General
Used Car Prices Increasing
We have been hearing about how the motor trade has declined in business over the last 18 months or so due to the current recession. New car sales down 60% etc. But in the background the used car market has been gaining momentum and with the lack of trade ins coming through the main dealers in some cases a shortage or cars, that has in many cases driven up the prices of used cars.
Last week it was suggested that in the UK, some new cars were cheaper than the same car pre owned. Of course this has fed down to the car auction scheme and the price of salvage cars. With around 3m vehicles been taken off the road each year either through old age or by accident and much less new cars being bought, it should be no surprise that soon the demand will be more than the supply. Even salvage cars has risen in price with many using services like SalvageSpareFinder, surprised that their proxy bid are no longer enough to buy that car, that only a few months ago would have been much cheaper.
Dealers who tend to use their nose to calculated trade prices are being forced back to the trade books to revalue their potential stock and whilst all this goes on new car dealers sit and wait for the up-term. Many businesses had opted to lease cars rather than pay out large sums to buy which has kept some new car sales going, but with the media news that it could be cheaper to buy new and used, this year may see a huge upturn in the new car market.
So there are 2 considerations when buying a used car or salvage project. Either buy now before prices increase, or wait for the new car market to return, sending trade inns back in to the market.
Export CoPart
Export trader have in the past delivered a service that allowed you to buy USA salvage projects from most countries around the world, so long as you exported the car away from the States. The name it traded under created a separate site was Export Co parts, one presumes to state the fact that you could buy salvage from Co parts, the largest auction business dealing in vehicle salvage in the USA.
It didn’t just deal with Co Parts but also IAAI and Manheim’s, which is where the news comes from. It now seems that Manheim’s have bout out Export Trader, so you can only buy cars through Manheim’s. This leaves the door open for Auto Salvage Finder who intends to enter this market.
If you are interested in buying salvage from the USA, you should at this point visit Salvage Spare Finder the UK version and register your intent to buy to export. Salvage Spare Finder have been trading in the UK within the domestic market for some time now and always have hundreds of cars for sale on their website.
It can be quiet complicated to do this yourself for the first time, so even though they do not ship the car for you, there is some support in the purchase. Of course you should not expect a gleaming showroom condition car. These cars are salvage and often have more issue than are described, so you should always budget for extra work, but no saying this, there are some real bargains to be had.
Car Part Auction Sites
It isn’t just the vehicles you can buy at auction but also car parts too. Ebay has dominated this for many years and you get a mix of part time guys with a few parts to the big nationals all hoping to improve their sales.
For some being on Ebay is as much about promoting the services or parts, that selling anything, there is a strong possibility that once you have bought from one supplier, you will automatically go back to same person, if you received good service at a good price.
There are alternatives one being CarSpareAuctions that is an online car part auction site that only allows registered businesses to sell. There are not as many car parts on the site, but it does allow these businesses to show their phone number and addresses so their clarity before buying. In fact if you wish, you do not need to use the auction process, you can just ring up direct and process your request over the phone as us usual.
The car part auction sites are ideal for searching for salvage projects, as many of the parts are not new but from other cars. They still do come with guarantees, so you have as much warranty as buying new. In the case of putting repairable salvage cars back together, this may be the only cost effective way of doing it.
A Salvage Business Is Born
After a busy and often stressful week of driving and meeting people, it finally looks like the new auto salvage business is about to be born for real. With the LLC formed, licenses in place it is more about making it happen, rather than red tape.
We will be able to buy on you behalf a huge database of auto salvage that will be auctioned off through dealer only auctions. In better words, we will give access to these cars and take a commission for buying them on your behalf.
Of course we can’t sell auto salvage without titles to the USA, although these cars may still be available for export.
This service is not for everyone, there needs to be an understanding that these autos have been involved in an accident and in most cases will have more damage than the photos or description will allow. The cars are not sold like showroom models and those who think it is easy and cheap to buy and sell auto salvage should think again, unless they have the relevant experience of dealing with cars. Any it seems like it is FAB and Thunderbirds are go.
Buying Salvage in the 21st Century
How people and the trade buy auto salvage has changed over the years. It used to be closed shop, where only those in the know would be able to buy that vehicle being disposed by an insurance company in order to retrieve some of the insurance pay out.
This has traditionally been done at auto auction throughout the USA and only those with the correct licences and membership to an auction would ever get access. The internet like so many businesses has changed how we buy products, so a physical auction now tends to be put online also to become an online salvage auction where not just people from out if state can but out of country also.
In fact there are some vehicles that can only be bought out of country. These auto salvage vehicles have been deemed as not suitable for the American roads and therefore must be broken down into parts, by a trade person with the relevant license or can be sold to a member from another country and must exported out as scrap. When that vehicle arrives in the next country it then abides by those countries rules about auto salvage and road safety.
There are a few companies around that help with the purchase and export of auto salvage in the States, but a newcomer to this market is a company called AutoSalvageFinder. With proven success of selling salvage in the UK, they have now decided to expand in to the States starting with Florida.
Although they see a huge market in export they are well aware that there are many local Americans who also want to buy Auto Salvage from auctions but does not have the membership or experience to do it. AutoSalvageFinder will also do this for a commission fee, allowing any public person to buy a car from auction. This is coming soon and we are all looking forward to it.