Topic: Buying salvage vehicles from Copart or similar

[Yotaleigheehoo]

Looking to buy a complete Tacoma for my engine swap from Copart.com or similar salvage auctions. 

Does anyone have experience buying these vehicles?

I've read through the policies, rules etc and appears to be pretty straight forward.

In the past, I've come across good deals on engines already pulled but most have A LOT of missing pieces which would require a lot of running around searching. I live in a rural part of Cen Cal and my nearest wrecking yard is about 45 minutes out.

[madhunt]

if its a wreck make sure you get one that was hit in the back not front , with front end hit it can breck block crack manifolds rip out motor mounts from block etc, just be carfull on what you getcheck gov autction as well from forest service and city or county ones

[jrock]

I thought you had to be a dealer to buy from those sites.

[Yotaleigheehoo [OP]]

I thought you had to be a dealer to buy from those sites.

Copart allows non dealer buyers with some sales. It only requires a deposit that, according to the site is 100% refundable. They also list a few brokers that could assist with sales for a fee.

I've looked for months on end and have yet to find a decent priced 2.7 with nearly 100% of what I think I need. Most are scavenged. I'd like to find a complete truck or 4runner if possible because I live so far away from local wrecking yards.

[Rocksurfer]

When buying you won't get a "Pinkslip" as we know them, what you will receive is a salvage or junk certificate but since you are not going to place the vehicle back on the road this will not be an issue. If you had planned on putting it back on the road it requires several steps to get a salvage title.

[Rockdiver]

I have bought several vehicles from tow yards . they come with lean sale paperwork that the dealer has completed .it tells you the dmv fees (Calif)then you need a safety inspect and smog to complete . I had to go to dmv pay fees first then could drive vehicle away .  The wrecked ones i dont remember paing any fees to dmv . they were bought for motor.

[Yotaleigheehoo [OP]]

I'm gonna keep looking into this more as it sounds like a decent option for me to find a good motor for a swap. If I lived close to town, I'd probably just pick a motor on Craigs and search the rest in wrecking yards. I'm sure that even with a complete donor truck, I'll still have some parts chasing to do but I wanna keep that to a minimum.

For now, I'll keep watcing IAA and Copart.com to see what comes up. Hell, my mind changes everyday as to what I want anyway. Today, I like the 3.4, tomorrow I'll be on the 2.7 trip again.....