The auction prices on some of these vehicles are nuts

http://www.amusingplanet.com/2013/01/airport-runway-becomes-parking-lot-for.html

One of the pictures in the article was posted in a different thread somewhere here on AR. This is an updated article with a little more info. I’m going to be taking a ride out there soon to look at some vehicles. Not for personal use, potentially for breaking down and selling parts that aren’t affected by water infiltration. I have a friend with a large shop who is interested in possibly partnering with me for this mini project. Who knows, I may not find anything i like or worth while. A lot of these vehicles are considered a “total loss” by insurance when in reality, the water level never reached the tail pipe let alone engine/interior etc. Which leaves room for a lot of sellable parts in new condition with no caveats attached. We shall see. Interesting situation though.

Wow that’s crazy

It really is.

Take that Grand Cherokee for example and for argument sake let’s say the dealership wanted out for $ reasons. It most likely did not have water damage. I hate to say it but 99% of dealerships on Long Island are NOT waterfont properties. How are all of these cars flooded?? Anyway, back to the GC. Purchased for $2K+ fees. Let’s say $4K all in. Air bags, leather interior all seats etc, tech package including Navi unit and Sat radio/components, doors, Hood, fenders, possibly the f’ing motor, trans and drive line…ALL NEW. Wheels/Tires, mirrors, glass…holy shit the list goes on. I can’t believe salvage yards aren’t cashing in their 401K’s and IRA’s to purchase these autos left and right. The return is a hell of a lot more than what the market is yielding right now!

I might be a little nuts but when I see an opportunity that has potential and the initial layout X’s the return timeframe falls within an acceptable time frame for me…I begin to get excited.

I have a lot more research to do but it seems doable. It’s like legally running a chop shop an not having to illegally steal the cars. Same margins if not better, legally lol. What’s not to like?

Maybe there is a HUGE caveat that I’m to green to know about? I’ll ask those that know about it than I then decide to move forward or not.

If i was over there I’d buy an s4 or rs4. If new Cherokees are going for 2k then a 18k s4 is going for half that at most. Just sell the motor and Trans and you’ve made a 300% profit.

No kidding. No doubt some of these cars will get washed through a salvage friendly state/province and get debranded and end up on the market somehow.

I’m seriously considering it. Both parts for true salvage cars and possibly whole cars if no evidence of flood.

I would say there’s no chance they’ll let you near them
Dont they have to go through auction?

Maybe I misunderstood the article.

Yes through the auctioneer company. They have photos of most vehicles available. Some more detailed than others. It also helps that I know one of the fueling companies that is contracted there (for the aviation side). Pretty sure if I really pushed he could get me on site for a little while to look at some vehicles. Maybe not - either way, the pictures I’ve seen have been decent thus far. Usually a flood car has tons of debris in the carpeting and other signs. I haven’t seen any cars with this yet.

Sounds fun. I’d do it. All day

There was a flood damaged rs4 that someone bought for peanuts a couple of years ago. Turned out like two modules were damaged and water only made it up to the floor in the cabin. A couple of grand and it was like new.

It really is crazy. The only reason why I think there is a possibility of an amateur like me having some success if everything checks out is due to the shear number of vehicles available. Unless there are 1,000’s of buyers bidding from all 50 states (which is possible), this is quite a large amount of vehicles to choose from. There has to be 5-10 vehicles I could walk with at stellar pricing, at least i’m hoping to. We’ll see.