Donor car

[Mr.Kim]

So i wrecked my car not too long ago, and turns out I had liability only (never trust someone else to do your insurance, and always check your policy). The damage seems to be just the front without any frame damage. Airbag was deployed.

Aside from all of that, where is the best place to purchase a donor car?
Ive noticed that some of these salvaged car auction require you to have a business license, and some have these weird hidden fees. Just need a work around. Also after salvaging the parts from the donor car, where can i sell the transmission and engine?

[gtpvette]

You might try copart.com. I was watching auctions for v6 Camaros for my swap,,, ended up buying a the separate. I would think flood cars out of Houston might be a good way to go if your just looking for body parts. Wont be any running/electrical worth anything but if you get it cheap enough might work.


As a sidebar I sold my engine and trans on here after I pulled them... didn't take long at all.


https://www.copart.com/vehicleFinder...null%7D&page=1


There are two flood cars in this list

[Tcoat]

There are really only three options.
1) Private sale. The odds of finding one with severe enough rear damage to be able to get the parts you need through private sale are pretty remote. You would have to find somebody that is pretty much in the same boat as you and they probably will want to do the same as you are.


2) Buy a whole car from a wrecking yard. Since they make their money buying wrecks and selling individual parts they are not usually interested in selling the whole unit. If they do they are going to want top dollar to get return on their investment. Not the best bet at all.


3) Buy at action. You may have to wait a while for one to come up on public auction but it is by far your best bet. Even with hidden fees it would be the least expensive way to go. You may need to broaden your search area and pay shipping to get one sooner.


Selling the parts you don't need should be simple. You can post them here or/and on any of the many sales sites. Just don't expect to get top dollar for them and they should go fairly easily.


Have the frame checked professionally. It may not seem to have damage but if the impact was enough to set off the airbags there is probably at least some tweaking needed. This of course is not self repairable and the extra costs could make or break the feasibility of the project. You don't want to sink a bunch of cash into repairs just to try and drive and find it only goes in circles.