Car Salvage Auctions

However the cars they sell are those that have been wrecked, weather damaged, or stolen, meaning that the insured owners of those vehicles have been paid by the insurance company after the vehicles have been declared total losses.Bargains at salvage auctionsIt is possible to find outstanding bargains and relatively cheap cars by knowing how insurance salvage auctions work and where to find them.

Examples

A large car dealer in Texas had most of his new cars partially under water during a recent flood. The dealer's insurance company decided to declare all of the cars as total losses and paid the dealer. The insurance company then became the owner of the cars, some with major water damage and some with almost no damage. The company will sell the cars at auction with salvage titles.

The insurance company paid the customer the cash value of the car. A few months later, the car was recovered, in good shape, and the thief was arrested. However, the car, with a salvage title, now belonged to the insurance company who now wanted to recover some of its money by selling the vehicle at salvage auction, or to a broker who would then resell the car.

Companies such as Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc. (IAA) buy totaled and recovered-theft vehicles from insurance companies and auctions them to rebuilders, used-car dealers, parts dealers, and the public. Most of the vehicles are total-loss vehicles, meaning it would cost insurance companies more to repair them than to sell for salvage. Others are vehicles that were stolen but recovered after the insurer had settled the claim.


Insurance auctions and salvage vehicle auctions are held almost every day at various locations around the country. National companies such as IAA, ADESA, and Salvage Direct conduct the auctions at auction sites that are typically located in or near large cities. Many auction companies are local or regional, such as Auto Salvage Auctions, Inc, in Michigan and Midway Auto Salvage Auctions in Arkansas and Mississippi