Yeah it’s fun. But I learned some things from this project about how markets work that could be applied to other markets. And I enjoy looking for deals in general.
General take away was if you can find a low miles rebuilt or salvage car that had collision damage but no frame or mechanical problems in an illiquid geography with a motivated seller, that car is going to be mispriced.
The one I found is in a rural market in the SW. The demographics of the town are favorable - family-oriented with a population of 80,000 people, 3+ hours away from any major city. I googled the guy’s name and phone number and found out he is a car flipper who buys from copart (10 miles down the road). He doesn’t speak English, only Spanish - another barrier. Since he buys at auction in a low competition market, he has a low cost basis. I found out he uses the money from flipping cars to invest in apartment buildings that he runs - this is a good immigrant business (also available on google). All in, unlike your run of the mill seller who is delusional about the liquidity of the used car market, this guy is not going to be butt hurt about selling the car for less than asking (it is an implied OBO listing). He’s not in the business of sitting on inventory and has already been trying to sell the car for nearly two months. Low cost basis, motivated seller, with barriers to entry toward an efficient price. It is a good profile. I do have to go get the car though, that’s a pain in the ass.
I can’t think of anything dumber than buying a car with a salvage title. Oh wait. How about buying one in some rural town with no consumer protection laws when you have to ship the car. Winner!!!
You guys ever hear of a title wash? Look it up.
How much is your life worth? You realize you will never get a straight story with a salvage title. It always was “a little scratch” or some other ridicuous story. I know because I was on a mission to find a specific BMW for months and just gave up.
How much is your time worth? You do realize that if you buy a car out of your state your state’s consumer protection laws do not have jurisdiction.
Classic example of being penny wise and pound foolish. You are going to get what you deserve.
To make an investing analogy, it would be like optimizing an equity portfolio and not taking risk or transaction costs into effect.
Wrong. I got a copy of the police report and it matched his story and the car checked out at a mechanic including a frame check. I also talked to the DMVs where the car was salvaged and where it was registered.
I’m not taking any advice from someone who paid $25K cash for a Honda Accord.
Sure you did. And I’m sure this was all “verified.” Especially by the DMV, we all know how helpful they are to interact with. And how did you do this, via phone? LMAO
And I didn’t pay anything near 25k and that’s including 8.75% sales tax and registration fees. And the reviews from Car and Driver and Motortrend are extremely positive for the specific model. They drive exotics every day so I value their opinion over an idiot who cannot afford to buy a legit car, so he has to go out and scour the salvage market.