Guidance / Advice Wanted - Finding salvage vehicle auctions and bidding advice

[motomick76]

Not sure if this is right place to ask, but here is goes.

1. Looking for advice/guidance/experiences on bidding on salvage vehicles auctions.

2. Where / Who does salvage auctions?

Reason for asking as I need a donor 2.4T PT to finish my two turbo projects, Vanna and Reba. Plan is to put 2.4T in Vanna, and then move 2.5T in Reba. Reason for complete car is I want all electrical, motor, etc for Vanna. If lucky, find a manual PT and I will have center console, shifter/cables/ etc for the 523 I plan on putting in Reba when I put in the 2.5.

Past couple of months have been scouring Craigslist and Marketplace, not finding what I need in price range. PT's I find are in good shape, but too $$ to just part out, or cheap and clapped out with 200K+ miles.

[jamesmonty]

You can try https://www.copart.com/ or https://www.iaai.com/ . I don't know the details on buying from either but it looks like both will require an account ($$$). I am not sure the cost, but that may be a factor if you are just looking to purchase one vehicle. I would also look at the PT groups on facebook. Most car related stuff has moved over to Facebook groups, way more active than any of the forums anymore.

[c2xejk]

Worth noting that in many cases you need a license to buy a vehicle. There are some vehicles at certain locations that are "no license required". You will have to see if there are any in your area. Note that bids on those vehicles tend to go higher...

If you are you going for a license required one, you will need to setup a proxy account . There are several companies that provide this service for a fee. Co-Part lists the options on their website...

Be aware there are a lot of fees that may not be fully disclosed. I ended up paying $350 in fees on a $500 car... (ie. online bidder fee, loading fee, etc...) I have no idea if these fees vary from yard to yard...

Not relevant to your case, but for those that may try and convert a salvage title car to a rebuilt title, research what your state requires... Likely you will need to provide some documentation of parts used... Also the title process may be different than normal. (ie. in Indiana you put together a packet and send it in... I have had that packet returned once because an Ohio salvage title has a LOT more information that needs to be filled in and requires a notary to certify your signature... I think I got everything filled out correctly, but I am still waiting on the title transfer...)

[TopDollar69]

Some tow companies will have auctions that are open to the public.