““In the US rebuilding of a car, and making it legal again, takes six months and let’s say $5,000. It takes $1,000 and one month in Georgia to fix the same car.””
All my cars that I have driven were X titles purchased from Co-Part which is an auction liquidator of cars, mostly insurance owned or bank repos.
Currently driving a Ford Fusion hybrid that was a roll over and picked up for $400. Platinum package, leather interior. The biggest part costs are airbags and computers.
Russians in the game explain why auction prices have been shooting up the last few years. I’m shopping for a 2018-20 Chevrolet Impala with the 6 cyl engine for my next ride. The are incredibly roomy, like a Tardis, they are bigger on the inside. You could easily put 6-8 bodies in the trunk.
Hubs is a mechanic and we run our own repair business with 4 mechanics.
He picked up a complete 1959 Ford Tudor from a farmer for $200 and he still had the original title! Plan to restore it to take grandkids for ice cream and do our small town parades.
Reminds me of a former neighbour who passed away 2 and half years ago. He said he was a former MI6 spy for the UK. He had a lot of stories. Anyway I bought a used Genesis sedan home over 3 years ago and when I showed it to him he said good trunk...you can fit some bodies in it.
“The biggest part costs are airbags and computers.”
...and now also ADAS systems. All the sensors are questionable, at minimum they require recalibration and validation. Removing them is time consuming.
The vehicles may be safer - but they’re so technologically fragile. Fixing anything almost ‘totals’ the car.