Disclaimer: I do not have a salvage auction license and have only attended a salvage auction once (back in 1998). So the information contained herein is not based on experience. Rather it is based on what I have learned about salvage vehicles over the years from primary and secondary sources. Buying a salvage vehicle is inherently risky and requires some expertise. You do so at your own risk.

Origin of Salvage Vehicles: A lot of factors can cause an insurance company to declare a vehicle as salvage. Such factors include:

1. Traffic Accident
2. Flood Damage
3. Hail Damage (Hail = lumps of ice falling like rain)
4. Fire Damage
5. Theft
6. Vandalism etc

But for the purposes of this article, we will restrict ourselves to vehicles declared salvage due to traffic accident.

Since majority of the vehicles imported into Nigeria are “salvage”, one has to accept that as the norm. The question now should be “how and where can one get the best salvage vehicles?” The first answer that comes to mind is “luck”. If you are lucky, you get a good one. But since one cannot count on luck for such an important capital expenditure, the next best alternative is direct purchase of an un-repaired salvage vehicle.

While most people will prefer to buy a vehicle that is ready to drive (even if it has a salvage history), it might be better to buy such a vehicle in it’s salvage state and do the repairs yourself. When you buy a vehicle with a salvage history, the seller will most likely not tell you what kind of accident it was involved in. If you insist, he may tell you it was only a minor accident involving the bumper (which is most likely untrue).

In my opinion, it is advantageous to buy an un-repaired salvage vehicle for the following reasons:

1. You can see for yourself the extent of damage sustained by the vehicle before buying. It is advisable to look for vehicles with rear or side damage. Avoid ones with front impact as they may be too expensive or difficult to repair.

2. Salvage vehicle dealers are mostly in it for the money. In doing the repairs, most of them will cut corners to save money and end up with a poorly fixed vehicle. But if you do the repairs yourself, you will do a better job albeit at a little extra cost.

3. You usually save a lot of money when you buy an un-repaired salvage vehicle. Use that savings and do a quality repair job. The best option may be to do such repairs in the US. But auto parts and mechanics are very expensive in the US. It may be better to ship the vehicle to Nigeria “as is” and do the repairs in Lagos. Nigerian mechanics are getting better and can do professional repairs.

Note: If you ship an un-repaired salvage vehicle to Lagos, Nigerian Customs will not treat it as such. They will still charge the same rate as a non-salvage vehicle. For instance, if they charge N250,000 to clear a 2005 Honda Accord, they will charge the same price to clear a salvaged one. At least that was the case when a friend cleared a salvage 2009 Camry in Lagos last year.

Where to buy: The best places to buy salvage vehicles in the US are Copart.com and IAAI.com. Both sites require registration. Unfortunately since I am not a registered member of either, I will not be able to assist anyone in buying a salvage vehicle there or anywhere else. But I have a friend who has both Copart and IAAI licenses though he is not a member of Nairaland. If you want his information, contact me at [email]BizzBooks@aol.com[/email] not on this thread (or else, I will be breaking the auto section 3 update rule).

Below are pictures of some salvage vehicles I will consider buying if I am in that field. As you can see, they both sustained extensive damages at the rear but the engines and other parts appear intact. Though both rear ends look terrible now, once they are fixed, you can never tell they were ever in an accident.

Cars pictured are:

1. 2005 Honda Accord
2. 2007 Honda Accord

Pictures courtesy of Copart.com.

On the other hand, below are pictures of salvage vehicles I will not consider buying. As you can see they were all involved in front impact accidents and sustained extensive damages to their engines. This does not mean they cannot be repaired. In most cases, they can be repaired and put back on the road.

Cars pictured are:

1. 2005 Honda Accord
2. 2007 Honda Accord
3. 2007 Honda Accord
4. 2009 Honda Accord

Pictures courtesy of Copart.com.