I guess I could not stay away (1 Viewer)

[D1EZEL]

Surfing the insurance auctions finally paid off, I think. Structurally fine, this 99 LX came up for auction last week and completed today. I was able to inspect on Monday to make sure there was nothing hidden, the only damage is a soccer ball dent in the front fender and a few bent brackets underneath. Frankly I got very lucky, I put a limit on my proxy bid, it topped out at my number and the auction timed out, if anyone had bid one more time I would have lost it. As I know people will wonder, I got it for $3200 which I thought was a good price. (not including the obligatory fee's but we wont talk about those)

Unlike my old 03 this one will stay stock as it will be the wife's daily driver once I get a clean bill of health from Eric and his team. Even with a blemished title it is many times safer than her small Honda, people try to drove her over constantly.

Looking forward to road trips and the occasional CSC stocker run.

Coincidentally, there were five total Land Cruisers at the auction today, rare to see even one. Two were rollovers but one was special, a 99 LC mica in color that had some front damage but was driveable with only 108k original miles infact, I saw the winner drive it off the lot and down the road today, it went for $3900, wow. Also, there was a 97 LX 450 (no lockers) that was super clean and only had a minor rear bumper hit, 234K miles, not sure what it went for, the prebid hit $3k, I am sure it went for much more. Its rare to see any Land Cruisers at auction let alone five, it might be part of the reason I was able to score on this one, divided attention.

Parts list to repair (seriously, this is all I need)
- Right Front Fender
- Right Front Blinker
- Misc nuts and bolts I can pull off a Sequoia at the Pick&Pulls

 

[popstar]

That Lexus was totaled by the insurance company for a dented fender and broken blinker?!?!?

 

[D1EZEL]

That Lexus was totaled by the insurance company for a dented fender and broken blinker?!?!?

Dont get me wrong here, there is a lot more broken than my fix it list, broken tabs on the headlight, broken headlight trim, gouged and scraped bumper, edge of hood bent where fender pushed into it, inner fender brackets that hold the outer fender crushed and crinkled.

However, with the exception of the fender and blinker I am able to fix, mend or live with it as is. Start buying all those parts at retail prices, add in labor, paint and misc and it adds up pretty quickly. Considering the Insurance company listed this as $9500 ACV it does not take much to get to that salvage number.

My goal is to pass inspection for a rebuilt title and make is safe for us to drive, cosmetically it will not be perfect but I also do not have to bring it up to the level of new like an insurance company would

Give you an example, my last insurance auction purchase was a 1999 Corvette, it needed a new inner and outer fender, front bumper cover and headlights no structural damage. It had a book value of between 10K and 12K yet they salvaged it for body panels. I purchased that car from the same auction for $2700, 103K miles, rebuilt it, drove it for a while and sold it for $6000. As these cars get fully depreciated or close it and begin to exceed well over 100K miles it does not take much to salvage them. PS, you never make money on these, its a hobby and if you break even, like I did on the Corvette, you are doing ok.


Here are a few example I think would good cadidates, minimal damage and great potential, I will definitly keep my eye on th 80 series in Salt Lake.
2007 LX
1999 LX (not mine)
1999 LX
1993 FJ 80 K294 3X, + lifted, this will probably go for just under or at 3K

 

[popstar]

Do you need a dealer license to buy insurance auction cars? Sorry for the noob question..

 

[D1EZEL]

Yes and no, I have registered with IAAI.com to bid, it cost me $200 for the privilege. With that I am considered "public" as I have no Tax ID or re-seller status.

They sell vehicles two ways, Buy It Now or Auction. The Buy it now has an added $400 per buy plus and a few doc fees. The Auction has a $600 fee plus taxes and some small doc fees.

The Corvette was a Buy it Now, the LX was an Auction.

They break down buy Public and Dealer, there are a few other categories but those are the two most common. However, you can buy a Dealer only car if you use a broker, some can be used for as little as $200, they will bid on your behalf, I just stick to public.

Copart.com is the other site and the one people are probably most familiar with. The process is pretty much the same, I just stick with IAAI, it has worked for me.

PS, there is no region restriction, if you find something in another state you can bid and buy, you just need to arrange shipping. Some of the sites will assist you with this, very common. I will not do this as I want to see the car I am bidding on before taking the chance. Just be aware that you need to pay within two days, another reason I stay local, its more difficult to setup the wire service and other hoops you need to jump through in order to pay remotely, much easier to just drive down to the local facility and pay with a cashiers check.

 

[peacesells63]

I have a front bumper and support from my 2001 available if you need to replace yours. Mine is gray, so it would need to be painted.

 

[D1EZEL]

Thanks, actually the black LX has gray bumpers as well. I know the inner support is fine. I will let you know once I get the fender in place.