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Unusual Classic Car Parts Auctions
We see classic car auction sup and down the UK from time to time and in the USA although hey like to call them chersihed cars and with a huge community of old care owners in the USA, you can see these cars just about every weekend. But recently we came across an auction for classic car parts, something we haven’t seen before. If anything auctions a re used to clear out uneeded stuff and you certainly could not say that about classic car parts, even if there is no demand today, sometime in the future it is likely these parts will be needed.
But in this case it seems thse classic car parts were very much in demand and putting them into an auction saw them get the highest price. Of course we see classic car parts on Ebay and other onlline auctions all the time, but bring people into the same rooom, you could sense the competition and just about everyone agreed, higher prices we raised this way, certainly no one wanted to go home with nothing.
It is unlikely these auction will happen reguarly, so this was an experience and may have put some off with the high prices, but oin the other hand if you need those car parts then you may have no other option.
Business Vehicles At Auction
In the UK you have to treat business vehicles different to say privately owned ones as often they are liable to VAT charges. When we say business vehicles we don’t mean vans or lorries such like but normal cars that have been used for the purpose of benefiting a business. An example is a small Citroen car that came to auction that used to belong to a driving instructor training school and had a bump (not a good advert). Normally this car would be the value of the fianl hammer, but because this was business owned for no private use and the owner of the business claimed VAT off the purchase, the car went to auction as final price plus VAT, even though it was salvage. Not sure how this works in other countries but it is very important to cover your tracks here.
This could be especially important when buying a car that even though damaged is not registered as a salvage car. Sometimes this is because the company underwrote any insurance claims up to a certain point and it is the vehicle owner who is selling the car, not the insurance company.
This ex driving instructor training school vehicle had only done 20,000 miles but cost the new owner 15% more thyan he bargained, as he was not prepared and did not do his homework.
Where Have All the Cars Gone
The breakeryard industry in the UK are all complaining about the new scrappage scheme, suggesting that it is difficult to get hold of car parts for older cars now that owners are preferring to trade them in for a new car than get £100 down the scrap yard. The problem is the argument does not add up, because just as older cars are no longer available for parts, so the number of older cars on the road has reduced and therefore demand has gone. There is also an argument that states, why replace parts on a car you are just going to scrap anyway.
But funny enough this debate has also spread into the salvage market, blaming this scheme on the low availability of salvage cars. We just don’t understand what the fuss is about, how can cars of 10 years or older affect the salvage market which is normally based on much newer vehicles. Lets be honest, most salvage cars bought are under the 10 year mark, and otherwise it is just not cost effective. So where have all the cars gone?
Maybe our driving has improved and we no longer crash these cars, or maybe the insurance companies are repairing more themselves now. Who knows, we certainly don’t. What we do know is that in certain areas in the UK there is a shortage of good salvage deals going at the right price.
Buying salvage titles
When one is looking to buy used cars they can usually come across some vehicles referred to as “salvage title”. The price of such cars is usually way cheaper than other cars and one could be easily tempted to rush into a deal. However one should make some considerations before buying salvage titles and act with their brain rather than their heart.
Before buying vehicles with salvage titles one should make sure they understand what salvage title stands for. A car is given salvage title if it sustains damage which is worth more than 75% of its original value.
One should make three major checks before buying salvage titles. For starters they should check the frame of the car. As this is the basic skeleton and foundation of your vehicle, one should check for any weak spots and inspect for any permanently fatigued metal resulting from collisions. One should also have a good look at the airbag deployment history. This would indicate that the vehicle was in a collision and one would have to further inspect the car and make sure that the airbag was properly replaced.
A mechanical inspection is always recommended regardless of a used vehicle’s title. Such an investigation would point to any potential long-term or short-term performance worries. Although such problems aren’t automatic deal breakers, they would need to be included in determining the car’s value.
It is obvious that there is quite a risk involved when buying restored salvage titles. Despite the fact that many parts might be replaced with new or second hand parts, there will always be some damaged originals that even trained professional mechanics might have a hard time spotting and which could cause several future problems and expenses. Further, the car will be much more problematic to resell if you need or choose to as just a few dealers, if any, will consider a trade-in.
Unrecorded Salvage Projects
Every so often you may find unrecorded salvage within the auto auctions up and down the UK. Sometimes this can be very confusing as often there can be some considerable damage done to the car. There are reasons for this, mainly due to car lease firms or large organisations that have a large excess on their car insurance premiums.
If a large company can prove the ability to pay, there can be instances where they are allowed to have huge excess payments on their insurance say up to £25,000. That means any accident or bump that does not injure anyone is in fact not paid out by the insurance company but is a third party loss by that company. Certain car lease firms, or hire companies can save considerable amounts of money by doing this.
If a vehicle is involved in a bump that just damages the car owned by that company, there is no need for an insurance assessor as the vehicle will not have an insurance pay. No insurance assessor means no insurance pay out has been recorded or damage. Of course this description is very basic and there are many conditions and legal obligations that have to be met first.
So when buying salvage at an auto auction make sure there is no damage or treat it like any other project. It is true that when these cars are repaired they are worth more than cars that have an insurance claim logged against them.
The USA Beckons
As a resident of Great Briton I always love the visits to the States, but this time there is different reason to Mickey Mouse and the beaches. It is in fact a research visit to see if it possible to repeat the successful internet auto salvage auction platform that has brought the public and repairable salvage cars together.
It may like a small job to make a website and populate it with car salvage, but if I was to say that we were able to add 9,000 cars just from one weeks sales in Florida from one salvage auction company, you will get the idea, that when all auctions that can be covered are, there will be a huge choice of vehicles for both USA residents and those wanting to Export from the USA to say Europe or South America.
I write this sitting on the plane that is taking me to Orlando that we think may become a local base, not because of the Theme parks, but because there are more flights from the North Of England than say New York or Boston.
There are rules to buying auto salvage in the States and the visit is to clarify these from a professional point of view, tax processes and legal, things that you may not just get the whole picture from websites alone. The system has been very successful in the UK and appeals to those who do not have the time to visit yards, or are unsure of the process fo buying there. There are some who may not need this process and will direct from the insurance companies, but even the trade often use Car Salvage Finder to purchase cars on their behalf, because of the time saving benefits.
You can’t have a blog, without writing about what is going on, so if and when I get time, I will write more and keep you all informed of the progress.