Insurance auto auction
Insurance auto auctions are regularly held so as to partially recoup losses by selling totaled vehicles. Some insurance firms offer tailored services to meet salvage service requirements.
Making use of their trained personnel allows vehicle providers and rental providers to reduce their total-loss claims. Towing services and additional storage facility are the important add-on facilities that many firms offer. Insuranceautoauction are increasingly held online because of Internet visibility. Some of the preservation and protection facilities provided at an insurance auto auction are listed below:
* Custom shrink wrapping is used to protect vehicles with exposed engines and electrical components. This reduces chances of tampering and theft.
* Broken glass removal, trash and debris removal and complete detailing services.
* Flat tire repairs, key making and other minor mechanical adjustments.
If your vehicle is wrecked in an accident, the insurance firm or company totals it and sends you a check for its
market value. This car is then sent to an Insuranceautoauction pool. Salvage titles are required for vehicles that are totaled before they can get on the road again. This title is obtained after an inspection by the Department of Motor Vehicles. This is not mandatory in all states. In such cases where the salvage title is not required, a regular title is obtained. Vehicles of both kinds, with salvage and regular titles, are sent to insurance auction firms where they are sold. Insurance companies recover some part of their money at an automobile auction. Getting a clean title fetches a higher amount for the vehicle at the auction, sometimes two or three times higher.
Auction of automobiles is a $3 billion industry. Some of the better-known and big auto auction houses are Copart in California and Insurance Auto Auctions (IAA) in Illinois. An insurance auction provides services ranging from processing and selling salvaged vehicles. The sale is generally made to licensed dismantlers, re-builders and used vehicle dealers. Automobile auctions also sell recovered stolen vehicles for which an insurance firm has already made a settlement with the auto owner. Vehicle buyers and suppliers pay auto auction fees to an insurance auction firm. Towing and storage services have to be separately paid for. Most of the totaled vehicles go to the auctions and these constitute about 10% of all collision claims. Consumers are not generally asked to participate in the auto auctions of insurance totaled cars. This is on account of the successful lobbying by the auto-salvage industry so as to keep the prices down.
Auto Insurance Center
Its not a scenario most drivers want to think about. Still, its one you should consider before it happens, especially if youre shopping around for an Insuranceautoauction company.
Most of us use the term total in casual conversation, as in, Man, did you hear Dinkins totaled his car driving back from the party last Saturday When you total something, you wreck it completely. Thats not too far from the insurance industrys definition of a totaled car: When you total your car or when someone else does you cause so much damage to the car that it would cost more to fix it than what its actually worth.
It sounds as though your car would have to suffer some major damage in order for an insurance company to total it, but its actually a function of the cars worth. Minor damage to a 15-year-old Buick might result in totaling the car, while major damage to a brand-new Saab might not. Auto insurance claims adjusters usually determine a cars actual cash value by using their company's proprietary database of prices. Generally speaking, insurers use the National Auto Dealers Association (NADA) Official Used Car Guide or the Kelley Blue Book as secondary sources only.
But what if you dont agree with your Insuranceautoauction companys assessment of the damages What if you really love your car and you dont want them to take it away Do you have any recourse
Yes and no. When you buy an auto policy, you sign a contract with your insurance company. You cant force your insurer to pay out more than your car is worth: Thats part of the contract. But, as Bob Hunter of the Consumer Federation of America says, youre supposed to be made whole by your insurer. You should be put back into relatively the same spot that you were before the accident, Hunter tells insure.com.
Basic Types of Auto Auctions
There are many different types of car auctions out there. But there are 5 main categories of auctions that we'll cover here, as these apply to the most amount of people. These are:
* Online auto auctions like eBay Motors auto auctions and Yahoo Auctions.
* Wholesale Auto Auctions (Usually dealer to dealer type auctions)
* Public Auto Auctions (Open to any sucker. Oops, I meant consumer).
* Police Auctions & Government Auctions (Usually open to anyone)
* Insurance Auto Auctions & Salvage Auto Auctions (Usually open to only to dealers)
Tips for Getting the Most Out Of an Auction & Protecting Yourself
Make sure you have enough money in your bank account to cover your check. Many auctions may require a bank draft instead, so be prepared ahead of time.
* Make sure your contract clearly states whether the title indication light was red, green, or yellow. If your purchase turns out to be a red light title problem later on, yet they indicated green, you got them by the neck now.
* Get to the auction early to stock your prey! The earlier the better. Beat the crowds, avoid distractions and look for the cars youll want. Make sure you have a Kelley Blue Book, NADA guide, or Edmunds book if youre going to a public auto auction. If youre going to a wholesale auto auction, bring a Black Book with you. If you have your Pocket PC, just surf to the car pricing web sites from the auction.
Make sure the contract states how many days before you get the title. If it takes longer, you can get your money back, because at this point its breach of contract. I personally would not bid on a vehicle unless the title is there. If they expect you to pay in full, they better have the title. But most cars there do not have the title; its always In Transit. One of my dealer friends once waited 6 months for a car title, after getting jerked around.
* Dont forget you have to pay a buyers premium on the car, which could bring your cost over market value.
* Dont get caught up in the frenzy of a bidding war and spend too much for a car. Just walk away, no matter how much you want the car. If you cannot get the car for a comfortable price below published value, then the auction was a complete waste of time for you. Youll lose sleep if you pay too much.
* If you live in California, be sure to run a Gross Polluter Check on the car before you buy. If you get a car whose title was branded Gross Polluter, it could cost thousands to get that car legal and titled again.
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