,000 cash I can get from a dealer for the same car, trim and year didn’t warrant the risks to me. Obviously someone who snatched the car had a different opinion.
£5,576 with fees + £600 parts + £200 (4ishhrs work on first attempt ) + delivery to me £476 = £6852
The question is would I have bought to flip at that price knowing the cheapest on Autotrader is £10,995 minus any discounts?
No! Even though son has level 4 in high voltage systems, the used EV market is precarious at best and the real value of the car is 20-30% less than an equivulent none accident car and why we opt for cat U, C or repossessions.
The live bid stared from £3,450 and went all the way up to £4,750. Plus all the fees and delivery would cost me circa another £1,000. Assuming I would have to purchase all the parts @kezo mentioned, plus a couple of hundreds to the neighbour lad to give me a hand – another £1,000. So the total price of £7,000 vs £10,000 cash I can get from a dealer for the same car, trim and year didn’t warrant the risks to me. Obviously someone who snatched the car had a different opinion.
£5,576 with fees + £600 parts + £200 (4ishhrs work on first attempt ) + delivery to me £476 = £6852 The question is would I have bought to flip at that price knowing the cheapest on Autotrader is £10,995 minus any discounts? No! Even though son has level 4 in high voltage systems, the used EV market is precarious at best and the real value of the car is 20-30% less than an equivulent none accident car and why we opt for cat U, C or repossessions.
- If the auction price was to remain around £1,750 I would definitely go for it. But as you said – with all the costs and potential challenges of the EV it was not for me.
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Apologies for briefness and spelling mistakes.Motability Skoda Enyaq SportLine 85x April 2024 (unhappy customer - Ombudsman pending)
Motability Mazda CX-60 PHEV July 2023 (unhappy customer - early termination on mechanical grounds)
Motability VW Touran Family Pack May 2019 (happy customer)Your might be better looking at something like this that needs a general tidy up and being non recorded and have a value when your finished using it. Its luck of the draw though with some going for silly money and next peamuts, so its a matter of keep looking and hope.
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