Auto Salvage – What to Look For When Buying a Salvage Repairable Vehicle

Auto Salvage – What to Look For When Buying a Salvage Repairable Vehicle

When searching for a damaged repairable vehicle there are several points to consider – but did you know that buying used car parts could help you to save a lot of cash? Read below how we look at why you should consider replacing used car parts as opposed to new and other ways to save on money when purchasing an accident damaged car.

How buying used car parts help you obtain a much newer vehicle than you may have previously imagined. Buying an accident damaged vehicle can be a daunting task if you don’t follow a few pointers, firstly understanding the basics of how intense the damage really is would be the first and foremost factor to consider, also are you going to complete the repairs yourself or have a professional vehicle body repair centre carry out the repairs for you? Obviously making the repairs to the salvage car yourself will greatly reduce the costs to yourself and assist you with more money to spend initially on a newer vehicle. Car Breakers, Scrapyards, Salvage auctions can really help as they showcase many vehicles in one location. Online Auction sites offer a wide range of vehicles in all salvage categories including CAT C salvage, CAT D salvage and unrecorded salvage which obviously usually commands a higher price.

Many people prefer to only opt for unrecorded salvage as this category has no ‘bad history’ attached with it as it is very unlikely to be placed on the Hpi vehicle alert register. As we previously stated buying car salvage can be a daunting task if you don’t follow a few simple rules. Along with the obvious making stringent checks to the extent of the damage can severely cause you to ‘go over budget’ with your repair costs if you don’t allow for unseen breakages and damage that you didn’t spot when you first checked over the car.

Another Major factor to consider is the cost of the car parts that you will need to purchase in order to get the vehicle back into a roadworthy condition. Initial checking with manufacturers or Breakers yards for the price of all the car parts required before you commit to any purchase is always good advice. Car Breakers can offer very competitive quotes for car spares as they usually supply parts from a previously accident damaged vehicle. These car parts are usually in nearly new condition and save up to 80% against the cost of new main dealer car spares prices. Generally, New parts are obviously more expensive than used car parts so the cheapest option would be to get online at many of the car breakers websites.

Using 2nd hand car spares for your vehicle repair can often in effect mean you have more funds initially to spend on the salvage car in question, enabling you to buy a newer car than if you were to repair it using new car parts. Many people who buy salvage vehicles use parts locating websites daily as a good source for finding the lowest quotes from a vast network of car breakers as you connect with all the car breakers with only a few clicks of your mouse.

Car salvage as been big business for a few decades due to the rising number of people recognising the savings that can be made in comparison to buying a car from a dealer, not only are you saving the huge profits some dealers roll into their prices but also you pay a substantial amount less than the retail cost due to the damage which can often be repaired for a lot less than the margin you save between the price you pay and car showroom prices. If you Google unrecorded salvage you will find many of the UK’s leading salvage companies offering full descriptions of the cars they have on offer with colour photographs showing the damaged areas.

These online salvage dealers can save you a lot of time that you may have previously wasted driving up and down the country looking for your next bargain, some salvage dealers even offer a price complete including repair back to the vehicles former pre accident condition with all car parts fitted and painted if required and still with great savings to you.

The savings that can be achieved are dependent on the category of the vehicle you choose to buy. Cat A & Cat B vehicles are not available to be purchased by members of the public and can only be sold onto car breakers and the car spares sold off to replenish the cost of the car. Cat C vehicles are where the repair costs of the vehicle are greater than the value of the vehicle (in the insurance companies view) Cat D vehicles are categorised by the cost of repair being less than the value of the vehicle.

Unrecorded salvage is exactly as described ‘unrecorded’ by any Hpi register of the vehicles accident status. However it is paramount that any person selling an unrecorded salvage vehicle should disclose to any potential purchaser of the vehicles true history. More money saving tips on buying auto salvage vehicles. If your unsure of the true extent of the damage in question take a qualified mechanic or better still body repair specialist with you.

Ask questions, do your homework, check dealers forecourts for current market values and make sure you save a little back in your budget for ‘unexpected’ damage/breakages. Look at using used car parts where possible but always check the condition of any used car spares you use on the vehicle especially mechanical parts, use reputable car breakers to buy your parts from who offer exchange or even better money back guarantees on faulty/unusable car parts. Consider the price cost very carefully haggle where possible, salvage dealers still have a ‘mark up’ in their price and will often take a lesser amount than advertised.

Don’t always think because a car is unrecorded it is the better deal, you will pay more than a Cat C or Cat D due to its no history status but come to the time you want to sell you should make any potential buyer aware of the cars true history. Check online websites for auto salvage dealers, there are many dealers now offering their up to date portfolio of damaged repairables online, also check out salvage auction websites where you actually get to see the true value a car will fetch when offered to public auction.