I’ve a BMW M2 as my daily, it’s a cat N and I’m paying £280 fully comp, in my experience a cat car doesn’t cost more.
General 2014 500 Resurrection from Copart salvage to on road
- Thread starter AVI8
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General 2014 500 Resurrection from Copart salvage to on road
First job timing belt, once the drivers side covers were removed, you can get to the pulley, didn’t take any pictures of that but when it was off I could see that the pulley main seal was leaking so ordered a main seal, marked both pulleys with tippex for alignment at TDC before removing the crank sprocket in order to get to the main seal, was surprised that the factory manual said to use the crank locking tool to use as a lever, it showed to place it against a bolt but on my engine that was too far away from the end of the tool so I improvise with a block of wood, turned out it wasn’t very tight, it’s torqued to 20NM plus 110 degrees, I’d guess about 140 NM
Regarding copart, I did a search for a Fiat Tipo, they all have an expected retail value of £5,000-£8,000. But currently none of the bids are anywhere near that. How much are they likely to go for?
That’s where you really have to do your homework Anthony, you need to work backwards, if you see a car on Copart you firstly need to know how much a similar car would likely sell privately if it wasn’t damaged with regards to the condition, mileage, amount of current owners, Mot history ETC, then you need to have a very careful look at the photos on Copart and be aware that the photos don’t always show all of the what could be many chips, scratches etc, and you need to build in a contingency fund for that into your bid price, then there is the obvious damage, you need to price the parts, and you can get easily caught out if you are not careful in doing this, in the case of the car I bought, it was just a wing but for example a second hand Volkswagen headlight can cost £600
Once you’ve worked out how much an undamaged similar car would cost subtract 25% from that for a cat N and that’s basically going to be an approximate value for a cat N car, then cost in the repairs including paintwork, and delivery unless you’ve a trailer, then factor in your profit and that’ll give you a bid price, bear in mind your bid price must include the auction fees or you’ll be hit with a £450 surprise !
So my £1300 car is likely going to be a £2200 car by the time I’ve fixed it, though that’ll include a very extensive service as it’s for a family member, I’ll go the extra mile, thankfully these cars parts are crazy cheap compared to German cars which I’m used to.
Both our cars are " write off's" both the 500( hit by a flying object)and the Mazda( i reversed it into a car rear quarter panel damaged), both fixed for less than £500,
I've been on the copart website since i read this thread. Its decidedly possible I'll buy from them, i'm searching for Fiats of course lol. I need something bigger than a Punto, so Pandas and 500s aren't in the equation, only Tipos, Bravos, etc. Any recommends?
Anthony I did reply in length to your previous post regarding buying on Copart but it’s awaiting on moderator approval, and seemingly not visible yet, because I’m new on here, don’t know why they chose that post in particular
No worries, thanks for letting me know, i'll check tomorrow!
Here’s a copy and paste, not sure if it’ll cheat the system!
That’s where you really have to do your homework Anthony, you need to work backwards, if you see a car on Copart you firstly need to know how much a similar car would likely sell privately if it wasn’t damaged with regards to the condition, mileage, amount of current owners, Mot history ETC, then you need to have a very careful look at the photos on Copart and be aware that the photos don’t always show all of the what could be many chips, scratches etc, and you need to build in a contingency fund for that into your bid price, then there is the obvious damage, you need to price the parts, and you can get easily caught out if you are not careful in doing this, in the case of the car I bought, it was just a wing but for example a second hand Volkswagen headlight can cost £600
Once you’ve worked out how much an undamaged similar car would cost subtract 25% from that for a cat N and that’s basically going to be an approximate value for a cat N car, then cost in the repairs including paintwork, and delivery unless you’ve a trailer, then factor in your profit and that’ll give you a bid price, bear in mind your bid price must include the auction fees or you’ll be hit with a £450 surprise !
So my £1300 car is likely going to be a £2200 car by the time I’ve fixed it, though that’ll include a very extensive service as it’s for a family member, I’ll go the extra mile, thankfully these cars parts are crazy cheap compared to German cars which I’m used to.
That’s where you really have to do your homework Anthony, you need to work backwards, if you see a car on Copart you firstly need to know how much a similar car would likely sell privately if it wasn’t damaged with regards to the condition, mileage, amount of current owners, Mot history ETC, then you need to have a very careful look at the photos on Copart and be aware that the photos don’t always show all of the what could be many chips, scratches etc, and you need to build in a contingency fund for that into your bid price, then there is the obvious damage, you need to price the parts, and you can get easily caught out if you are not careful in doing this, in the case of the car I bought, it was just a wing but for example a second hand Volkswagen headlight can cost £600
Once you’ve worked out how much an undamaged similar car would cost subtract 25% from that for a cat N and that’s basically going to be an approximate value for a cat N car, then cost in the repairs including paintwork, and delivery unless you’ve a trailer, then factor in your profit and that’ll give you a bid price, bear in mind your bid price must include the auction fees or you’ll be hit with a £450 surprise !
So my £1300 car is likely going to be a £2200 car by the time I’ve fixed it, though that’ll include a very extensive service as it’s for a family member, I’ll go the extra mile, thankfully these cars parts are crazy cheap compared to German cars which I’m used to.
Lol, thanks.
Thanks for the heads up on what homework to do. I'd really have to go and look at a car that is of interest in person, luckily there are two places within easy reach. I'll go have a look this week, to get a better idea of whats what from a damage repair point of view.
Always good when someone gets "lucky" and has good news to post and positive comments! we are all to used to doom&gloom problems on here so good job for (slightly) redressing the balance!( shame you didn't tell us you've found a 200k duo-logic that shifts faultlessly runs like a dream and has a full dealer service history that cost you 800 quid!Nice looking car by the way
) many of us would likely have suffered a medical crisis at that one!
. good job great car very well done you!.I think this is the key point here.
Having both the skills and facilities to fix stuff makes a huge difference.
Leveraging this makes a lot of sense. If you just go out and buy something perfect you're not making the most of what you have.
How is your project work going? Any updates?
I'm monitoring Copart prices and waiting for something interesting to come up at either of my local depots.
I want another Fiat, but not a 500, Punto or Panda. So i'm waiting for the low quantity models, basically something bigger, a Tipo, Fiorino, or Doblo people mover.
Hi.
Just to let you know that the majority of our insurance schemes have no issues with insuring previously written off vehicles.
Regards,
Dan.
The Panda Nut
Nutty about Pandas Infected by Panda virus and OPD
that is insane!
Not really.
Try adding in the insurance payment, labour cost for the repair and availability and cost of new parts.
Previous owner didn't think insane or (insured) could have a nice buyback?
10 year old remember.
It can come down to, if the part can be bought at the time, or if there is a wait on parts, the time the owner would then need a rental car for, as well as the quoted price of the job from the body shop, i'e £1000 to paint it on top of all the other costs.
My brother apparently does very well out of cars he doesn't repair as he still gets to charge a storage fee to the insurance company which can quickly add up into hundreds or even thousands of pounds for doing zero work.
