KHedges

In April 2017, I rescued a 1999 Audi A6 Avant Quattro 2.8L automatic from the Copart salvage auction yard. It was a donated car that still ran (and turned out I could re-register without salvage title). A very good friend of mine got it running properly again--including replacing all 30 valve stem seals, replacing the horrible dropped suspension, and transferring the catalytic converters from my 2000 VW Passat Wagon (2.8L manual). I'm still working on various problems, such as the AC not working in a fairly hot part of California, and my bumper cover still isn't right after it got stuck on a curb.

But it's a lovely car and I'm so happy to have AWD on the winding, misty mountain road to Santa Cruz. I use it for my craft business and look forward to road trips.

jimjpublic

Hi K, can you talk a bit about your experience using COPART? I've never used it before but am thinking about doing it. Tips for beginners? THanks.

KHedges

To buy at COPART as an individual (not a bonded, licenced dealer) you need to go through a broker service. That added $550 in fees to the $400 purchase price because they have a minimum transaction fee + percentage of price (which probably has a minimum too). If the dealer is out of state, this will make the DMV transactions more of a hassle; otherwise, I could've done it at AAA. I honestly don't think they're expecting anyone to buy a $400 1999 Audi wagon donated to charity, but are intended for higher value cars that a dealer would want to fix up and sell. I was looking for something that would still "start & run" with the same 2.8L V6 as I had in my recently-totaled 2000 VW Passat Wagon.

You should probably be at your computer when the auction is conducted so the broker can stay in touch. They will encourage you to increase your bid if it looks like you'll be outbid, but (just like eBay) don't go over your budget. Before I got the A6, I bid on a well-cared for A4 wagon that had mildew in the back because the initial bid was super low ($250?) because I was factoring in costs of remediation. The broker got annoyed with me and lectured me that I shouldn't bid if I don't want to buy, so I told him I was willing to buy it if it was cheap enough to be worth the hassle, but if someone wants to outbid me, they can have the mildew. (And some OEM, still-wrapped, spare parts and a Bentley manual, which seemed like good signs for maintenance.)

This isn't like PickNPull where you wander around; an employee needs to escort you. You need to print out the list of cars you're interested in and be ready to give them the location code or whatever for the ones you want to see (maximum 4 maybe though it may depend on how busy they are). You won't get much time to inspect and they may not even let you start it and shift gears yourself, if the boss is around. (Ironically, the only car I couldn't start myself was the one I ended up buying. It was the only one without StopLeak in the radiator.) But they bring a battery and will start it for you if they can't let you do it yourself.

Don't be surprised if they've left the windows open, allowing weather damage to the interior. This makes it harder to tell if you're looking at a flood car, unfortunately. (San Jose had just suffered a flood the month before, so this was a concern.) My friend who worked on my car bought a Nissan Leaf there that was very mildewy, though he had to replace all the interior anyway because the previous owner smoked. A LOT. We are both allergic to smoke, so that must've been awful to work on.

You will need to pay the broker ASAP so make sure you are ready for the wire transfer or whatever they ask for. Then they will notify COPART you can pick it up. I forget if you have 1 or 2 days to pick it up, but they want it out of their yard. They will carry it to the parking lot on a giant forklift, hopefully not damaging anything underneath. The independent delivery drivers at COPART are set up to deliver cars to dealers, not your driveway, and won't even be able to unload in a residential neighborhood. So you will need to arrange your own towing, which meant I picked it up while my friends were at work and moved it off the lot. They showed up after work with the trailer for their track car, we loaded it, I bought them a very nice dinner, and they dropped it off at my friend's house where we were going to work on it. Otherwise, I could've rented a UHaul car trailer and truck.

If you get a car that was donated to charity, it will probably need a ton of work they decided wasn't worth doing, but (at least in my case) it had clean, non-salvage title so I didn't have to pay for all the inspections (and replace taillights with 1" cracks, etc.). We ended up using one of the catalytic converters off the Passat, but the other was trashed and we had to search for one that was CARB certified but not $1600 like a genuine OEM cat. We had to replace the shocks, struts, and coils because it had been really badly lowered (whyyyy?!? this car is too low already) but judging from the condition of the Passat's suspension, the original suspension was past its useful life anyway.

We won the lottery on its engine, though. The valve stem seals were brittle and that's why the cats were trashed, but the cylinders have virtually no leakage and the cams were gorgeous. The transmission pan needed replacement and flushing but now it shifts beautifully (Tiptronic, the Passat is probably my last manual due to arthritis in my clutch foot).

I hope this helps!

jimjpublic

Wow, K, great note and quick too. Thanks. One question for you, knowing what you know about this process would you do it again?

Thanks.

KHedges

As a non-mechanic depending on the generosity of a friend, I wouldn't personally repeat the process.

The reason I considered this in the first place is that any used car in my budget range would likely have as many mechanical/maintenance problems as the one I bought. I'd just spend a lot more than $950 (+$500 for a cat to pass smog) but it would still be like buying a Victorian house without a good inspection. (The $99 inspection at AAA didn't find StopLeak.) My friend estimated a month of work, but we kept running into problems that would have been solved more quickly if it were his main project in his garage instead of a favor he worked on 1-4 days per month at a third person's garage 40 miles from his place and nearly an hour by transit from mine.

If you are willing and qualified to take on a project car, I wouldn't rule it out.

jimjpublic

Very helpful. Being a non-mechanic myself, your experience gives me a sense that I'm probably not best able to take advantage of the best COPART can offer.