Copart bikes

Seth650 · 03-18-2013, 05:55 AM

Anyone buy a salvage titled or other damaged bike from a Copart.com auction? Anything to warn about? Thanks in advance.

showkey · 03-18-2013, 06:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seth650

Anyone buy a salvage titled or other damaged bike from a Copart.com auction? Anything to warn about? Thanks in advance.

Some states do not allow retitle and resale by non licensed salvage dealers........to get a dealer (certified salvage dealer) to certify can get $$$$$$

So normal JOE can run into huge problems with titles research your state and then double check to avoid a bad surprise.

JerryH · 03-18-2013, 11:43 PM

Never heard of that company. Here in AZ, anyone can sell a bike with a salvage title. And that has lead to a lot of fraud. The only possible way to get a salvage title in this state is for an insurance company to write it off as a total loss. With some plastic covered bikes that doesn't necessarily take much more than cosmetic damage. But many Craigslist sellers will try to convince a buyer that it has a salvage title because of a small dent in the tank, or other minor damage, and that just doesn't happen. Here a bike with a salvage title, even if it looks fine, is worth about 60% less than the same bike with a regular title. Unless I know the history, a bike with a salvage title is a parts bike to me. It's not worth investing work and money into, because it has no resale value.

duck · 03-19-2013, 01:04 AM

Read the fine print on their website. Once you "win" a bike for a supposedly low price they hit you with all sorts of fees, etc... so it ends up not being such a great deal.

T0mW · 03-19-2013, 08:45 AM

Not a bike, but I bought a car from a copart auction last year. Paid about 500 for the car and another 150 - 200 for fees. Their fee schedule is listed on the web page.
Car came with a clean title although it was listed as salvage on the auction page.
I bought it sight unseen, other than the pictures. It had a hole in the oil pan, not sure if it arrived at copart that way or if they purposely put it there since it was salvage vehicle.
I repaired the hole & drove it a year before it was involved in an accident.
Needless to say, I didnt lose any money on the car.

eatpasta · 03-19-2013, 09:00 AM

For some reason I decided that I was going to buy salvaged bikes on the side and fix them to make some extra money. I signed up with Copart and tried to pick up a few bikes and from what I could see, it's basically just for bike wholesale type businesses. Anyone just trying to find a cool bike that needs a little love is going to have a really hard time with it getting elbowed out of the way by companies that do this. In fact, it seemed like a borderline scam.
After two days I called their office and demanded my money back and gave them a glowing review on Yelp.

showkey · 03-19-2013, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eatpasta

Anyone just trying to find a cool bike that needs a little love is going to have a really hard time with it getting elbowed out of the way by companies that do this. .

"Companies that do this"..................where to you think all those parts on EBAY come form.............Salvage professionals with big elbows.

T0mW · 03-19-2013, 12:03 PM

It didn't cost me anything to sign up with them, only fee I paid was when I bought a vehicle.

baloneyskin daddy · 03-19-2013, 03:01 PM

Not all salvage title bikes have been wrecked. Some are theft recoveries that the insurance co. has already paid off the owner.

eatpasta · 03-19-2013, 09:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by showkey

"Companies that do this"..................where to you think all those parts on EBAY come form.............Salvage professionals with big elbows.

There ya go....

bk brkr baker · 03-20-2013, 07:13 AM

I bought a ST3 Ducati through Co-part and another company RideSafely that runs internet sales. You pay big fees to Ridesafely, but you don't need a dealers lisence.
For instance the ST3 cost me $1450 at the auction and the fees added another $750. So in all $2200. I bought some mirrors on E-bay and painted the scratched saddlebags matt black.
The bike fired right up after charging the battery. I had to replace the front brake lever and that was it. The tires were nearly new Pilot-3s.
I put 1300 miles on it and was ready for more when it was smacked down by a Kia mini van that had turned in front of a Honda car while the bike was sitting at a gas pump. I watched it happen and was not injured , just pissed that my bike was damaged.
The insurance company paid off and I bought the bike back pocketing $4250.00 that will be used to convert the ST3 into an dual-sport sidehack.

tjk2134 · 03-20-2013, 12:17 PM

Until about 5 years ago I was buying and selling alot of bikes, about 300 to this point and many of those came from copart. At that time you had to be a business to buy from them. I was just an individual but had a business license to buy from them. A few I went to the yard to view the bike but most I bid just based on the 5 photos they provide. Many times the bike was in great condition and was able to make decent money but too many times I was surprised to find damage that was not visible from the pictures ie: a hole in the engine case, bent frames or missing parts when I arrived to pick up. Ive seen some crazy things while picking up bikes. One time I was looking at a pristine nearly new (stolen) ducati 999. The yard worker rolled it over next to a pallet and just let it fall on its side, then scooted it across the pallet so he could fork lift the pallet to move it across the yard. Just overall disregard for minimizing damage. they used to write stock numbers on tanks and windscreens with a greese pencil that would not clean off and required repainting.
Im not sure if this is still accurate but most Arkansas titles were clean titles, thats were i got most of my bikes.
It got so competitive that I stopped, the bids got so high that if you were wrong on your estimate it might take 3 good bikes to make back your margin. The fees became outragous as well. The final straw was they started charging a $20 gate fee to pick up the bike or car, Yes I bought it but I could not get it unless I paid the gate fee. Reminded me of years of roadracing, you pay the race fees but can not get to the track until you pay the gate fee like a spectator. left me confused???
One of my best bikes was a 2000 Bimota SB8R, I bought it out of long island and had it shipped to me, it was in pretty good shape but it would not start, come to find out the Bimota dealership who did the estimate stole the ECM from the bike. I called them about it and they denied knowing anything about it but just happened to have a used one in stock they would sell for $1500. A new one was over $3000, I hated to but I bought the used item, the very ECM that was on the bike to begin with.
I bought several new flood bikes and only 1 required the engine being rebuilt, they others just needed washed.
In summary proceed with caution.

swimmer · 03-20-2013, 12:22 PM

Interesting. I found a bike on CL in a city reasonably close by. It has a salvaged title. I recognize it from being on the copart website some weeks ago. Never saw what it sold for on copart. Trying to get more details from the seller..........he did say after I asked that yes, he bought it from copart.

03-18-2013, 05:55 AM	#1
Seth650 ^OP Adventurer Joined: Sep 2012 Location: N. E. Pa. Oddometer: 40	Copart bikes Anyone buy a salvage titled or other damaged bike from a Copart.com auction? Anything to warn about? Thanks in advance. __________________ 2009 DR650 2001 CR250R (not working) 2005 CB250 (not working)

03-18-2013, 11:43 PM	#3
JerryH Vintage Rider Joined: Jul 2009 Location: Chandler, AZ Oddometer: 1,675	Never heard of that company. Here in AZ, anyone can sell a bike with a salvage title. And that has lead to a lot of fraud. The only possible way to get a salvage title in this state is for an insurance company to write it off as a total loss. With some plastic covered bikes that doesn't necessarily take much more than cosmetic damage. But many Craigslist sellers will try to convince a buyer that it has a salvage title because of a small dent in the tank, or other minor damage, and that just doesn't happen. Here a bike with a salvage title, even if it looks fine, is worth about 60% less than the same bike with a regular title. Unless I know the history, a bike with a salvage title is a parts bike to me. It's not worth investing work and money into, because it has no resale value. __________________ "I refuse to give up the thrill of living for the relative safety of existing" Nick Ienatsch "Life is not a race. Don't treat it as such. If you don't believe me, just have a look at the finish line"

03-19-2013, 01:04 AM	#4
duck PsyKotic Waterfowl Joined: Mar 2004 Location: Seattle (Berkeley with rain) Oddometer: 9,968	Read the fine print on their website. Once you "win" a bike for a supposedly low price they hit you with all sorts of fees, etc... so it ends up not being such a great deal. __________________ 93 K1100LT, 94 K1100RS, 86-97 K75F (K75/100/1100 Frankenbrick), 91 K1, 05 KTM 450 SMR IBA #17739 (SS1K, BBG, 50CC) http://home.comcast.net/~smithduck/BMW_Tours.htm

03-20-2013, 07:13 AM	#11
bk brkr baker Beastly Adventurer Joined: Jul 2006 Location: The Bluegrass Oddometer: 4,144	I bought a ST3 Ducati through Co-part and another company RideSafely that runs internet sales. You pay big fees to Ridesafely, but you don't need a dealers lisence. For instance the ST3 cost me $1450 at the auction and the fees added another $750. So in all $2200. I bought some mirrors on E-bay and painted the scratched saddlebags matt black. The bike fired right up after charging the battery. I had to replace the front brake lever and that was it. The tires were nearly new Pilot-3s. I put 1300 miles on it and was ready for more when it was smacked down by a Kia mini van that had turned in front of a Honda car while the bike was sitting at a gas pump. I watched it happen and was not injured , just pissed that my bike was damaged. The insurance company paid off and I bought the bike back pocketing $4250.00 that will be used to convert the ST3 into an dual-sport sidehack. __________________ RR's Catnip Hill to Peoria ___Loopin' Seattle to WestFest It started with some beers __1500 miles to the Dentist Skeedaddle to Seattle______ A 30 year old on a Three Flags Run

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03-19-2013, 08:45 AM	#5
T0mW Gnarly Adventurer Joined: Oct 2006 Location: Pennsylvania Oddometer: 187	Not a bike, but I bought a car from a copart auction last year. Paid about 500 for the car and another 150 - 200 for fees. Their fee schedule is listed on the web page. Car came with a clean title although it was listed as salvage on the auction page. I bought it sight unseen, other than the pictures. It had a hole in the oil pan, not sure if it arrived at copart that way or if they purposely put it there since it was salvage vehicle. I repaired the hole & drove it a year before it was involved in an accident. Needless to say, I didnt lose any money on the car.

03-19-2013, 12:03 PM	#8
T0mW Gnarly Adventurer Joined: Oct 2006 Location: Pennsylvania Oddometer: 187	It didn't cost me anything to sign up with them, only fee I paid was when I bought a vehicle.

03-19-2013, 03:01 PM	#9
baloneyskin daddy bikaholic Joined: Oct 2009 Location: southcentral PA. Oddometer: 1,536	Not all salvage title bikes have been wrecked. Some are theft recoveries that the insurance co. has already paid off the owner.

03-20-2013, 12:17 PM	#12
tjk2134 n00b Joined: Jun 2012 Oddometer: 9	Until about 5 years ago I was buying and selling alot of bikes, about 300 to this point and many of those came from copart. At that time you had to be a business to buy from them. I was just an individual but had a business license to buy from them. A few I went to the yard to view the bike but most I bid just based on the 5 photos they provide. Many times the bike was in great condition and was able to make decent money but too many times I was surprised to find damage that was not visible from the pictures ie: a hole in the engine case, bent frames or missing parts when I arrived to pick up. Ive seen some crazy things while picking up bikes. One time I was looking at a pristine nearly new (stolen) ducati 999. The yard worker rolled it over next to a pallet and just let it fall on its side, then scooted it across the pallet so he could fork lift the pallet to move it across the yard. Just overall disregard for minimizing damage. they used to write stock numbers on tanks and windscreens with a greese pencil that would not clean off and required repainting. Im not sure if this is still accurate but most Arkansas titles were clean titles, thats were i got most of my bikes. It got so competitive that I stopped, the bids got so high that if you were wrong on your estimate it might take 3 good bikes to make back your margin. The fees became outragous as well. The final straw was they started charging a $20 gate fee to pick up the bike or car, Yes I bought it but I could not get it unless I paid the gate fee. Reminded me of years of roadracing, you pay the race fees but can not get to the track until you pay the gate fee like a spectator. left me confused??? One of my best bikes was a 2000 Bimota SB8R, I bought it out of long island and had it shipped to me, it was in pretty good shape but it would not start, come to find out the Bimota dealership who did the estimate stole the ECM from the bike. I called them about it and they denied knowing anything about it but just happened to have a used one in stock they would sell for $1500. A new one was over $3000, I hated to but I bought the used item, the very ECM that was on the bike to begin with. I bought several new flood bikes and only 1 required the engine being rebuilt, they others just needed washed. In summary proceed with caution.

03-20-2013, 12:22 PM	#13
swimmer armchair asshole Joined: Oct 2007 Location: tucson Oddometer: 2,558	Interesting. I found a bike on CL in a city reasonably close by. It has a salvaged title. I recognize it from being on the copart website some weeks ago. Never saw what it sold for on copart. Trying to get more details from the seller..........he did say after I asked that yes, he bought it from copart.