I took a chance that we're never supposed to do

I bought a car from Copart, like in the article that was in the magazine. I'm broke, and I wanted to see if I could purchase a cheap car so I could keep my 328i as an autocross car (getting expensive to maintain as DD). I read the article in the mag and looked at several cars. I was going to get something reasonable, so I was looking at:

1. Manual trans only
2. Affordable to maintain
3. Good fuel economy
4. Light body damage
5. Runs and drives (takes some risk out of an out-of-state purchase)

I'm planning on just keeping this car for a year or two, max, so I don't want to spend a huge amount of time trying to repair a diamond in the rough G35 or some other nice car right now because of my 328.

I was looking at Accords, Civics, Mazda 3s, Mazda 6s, and Miatas (just because, The Answer )

Since I'm dead set against a slushbox, I needed to purchase a car that was long distance from the nearest Copart to me. Even the in-state Copart facilities are around 2+ hours away, so it's quite a drive. After watching some auctions, I was pleased at the prices of the lightly wrecked cars that were being sold.

The best deals are ones that require a license or a broker that you go through. The one I used, I received a temporary broker account and purchased the vehicle. If the broker isn't that good, it can be a pain in the butt because of the logistics that may be required. Brokers require a deposit, around $400-500 so you have to have that extra money available. My broker was average, but in the end, he got me the title and other forms when it was finished.

The first car I bid on was a Miata with slight body damage for around $275. Unfortunately, there was a reserve before I knew that they had reserve purchases, approved, and pure sales. The reserve was around $1700, I think. I lowballed the crap out of that price because of the uncertainty, and of course, they didn't accept that price. The next car I won on a pure sale was this:

02 Civic with 229,000 miles. I bought it sight unseen in West Virginia and had it shipped to my local repair shop. I purchased it for $400 with about $400 in broker and Copart fees.

Hey, running, driving, car for under $1k. No problem with that! Triple bonus if the AC still works!
I love how stupid cheap parts are for these things.

Nice deal sir! Have been watching those auction sites for years but always too chicken to pull the trigger

Very well played.

I wasn't fully aware of the fees, so initially, I thought, DAMN, they doubled the price of the car! But it's still an $800 car with light damage. The main reason I started this thread is the shipping and logistics with shipping or fly-and-drive a Copart (or other wrecked vehicle) The rules state that the car has to be towed off the Copart facility, plus, if you want to fly and drive, it's uncomfortable (and impractical) to find a spot that's not in your driveway to make any necessary repairs. Then, you have to get a taxi ride from the airport to the facility, which can cost quite a large amount of money.

(nasty looking interior, too!)

Also, when the car arrived, it wouldn't start. I was thinking, oh no, I will have to spend lots of time trying to diagnose a no crank, no start. I broke all the car purchasing rules. The guys pushed the car and it was able to be push started, so I was ok. I did drive about 4 miles from the junkyard that unloaded the car from the trailer to my local repair shop. I could tell the suspension was busted from one of the pictures from Copart and how it drove over some bumps. Also, it sounded like a wheel bearing was shot on the front driver side. My repair shop let me know that the front passenger control arm and the struts were busted. I did note that the article stated to think like an engineer and make repairs with small coin, so, follow this in my build thread...

Is there a way to sort by Buy-It-Now only?

There are buy-it-now only lots, but they may not likely be the best deals.

In reply to 84FSP: the easiest way to not be afraid to do it is to be skilled at repairing vehicles and, to be honest, be broke and want to get a car cheap or cheaper than the market demands. Especially with certain cars like Hondas, many people place a premium on them in the used car market, so it's kind of a pain to shop for some appliances.

Edit: and you can also look for vehicles with only mechanical damage, rejected repairs, and hail damage depending on what you personally can tolerate/manage. Also, having it as a temporary car will lessen the risk if the car turns out to have a slightly twisted/bent chassis, even if you purchase a slightly damaged car like I did.

Oh, and shipping costs were about $725, so that cuts into the savings.

But hey, if it's just gonna be a DD, you can get some junkyard steelies and sell those wheels on the car on craigslist for $200-$300.

Pick a year, pick a model. It's hard to ever take a bath with any Honda!

GOOD LUCK!!

In reply to drdisque: I had steelies on my old Civic and I would rather have alloy wheels, even if I downsized to 16"s. These are curb rashed to hell, so I think that they lose their appeal if I sell them separately without repairing them.

Dude, you were thinking about fly-and-driving a car that you bought sight-unseen on an auction site just for cars that have been totaled? You are either the bravest or craziest guy I know.....

What broker site did you use? We are looking at a smart car for a challenge build but it requires a dealer's license to purchase.

I have a dealer license what state is the car in?

Missouri, it is a smart car (black) at the Columbia location. It is the only one there. You would be helping make a challenge dream of little boy (who happens to be 41) come true!

Looks like a pretty decent buy. From the title, I thought for sure this was going to be about a cheap Porsche.

Are the copart fees a % or straight cost. IE if I buy something in the 50-60K range from them are you still paying 400$ or is it like 6K.

Some of the fees are percent based so you can spend a big chunk of change with a high dollar car.

Also, sorry for the thread jack.

wearymicrobe wrote: Are the copart fees a % or straight cost. IE if I buy something in the 50-60K range from them are you still paying 400$ or is it like 6K.

All copart transactions have a $29.00 to $79.00 fee for bidding on the internet. There is also $30.00 fee to cover loading the vehicles at the gate. The buyers fee level out once you get over about $3000.00 purchase price. For example a 3100.00 car has a $400 buyers fee. A $10,000 car has a $500 fee. A $30,000 car has a $700 fee. After $35,000.00 the fee is 2%.

singleslammer wrote: Missouri, it is a smart car (black) at the Columbia location. It is the only one there. You would be helping make a challenge dream of little boy (who happens to be 41) come true!

I have never done one in Missouri, I will need to figure out the logistics of it. PM me your phone number and we can discuss.

In reply to pimpm3:

I sent you a few messages, just checking that they are making it to you.

In reply to singleslammer: It's cool, I made it just in case a few more guys wanted to try it out. My Copart fees were $180, the broker fee was $200, so you do need quite a few more bucks up front to make a purchase, not to mention possible shipping. I just didn't get an indication that the fees go up with a more expensive purchase. I also found out after I purchased the car that they do have inspections that you can pay someone to do.

Copart fees have always driven me off. But it looks like you got a fine daily beater out of the deal, you just have to thrash it twice as hard to get your money's worth.

IMO, the Copart fees are ok, it's the totality of everything else (especially a bent chassis) that makes it a huge risk. I'm going to trade it (with cash if necessary) for a different car next year, or the year after, so I don't really feel like I have to beat the E36 M3 out of it.

I usually look at Copart for parts cars, but some of the older "totaled" cars are just scuffed up. I think you'll probably do alright with this Honda.