Maybe you’re handy with the spanners and enjoy working on a project car to get it back on the road. Or perhaps you want to make some money out of a project car by repairing it and selling it on. Or, the most likely reason, you simply want a cheap reliable car that you intend to keep for a few years. Whatever your reasons for looking at the vehicles for sale on an auction car salvage site you should bear the following points in mind before buying and you won’t go far wrong.

I can’t stress this enough. Look at as many auction car salvage sites, or motorcycle salvage sites, as you can – not just this one. Take a note of bidding activity and how much people are bidding. You will soon start to see a pattern and it will become evident that some vehicles have a lot of bidding activity and others don’t. There are a couple of reasons that some vehicles don’t have a lot of activity. Either parts or labour are expensive for those vehicles and therefore the COR (cost of repair) is too high. Or because parts are hard to find and it is going to take too long to get the vehicle back on the road.

 

It may take a few weeks to find the vehicle that fits your criteria so be patient and don’t let your heart rule your head. Find the right vehicle at the right price and don’t get carried away with the first one you see. A great way to achieve this is to subscribe to our RSS web feeds, they are free and the beauty of them is that you will automatically be informed of new auctions before most people are aware of them.

Buy from reputable sellers with a long history of positive feedback. When you are looking at a vehicle read the feedback left by previous customers. In general the feedback system is fantastic, but especially so for buying something like car salvage or motorcycle salvage. It is good for businesses and punters alike. Businesses have the opportunity to build a good reputation in the car salvage trade and buyers are better informed about who they are buying from and can buy with confidence.

 

Now not all sellers are businesses so not everyone has lots of feedback. I’m not saying don’t buy from these sellers but treat with caution. Ask a lot of questions about the vehicle they are advertising. Is it their car? How was the vehicle damaged? Why are they selling the vehicle? Ask for more photos if you feel the vehicle needs closer scrutiny. If a seller is cagey with their replies then ask yourself what they are trying to hide and consider walking away.

Unless you’re in the trade and really know what you’re doing you must inspect before you commit to buying. And don’t be afraid to walk away just because you’ve travelled an hour or more to see a vehicle (see our local auto salvage for salvage cars and bikes in your area). Visit the seller during daylight hours and if at all possible bring along an expert in the motor trade, a mechanic or car body repairer, that can advise you on what you are intending to buy – and listen to them! They’ll know what to look for and will be able to give you the true COR of a vehicle.

 

Be aware of car salvage where the car looks clean. If its clean you should ask yourself why, what is the seller trying to hide? No car that's been in an accident is clean and tidy. If it is its likely that some work has already been carried out, probably to hide something far worse. Finally make sure you have a Hire Purchase Investigation (HPI) check carried out before you buy to confirm the vehicle is what it’s advertised as. If it’s advertised as Cat D car salvage does the check confirm this or was the damage worse. To learn more about car salvage categories read the article UK insurance write-off categories.

So to summarize, be patient and do your homework, check sellers for positive feedback, and look before you commit to buy.