[NA] Today at the Houston Salvage Car/Truck Auction

AggieMike88

AggieMike88

Touchdown! Greaser!
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The original "I don't know it all" of aviation.
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While creating bids for cars/trucks to add to the parts inventory, I found these two beauties.

Several other severe hail damage and a few recent submersible ones.

So be safe out there.
___________________________________________

2005 Lincoln Navigator
resizer

resizer


2007 F150
resizer

resizer

resizer
 
"Whoa" sure is the right word.
The white one probably hit the 20-ft hail head-on while texting.
The green one looks like it was trying to squeeze underneath it.
Yikes. Those look like some bad wrecks. Makes you wonder about the occupants of both vehicles and their respective conditions. I fear the worst.
 
some of us teens had to go to the wrecking yard as part of our DriversEd class. Decent idea.
 
how da F%^& did those go to auction and not straight to be crushed/melted/etc. I mean come on ins people. Your just wasting money there. What was usable on those? a floor mat and a window?
 
I think I saw a windshield wiper that appeared to be in good shape.
 
Gas tanks, rear ends, some wheels, tranny, fuel pump, tail lights, some glass maybe?
 
ChemGuy said:
how da F%^& did those go to auction and not straight to be crushed/melted/etc. I mean come on ins people. Your just wasting money there. What was usable on those? a floor mat and a window?
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Rear side windows on Ford SUVs are made of hen's teeth. So are good bumpers.
 
James331 said:
Gas tanks, rear ends, some wheels, tranny, fuel pump, tail lights, some glass maybe?
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and wheels, tires, onboard computers, electric motors for window actuators, etc.? I'm sure some models are more in demand than others...particularly newer models.
 
BTW...what's the deal on finding hail damaged cars?

I'm looking for a 4x4 SUV to keep at our beach house so we have wheels to get around in (and 4wd so we can drive on the beach) when we fly in. Whatever we end up with will rust in the coastal environment so I suspect we'll own it until it heads off to the scrapyard. Seems like a high mileage hail-damaged car would be fine, as we don't really care what it looks like. Are hail damaged cars just parted out or can I find one to drive away? We don't get a lot of hail on the east coast so I've never seen one for sale, but then again lacking a dealer's license I don't hang out at vehicle auctions.
 
ChemGuy said:
how da F%^& did those go to auction and not straight to be crushed/melted/etc. I mean come on ins people. Your just wasting money there. What was usable on those? a floor mat and a window?
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Those King Ranch seats in the Ford are probably hot items if they weren't shredded during the extraction process.
 
They all look like they suffered from sudden deceleration syndrome.
 
orange said:
I bet the spirits of the dead occupants of those cars are probably living in them now.
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I suspect the spirits were ejected from the vehicle at the time of the collision and now living in a tree 100 yards down range from the accident location.
 
ChemGuy said:
how da F%^& did those go to auction and not straight to be crushed/melted/etc. I mean come on ins people. Your just wasting money there. What was usable on those? a floor mat and a window?
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Paper trail. Insurance company doesn't want to incur the cost of processing. That gets pushed to the recycler (like me).

Plus, it's not unusual for a contract to exist between the insurance company and the auction house.
  1. The vehicle goes from scene of accident to the storage lot or body shop.
  2. Adjuster reviews and evaluates.
  3. If declared total loss, case is handed over to crew who manages "purchasing" the vehicle from the insured and selling the vehicle at auction.
  4. Vehicle is towed to auction lot. Auction house gets busy and Title is transferred from car owner to insurance company
  5. Once vehicle is cleared to be sold, it's listed on the site.
  6. Auction happens, auto recycler purchases
  7. Vehicle delivered to recycler, title transferred to recycler
  8. Recycler takes possession, process the vehicle for valuable parts and scrap (cat.converter, aluminum, copper, and others). Depolution happens.
  9. State is informed that the vehicle is at the recycler and title surrendered to state.
  10. Car is flattened and sold to scrap mill. Valuable scrap sold to local metals dealer.
 
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Brad Z said:
and wheels, tires, onboard computers, electric motors for window actuators, etc.? I'm sure some models are more in demand than others...particularly newer models.
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Not as much as you think... at least in the main part stream.

Though we do have some folks in the industry working hard to find buyers for "advanced electronics" that appear on the vehicles these days. Items like the computers, cameras, displays, sensors, and more. But these will be handled as "commodities" (aka bulk sale) rather than individual part sales
 
Brad Z said:
BTW...what's the deal on finding hail damaged cars?
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SEVERAL nice cars with light hail damage were available at the auctions today. The only twist is that most were being sold with a salvage vehicle title (check your state's laws on that, as rules/regs vary).

If you were local to me, I'd be willing to act as your agent/broker, just asking a percentage on top of the hammer price/auction fees. We would identify what types of car you want to bid on, give me the max you want to spend, some amount as a retainer, I place the bid, and once fully paid for, I sign the title to you.
 
SoonerAviator said:
Those King Ranch seats in the Ford are probably hot items if they weren't shredded during the extraction process.
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Again, not so much. They were when they were a new novelty. Now folks aren't so impressed with them.
 
Brad Z said:
BTW...what's the deal on finding hail damaged cars?
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Wait for a major flood. Buy flooded cars with salvage titles. Get them running. Bang up the hood, trunk, roof with a ball peen hammer.

Voila - hail damaged car. Cosmetic damage only.
 
AggieMike88 said:
SEVERAL nice cars with light hail damage were available at the auctions today. The only twist is that most were being sold with a salvage vehicle title (check your state's laws on that, as rules/regs vary).

If you were local to me, I'd be willing to act as your agent/broker, just asking a percentage on top of the hammer price/auction fees. We would identify what types of car you want to bid on, give me the max you want to spend, some amount as a retainer, I place the bid, and once fully paid for, I sign the title to you.
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Thanks Mike. If I were closer I'd absolutely take you up on that offer. From what I've read, if you don't mind jumping through a few hoops to convert it to a salvage repaired title, having a salvage title isn't really a problem unless you're financing or selling the vehicle. As I mentioned, this vehicle will be parked next to the ocean so it's doubtful there'll be another owner after me.

Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
Wait for a major flood. Buy flooded cars with salvage titles. Get them running. Bang up the hood, trunk, roof with a ball peen hammer.

Voila - hail damaged car. Cosmetic damage only.
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LOL.
 
I've got a lot of pictures like those.

That's why I liked last year's Subaru commercials with "they lived".
 
What does it take to register a car with a salvage title?
 
weilke said:
What does it take to register a car with a salvage title?
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Difficult to answer accurately since each state has it's own rules for such thing.

In Texas, you can (and should) register the salvage title vehicle into your name as soon as possible, but the legislature got more restrictive recently about operating said vehicle. Rules now say it cannot be operated on a public roadway until
  1. It's been properly repaired
  2. All required documentation about parts used and repairs employed is generated
  3. An inspection has been done by the Department of Public Safety (aka State Troopers)
  4. The DPS has signed off on their inspection that they are happy with repair and documentation.
 
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AggieMike88 said:
Difficult to answer accurately since each state has it's own rules for such thing.

In Texas, you can (and should) register the salvage title vehicle into your name as soon as possible, but the legislature got more restrictive recently about operating said vehicle. Rules now say it cannot be operated on a public roadway until
  1. It's been properly repaired
  2. All required documentation about parts used and repairs employed is generated
  3. An inspection has been done by the Department of Public Safety (aka State Troopers)
  4. The DPS has signed off on their inspection that they are happy with repair and documentation.
Click to expand...
Pretty much the same here in Ohio except less emphasis on safety and more emphasis on was it put together with Stolen parts
 
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