Where Can I Buy Damaged Cars

We have put together this resource page to provide tips, tricks, and relevant information to help you navigate your situation. If you have any questions, feel free to call us at 866.443.8530 and talk to us. We will be happy to give you our fair-market evaluation of your damaged car.

where can i buy damaged cars

Receiving your fair market appraisal necessitates nothing more than listing basic details about the condition of your car. It takes just a couple of seconds! We will come to you to take your car for FREE wherever you are, across the nation.

Before you decide to sell your car with body damage, take the time to evaluate its condition. Document the mileage, check the engine, get the tires rotated or even replaced. There are plenty of things you can do to ensure your damaged car can be sold easily.

If your vehicle has mechanical problems (resulting from something like frame damage), it might not be safe to continue driving or using it. In some cases, you might have the ability to repair or replace the damaged parts. Whether you should do so will depend on some factors.

Because these types of individuals are looking for cars in specific conditions, you may not be able to find your offer right away. You can find these buyers online on sites like the Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp, Craigslist.

Who buys damaged cars for cash? Actually, many people do. However, these buyers might not be near you. The closest buyer could be 50 miles away depending on where you live. Finding them will involve some leg-work on your part to find a way to sell your damaged car near you.

There are pros and cons to selling to each, but none will make the process of selling a vehicle as easy as CarBrain.com. We are the best place to sell damaged cars and can have your car off your hands in as little as 24 hours once you accept our offer.

Places that buy damaged cars often, such as junk and salvage yards, are also not reliable. This is because they provide quotes for salvage items and the amount of metal on your car, not the entire unit.

Buying cars from insurance companies allow drivers on a budget to obtain a vehicle at an affordable price. However, vehicles owned by insurance providers are usually totaled by previous owners. Often, these cars end up getting sold at auto auctions rather than through dealerships and other traditional routes.

Severe floods have affected several regions of the U.S. in recent years, including the devastation brought by Hurricane Harvey in Texas and Hurricane Irma in Florida in the summer of 2017. Estimates of the number of cars flooded by Harvey vary widely, with some sources putting the number of cars potentially lost at 500,000. Hurricane Florence, which struck North Carolina and South Carolina in September 2018, damaged fewer cars. Vehicle valuation company Black Book estimates that flooding destroyed 20,000 vehicles.

After the insurance process is over, state motor vehicle registries "brand" the flood-damaged cars with a salvage or junk title. These alert future buyers to the fact that the car was declared a total loss by an insurance company. Some states specifically call out flood damage in the title, alerting possible buyers to the fact that the car sat in water deep enough to fill the engine compartment.

Roughly half of the vehicles with salvage titles are resold, often in places unaffected by flooding. You're more likely to find private parties selling flood-damaged cars than dealerships. Reputable dealers use vehicle history reports to check cars they buy so they can avoid the headaches that come with reselling flood-damaged cars.

2. Discolored carpeting. Large stains or differences in color between lower and upper upholstery sections may indicate that water stood in the vehicle. A used car with brand-new upholstery is also a warning sign. The seller might have tried to remove the flood-damaged upholstery altogether.

3. Exterior signs of water buildup. Signs may include fogging inside headlamps or taillights and damp or muddy areas where water naturally pools, such as overhangs inside the wheelwell. A water line might be noticeable in the engine compartment or the trunk, indicating that the car sat in standing water.

If you suspect a local car dealer is committing fraud by passing off a flood-damaged car or a salvaged vehicle as an undamaged used vehicle, the Federal Trade Commission recommends that you contact your auto insurance company, local law enforcement agency or the National Insurance Crime Bureau at 800-TEL-NICB (800-835-6422).

A good dealer can restore flood-damaged cars so that they look almost new, but don't let the good looks fool you. Buying a flood-damaged car comes with a lot of risk. However, a wet past doesn't necessarily make a used car a bad buy, either. So, how do you decide whether to gamble on a car with a watery history? There are several important factors to consider.

If you're looking for short-term use of a car, a flood-damaged car may be a sensible solution. A good candidate for a flood-damaged car may be a recent college grad who needs a car just long enough to get to job interviews, and who plans to buy a new car after employment. Snowbirds, or retirees who live in the north and spend winters in warmer climates, may want a car they can leave at their southern home for the summers, and a flood-damaged car may be just the ticket. Salvage cars are also popular among car enthusiasts who enjoy buying damaged cars on the cheap and then rebuilding them with new parts.

Any car that's been subjected to water should be sold well below market value, and unless the dealership can prove extensive restoration, you should be offered a dream deal. After all, when buying a flood-damaged car, you're assuming a substantial financial risk that major repairs could be necessary. Make sure that you don't pay more for the car than you're willing to pay if the worst-case scenario occurs. Also know that when a car is flooded, typically, the manufacturer's warranty is voided.

When deciding whether or not the price is reasonable, be sure to factor in resale -- or, more likely, no resale. Most people agree that flood-damaged cars will have basically no market value for you to resell them later.

Stains, mildew, rust, and discoloration are signs of water damage. Look for dirt or debris under the floor mats, carpet, or where the spare tire is located. Mold or mildew will give off a musty odor; if you notice a strong smell of cleaner or disinfectant, it could be an attempt to cover up those odors.

Nonetheless, merchants who specialize in the purchase and resale of flooded cars often take big risks that come with potentially big profit margins. Meanwhile, consumers might be enticed by these cars, which usually come with surprisingly low prices. Flood-damaged cars can typically be purchased at a 40% to 70% discount on Kelley Blue Book valuations, Drury said.

Some business owners or individuals may be looking to take advantage of consumers by selling them flood-damaged vehicles in the months following a hurricane or major storm that causes flooding. Even after a vehicle has been cleaned, unseen damage could exist, posing mechanical and safety risks to the buyer.

While flood damage may be easy to hide, cosmetically, a real problem lies in water getting into the mechanics of the vehicle, such as electrical components, wiring, computer chips, etc, which could lead to corrosion and faulty or broken sensors. Damages to these components can impact the lights, air bags, or brake pedal sensors. If you are looking for a new vehicle, it is important you know how to look out for the warning signs of purchasing a flood-damaged car.

There are thousands of cars circulating that have been damaged by floods and have been repaired by insurance companies or have been totaled. There is an entire market in buying and selling these used cars. There is a huge discrepancy in the titling requirements between states for these cars. Sometimes a dealer can wash titles (remove the salvage marking) completely legally and then re-title the car in another state with a clean title. Your car could have flood damage or could have been totaled by an insurance company and you would not know. Usually if the car had a salvage title it will show up in Carfax, but sometimes there is a delay. You might only find out that the car had a salvage title when you try to sell the car. New Jersey Law requires that dealers make known defects which they are aware of. To complicate the matter even further, insurance companies have their own internal standards as to when they should salvage (repurchase) a car. These numbers range from 80% to 90% cost to repair compared to actual cash value (ACV). If an insurance company salvages a car and it falls below the state threshold requirements they might not have to salvage the title. There are thousands of cars circulating that have been salvaged by insurance companies and resold at auctions without any title restrictions. You could be driving a car that has been repurchased by an insurance company and resold at an auction in which they have a monetary interest. To make matters worse, Carfax would not pick this up because they do not have access to CLUE, Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange.

The purchase of previously damaged vehicles cost customers millions of dollars. A customer purchasing damage vehicle which is now worth less than previously imagined. If the dealer is aware that a vehicle has been damaged the dealer is obligated to make the disclosure if the disclosure would make a difference in the purchasing decision. Thus, it is always a better option to disclose then not disclosed for dealers. Much litigation arises out of the decision not to disclose such damage. Frequently, the dealer's claim that they were unaware of such damage in the first instance. Since the dealer's take disposition sometimes it is necessary to retain an expert to testify against the dealers that had they made the appropriate inspection they would've been made aware of the defects in the vehicle. Moreover, the dealer has an obligation to make such inspection of an automobile to make sure the vehicle is safe for the road for both the customer and other people on the road. 041b061a72