Checklist before you bid on a salvage car: 10 checks

A salvage car can be a good deal or an expensive lesson, and the difference is usually made before the auction starts. Use this checklist before you bid on any Copart or IAAI lot, and only bid once every point has an answer you are comfortable with.

The 10 point checklist before you bid

1. Check the VIN. A modern VIN has 17 characters and never uses the letters I, O or Q. On cars built for North America, the ninth character is a check digit calculated from the others, so a VIN that fails the check was probably typed wrong. Make sure the VIN in the listing matches the one in the photos of the dashboard or door label, when they are shown.

2. Look at every photo. Go through all the auction photos, not only the first one. Look at panel gaps, the floor, the engine bay, the interior and the airbags. Photos from one angle can hide damage on the other side.

3. Read the damage fields. Auctions list a primary and often a secondary damage. Front end, rear end, side, flood, fire, mechanical and hail damage mean very different repairs. Treat the field as a starting point and trust the photos more.

4. Check the condition and the keys. Look at what the auction says about the car starting and driving, and whether keys are present. These notes are recorded by the yard at a point in time, they are not a guarantee. A car without keys can cost more to move and to get running.

5. Know the title type. Clean, salvage, rebuilt, parts only and other brands mean different things, and the names vary by state. Some titles cannot be registered again, and some cannot be exported or registered in other countries. Check what your destination allows before you bid.

6. Check the mileage and its status. Look at the odometer reading and whether it is marked as actual, not actual or exempt. On a damaged car, the dashboard may not show a reading at all.

7. Look at the sale history. Search the VIN to see every earlier sale of the same car and the bid each one ended on. A car that was sold, repaired and is back at auction, or one that has been relisted several times, deserves a closer look.

8. Compare the price. Open the auction prices statistics for the make and model and see the average, lowest and highest final bids for the same generation, year and engine. Then decide your maximum bid and stick to it.

9. Plan the location and transport. Note the yard location and the sale date. A cheap car far from your shipper or port can become expensive once inland transport is added. The buyer locations pages show where buyers of similar cars are based.

10. Add up all the fees and the repair budget. The winning bid is not the final price. Add the auction's buyer fees, your broker's fee, storage if pickup is late, transport, shipping, duties and taxes, and a realistic repair budget with a reserve for hidden damage.

Why the order matters

The first six checks are about the car itself and can rule a lot out in minutes. The last four are about money and logistics, and they only make sense once you know the car is worth it. Working in this order saves time when you look at many lots.

Use the checklist on Bidpier

Bidpier puts most of these checks in one free page per lot: the photos, damage, keys, title, mileage, yard location, sale date and the sale history of the VIN. Start from the catalog, filter by make, damage or price, and open the lots that pass the first checks. Bidpier does not run auctions: to bid, use a licensed broker or the auction itself.