200 Series salvage/part out values (1 Viewer)

[kcjaz]

I'm rethinking my approach to repairs for my 200 (The Steve Austin Project). I'm currently headed down the path of full repair as insurance is covering it but I've struggled finding a shop that is willing to do the work. The shop I've got lined up is willing but won't even look at it in any detail until Aug 24 and then I'm looking at 2 plus months for the repair.

So, I'm back to rethinking just buying a replacement 200 and moving mods over. I've found one with 179K miles which is similar to mine at 176K miles. The thing is, I've completely base lined mine at 150K miles (all front mounted moving parts on engine replaced with new, as well as new alternator and starter). Plus, I've owned the truck since 30K miles. I'd be moving over front diff and entire read axle so I can keep my 4.88s and lockers. My transmission only has 50K miles as it was replaced after a deer strike that blow up the tranny cooler at 125K miles). Soooo, I'm temped to just pull out the entire engine, transfer, tranny from by damaged rig and put in the new one.

If I do that, I'm wondering if I need to install the "new" drive train components back into the damaged rig for auction at Copart or, if I could save that effort and get close to the same money out of it as parts. From looking at Copart auctions, I think my current rig as-is (less the aftermarket stuff I'd pull off) is around $20K (insurance salvage value was $19K). Anyone know what what a 200 series engine/transfer/tranny with 179K miles would go for? Or a banged up 200 w/o its engine/transfer/tranny? or the the whole damaged rig but as separate parts? If I can get $15 to $20K for the damaged rig/pile of parts this makes sense from a cost standpoint. Lots of work on my end though.

 

[clrussell]

Hmmmm.. I might be interested in your 200

 

[doru]

Hard to answer if you are not in the trade.
But based on what I saw I don't think you can reach your target selling the banged truck w/o power train. And that assumes someone wants to buy it that way. If you put it back together then you might if you find the right buyer.
How will all this work with insurance. Are they giving you a check for the repairs so you can go and buy the replacement?

 

[kcjaz]

Hard to answer if you are not in the trade.
But based on what I saw I don't think you can reach your target selling the banged truck w/o power train. And that assumes someone wants to buy it that way. If you put it back together then you might if you find the right buyer.
How will all this work with insurance. Are they giving you a check for the repairs so you can go and buy the replacement?

Insurance has cut me a check for the repair based on their initial estimate. Supplements to the initial estimate are likely and would be worked through with the repair shop and insurance. repair shop requests more money and provides basis, insurance approves and cuts additional check to me, then I pay the shop. The vehicle is not totaled and there is no salvage title situation here. Pretty decent situation actually.

I agree that a running truck with major body damage will get more at auction than a truck without its drive train installed and drive train from another truck included but not installed. Part of me wants to just keep the wreck as my own stock pile of 200 parts for the future except for the $20K cost of that which is probably silly.

 

[doru]

Silly - depends on the circumstances.
For me definitely silly as I do not have a need or storage.
But for someone that bends his truck around trees in the middle of nowhere it might not be.

 

[Karbon]

A lot of the salvage value would be in the major parts: engine, transmission, rear end/diffs/tcase, so if it's included it would retain some of its value. That being said, if I was on the bidding end, I would definitely wonder why there are parts from a completely different vehicle that comes with it, in now an entirely unknown and unverifiable state. Also logistically I'm not sure if an auction would let something run through that way. If you were selling to a private party which knows and trusts the backstory, thereby instilling some confidence that the parts are actually functional as described, then that may bring a bit more value.

Moving over the running gear parts makes sense for sure, but it may be simpler to bite the bullet and redo the front end engine parts since that isn't too bad, especially when comparing to pulling engines out of 2 trucks. I think the time would be better spent cherrypicking the best interior parts from both for the one that you're keeping.

It would be a lot simpler if you didn't have good parts that you wanted to hold onto, but that's enthusiast life.

 

[Killacaviar]

Keeping your existing vehicle and fixing it seems like the easiest route.

It’s certainly the cheapest and above all needs the least amount of your personal time. Your particular use casein the truck is unique and that alone would be enough to just be patient and get it fixed. Most on here would have a different point of view…but they also don’t use their 200 as a exclusive trail rig.

The time investment to swap everything over is overwhelming and not cost effective.

If you could make this work with a new truck in the 100k mile range it would be worth the effort. I would rather enjoy and beat on something I know full heartedly is up to spec with care/maintenance. 140k miles of ownership and personal upkeep is all the peace and mind I would want with a trail rig.

If you have ever parted anything out before than you know the uncontrolled/falsely forecasted costs and the time and effort it takes to execute the plan accurately is a nightmare.

My2cents

 

[Supra Turbo]

Getting it fixed gets my vote.

 

[kcjaz]

Getting it fixed gets my vote.

Yeah, I think after going full circle, that is where my head is at. @Killacaviar's point about 140k miles of ownership and personal upkeep providing peace and mind is spot on. Plus, even though, some of the work associated with moving mods over to a new rig would be fun, it would be a significant time suck for me and would likely drag out longer than I'd want. I think the only real downside to the repair is that the welded body repairs will not ever be to the OEM quality of the original factory build but I don't think that really matters in my case and it will be plenty good for how I use the truck. The only other downside is the feeling that I'm missing the opportunity to upgrade in some way but, the reality is that there is no free lunch here. The effort would be significant and would likely introduce a new set of gremlins I'd need to slay. 140K miles of shakeout is hard to replace.

Still, adds like this get my attention:

%YEAR% %MAKE% %MODEL% | Coulter Buick GMC Tempe

Check out the %YEAR% %MAKE% %MODEL% available at Coutler Buick GMC Tempe. Stop by our auto dealership today to take a look. %VIN%

www.coultertempe.com

This one looks like a bit of a gimmick as the fine print will add about $3K of fees and says "market adjustment" is not included in the price. After my internet shopping over the last few days, I'd say that the prices for 200s is falling even compared to 8 weeks ago when I did a deep dive and compiled all 2013-2015 200s for sale in the US that I could find. If you want to build one, you can find some good ones for 30 to 35K.

 

[Karbon]

I have been watching the market over the last few years pretty regularly, eagerly waiting to get into a newer 200. There are significantly more for sale as of the last month or two then there have been over the last 2 years. Already starting to see some significant price discrepancies comparing ones that dealers have overpaid for versus newly listed ones.

 

[mcgaskins]

The main issue I see with fixing it is time - the time you won't have your Cruiser while you wait for it to get fixed, the time waiting on parts that are on backorder, the time and hassle and energy of moving mods over, etc. Also I am very skeptical any vehicle truly returns to the same condition after a major body repair as before, and there is diminished value when it comes back. I personally wouldn't buy a vehicle that had been close to totaled then rebuilt. Some will, but they won't be paying top dollar.

I say let the insurance company total it using that high valuation in one of your other threads, give it to them as is, start fresh with a new truck and new mods and save yourself a ton of time, ton of hassle, ton of headaches. Besides, one of the most fun aspects of this hobby is the build, and it's always more enjoyable when you have a blank canvas with fresh mods.

 

[Supra Turbo]

Many of the vehicles advertised, are not actually available, the OTD price is significantly higher or there is another catch like mechanical issues. A good friend of mine works for one of the largest GM dealers in US and does this quite frequently to get people in the door. Just make sure to do your homework...

 

[TeCKis300]

My buddy just went through all this after gently flopping his rig on its side. Like yours, the valuations were pretty generous. Surprisingly, it was borderline enough to take the total option even as in my eyes, it was superficial damage on the skins with only the a-pillar being a bit more significant. Damage was similar, but the curtain airbags did go off in the interior which is what swung the balance.

With all the time considerations of repair, it was just easier to get out and get into another rig. We had 4 guys at the yard and in 3 hrs, had most of his mods taken off to transfer. That's where it's very different from yours as your mods are more involved so I get it's not an easy choice. Also GXs are plentiful with low mileage.

As his insurance is all settled now and he's in his new rig that we're slowing building up again. Day we recovered it with a dream team of total strangers.

 

[kcjaz]

I say let the insurance company total it using that high valuation in one of your other threads, give it to them as is, start fresh with a new truck and new mods and save yourself a ton of time, ton of hassle, ton of headaches. Besides, one of the most fun aspects of this hobby is the build, and it's always more enjoyable when you have a blank canvas with fresh mods.

yes, if it was totaled at the $51K pre-accident value it would make more sense to do what you are saying but it hasn't been totaled at that value so that isn't really a choice. Even so, starting over would mean buying another 2013-2015 with 100kish miles for ~$40K and then repurchasing the $36K of mods which also have lead times and take time to install. I'd end up $75K into the new rig which would be about $24K more than the insurance payout. Depending on what they did on the salvage value, I might be able to get some of the mods pulled off and play that game but I still end up spending a chunk of additional money and time. Sure it would be worth more, but I've already spent the sunk cost on the current rig and this will just be more money that I'll never get back. This was never a financial investment. I'm either going to crash this thing again or will it to my grandson when I die (hopefully those two things won't happen simultaneously ).

Fixing it effectively costs me $500 and I think that will take me less total time than the above. I couldn't buy and build a new truck by the end of this year. I think I'll get the repair back end of October. We will see. Its also possible that once they tear into it, it does get totaled and I end up there anyway.

I do appreciate everyone's input and perspective on this. That's why I started the thread. Its been helpful to me to think this through. Though YMMV, I hope this is also helpful to others in at least thinking through what can happen playing with the toys we build and create.