At the risk of jumping straight to the conclusion, the answer to the above question is…maybe.
Buying and selling-on salvage cars is one of the oldest money-making games in the book. You buy a car that’s not in the best possible state of repair, you carry out the necessary fixes yourself and you sell it on at a profit. A quick and easy way to generate cash in some instances, but is the whole thing quite as simple as it sounds?
Let’s take a look at the salvage selling game in a little more detail.
What Is a Salvage Car?
A salvage car differs from a scrap car in that it still has some kind of roadworthy potential in it. Damage to a salvage vehicle varies from costly cosmetic issues to major mechanical faults – anything an insurer isn’t willing to fork out for.
The vehicle is written off by the insurer and the policy-holder gets a new car, leaving the salvage vehicle available to anyone who wants it.
If you have the knowledge, skills, experience and resources needed to get a salvage car back into safe working order, it can be a profitable venture. Particularly given how most salvage cars are practically given away, or at least sold for rock-bottom prices.
Making Money with Salvage Cars
Still, the capacity for making money with salvage cars varies in accordance with a variety of factors. For example, you’ll need to conduct a comprehensive inspection of the vehicle inside and out, in order to determine if and at what price it can be repaired.
You could take a knowledgeable friend or mechanic for an opinion, but unless you have this kind of specialist knowledge yourself, you may find it hard to turn a profit.
In addition, it’s also important to take potentially elevated insurance costs into account. If you plan on selling salvage vehicles, you need to tell the buyer it’s basically a write-off that’s been repaired. This is information that must be passed on to the insurer, who in most instances will subsequently delight in quoting a much higher-than-normal premium.
Speaking of which, it’s also your legal responsibility to tell any subsequent buyer about the extent of the previous damage and all repairs you carried out subsequently. Hide anything that’s discovered further down the line and it could land you in hot water.
Scrapping Vs Salvaging
As a quicker and easier option, you could always simply scrap any wrecked vehicles that come into your possession. All it takes is a quick call to set the wheels in motion, after which we’ll collect your car and take it away for responsible recycling.
At which point, you’ll also receive a fair price in accordance with scrap values on the day.
To learn more about any aspect of our car scrapping and recycling service, contact a member of the team at Take My Scrap Car today. Alternatively, complete the online form on our website and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
