Damaged 1990 Reatta Convertible at Auction

[Bob H]

Found a nice 1990 parts convertible at a COPART auction in Sikeston, Missouri but it is just too far for me to go from Rainier, Oregon.  Select 60 with only 12K miles. Blown airbag but it is probably repairable. Opportunity for someone closer. Bob H

[padgett]

Copart can arrange transportation. Make sure it has a clean title though unless where you live it does not matter.

[padgett]

You have to have a copart account to be able to bid.

 

Try https://www.copart.com/lot/24586799 - sticker shows VIN: 904674. Seems to have a clear title.

Edited March 11, 2019 by padgett (see edit history)

[nsrick]

Same vin number car was listed for sale a while ago  stating 4,000 miles and asking $40,000.00.  At that time car was in Schaumburg Il. 

 

[nsrick]

looking over the old add when it was for sale this had all select sixty documentation and the select sixty hood badge, will be interesting to see what it sells for  

[Jim]

I used to buy a lot of cars at Copart.

Some locations they sell to the public and some locations are dealer only.

 

[Barney Eaton]

Can someone verify the vin number...........I probably have the car listed but one of the things the database might do in the future is tell about cars that were wrecked..........then repaired and that damage not disclosed.

[padgett]

Barney :

[nsrick]

VIN 1G4EC33C1LB90467  

there are 3 other reatta s on copart  

VIN 1G4EC13C0LB903147

VIN 1G4EC13L1MB900873

VIN 1G4EC13C3LB903210

 

I copied the add when it was for sale a few years ago  

1990 Buick Reatta Select 60 Convertible on 2040-cars

US $40,000.00

 

[nsrick]

missed last digit on the select 60  vin 1G4EC33C1LB904674

[NCReatta]

I am making an effort to buy this car on Copart. Hoping it can be saved. I just hope this post doesn't end up like that Select 60 in Houston several years ago. A bunch of tire kickers driving the price up with pure speculation. 

 

The car has a salvage title, so that affects the value a but it still looks repairable. 

 

 

[Barney Eaton]

I have a note that the car was in Floriad in 2006 with 4,674 miles.

[39BuickEight]

8 hours ago, Jim said:

I used to buy a lot of cars at Copart.

Some locations they sell to the public and some locations are dealer only.

 

And some do both like my local one here in Lexington, KY.  Certain lots are dealer only while others are not.  As an insurance adjuster, I send cars there weekly, but I can’t figure out how they sort them (or why some cars are expensive while others aren’t).

[Y-JobFan]

I am near positive  this was Pat Hannah''s car - if so, it's a massive shame, the car was beyond beautiful when he had it.  

[nsrick]

I do think I will bid  

looking for opinions here    

I am thinking salvage title even if car was returned to mint condition  the title would reduce price by about $4,000.00  maybe more considering what type of buyers would be looking at this.   Just my thought is the car jumped a high curb  at a medium speed 30-40 mph since both tires are blown but little damage to the bumper . I do see a fluid leak that is not coolant  maybe transmission or steering rack.  the unknown is suspension parts and engine carriage.    Hardest part to find I think will be a flame red air bag  red may be suitable but will never match well.

this does answer one question about 30 year old air bags working  THEY DO

 

 

My thoughts are that I would use this as a parts car for my 90K mile select sixty  a lot of good parts I could use to prefect mine.  

so any thoughts.  I know we all want to see as many of these cars remain on road and thought of using a 12K mile car for parts may not be favorable to many.  

Please jump in will all your thoughts

 

[39BuickEight]

I don’t think a salvage title would matter to a buyer looking for this car in the future, especially with proper documentation.   If there were a lot full of them, then sure.  The older a car is, the less of an issue a branded title becomes.  For example, completely restored cars are obviously rebuilt, but often have clear titles.  The quality of an older car as it sits is what defines it.

[nsrick]

well it looks like only dealers can bid on this one

[padgett]

Surely some people here have a dealer's license...

 

BTW does this help ?

Edited March 14, 2019 by padgett (see edit history)

[nsrick]

hard to tell what looking at from the pic  is that the cradle hanging down? 

[Kevin M]

The ad says undercarriage damage so maybe. My question  is how hard does this car need to be hit to have the airbag deployed? From the pictures it doesn’t look too bad. I’d go for tot if I knew I could fix what’s wrong and had the space for another car. 

[Ronnie]

The insurance company didn't total a car that nice for the body damage we see in the photos. There must be something badly damaged underneath or they would have paid to have that car repaired.

[Dashmaster]

Just a guess. If it was caused by Engine Cradle Mount failure, Went over curb blowing out the tires and into a bank, see the grass in the front. Insurance Company might have looked it up to repair but since there are no Factory  Engine Cradle replacement parts they would total it.

[39BuickEight]

1 hour ago, Ronnie said:

The insurance company didn't total a car that nice for the body damage we see in the photos. There must be something badly damaged underneath or they would have paid to have that car repaired.

From a guy who works as an auto adjuster for an insurance company, you never know what customer demands and calculations are done behind the scenes.  For example, the insurance company could have talked themselves into doing a constructive total loss, thinking (correctly or not) that a strong salvage return would make it worthwhile-especially if the insured is agreeable.  You never know.  This is also why some incredible deals can be found at these auctions.  Not all cars are there because of excessive damage.

[padgett]

One of the options at CoPart is to have a local appraiser examine it, think it costs a coupla benjamins.

[Ronnie]

4 minutes ago, 39BuickEight said:

the insurance company could have talked themselves into doing a constructive total loss, thinking (correctly or not) that a strong salvage return would make it worthwhile-especially if the insured is agreeable.

Could you elaborate on how that works? Are you saying they paid off the insured hoping to recoup their money at auction?  I've been lucky and not had to deal much with insurance claims and how they are settled. Only a few fender benders and they were taken care of quickly and easily.

[39BuickEight]

22 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

Could you elaborate on how that works? Are you saying they paid off the insured hoping to recoup their money at auction?  I've been lucky and not had to deal much with insurance claims and how they are settled. Only a few fender benders and they were taken care of quickly and easily.

 

Yes.  In most states (of course insurance can differ by state) an estimate that is over 75% (I know some are 100%) of the value of the vehicle means its a total loss.  There are also variations of that.  Here in Kentucky, for example, airbag costs don't have to count in that.  A "normal" total loss would be, say, a $10,000 car with over $7500 in damage.  The insurance company pays the $10,000, sells the salvage for, say, $1500, and thus are out $8500 on the claim at the end.

 

On a constructive total loss, you might have a $10,000 car with only $4000 in damage.  Either the owner (because they don't want the car fixed for any number of reasons) will ask it to be a total loss, or the insurance company, if they know the salvage is valuable, might ask the owner if they would rather total it.  If the car appears to be worth more than $6000 as it sits damaged, then paying the $10,000 and selling if for $6000 would net the same result and everybody is happy.  That's a risk they take that it's actually going to sell for $6000.  It's very easy to predict what popular late model cars sell for as there is plenty of auction data on them.  It gets more difficult to predict what a car like this Reatta would sell for because there isn't any data on this type of car with this mileage selling any time recently, or maybe ever.

 

Generally, the insurance adjuster wants the owner to be happy and will do what they can defend to their superiors as making sense, in order to settle the claim.

[Kevin M]

A friend of my dad got in an accident and they totalled his car for the airbag going off. This was last year and it was an 06 Honda CR-V. My guess is if a ten year old car they made a lot of gets totaled for an airbag. A 30 year old car no ones heard of definitely will. Could be as simple as that. 

[nsrick]

I have been looking into bidding on it you can hire a broker to bid but there are fees that total almost $900.00  plus transport to my location is $550.00 

so that's $1450.00 cost. So just to start I am looking at 2950.00   

 

[Ronnie]

49BuickEight,

Thanks for the explanation. It was very enlightening for someone like me who knows little about insurance. I have a feeling that whoever gets the money for this S-60 is going to be disappointed with what it sells for considering it doesen't have a clear title and it is dealer only auction that prevents most Reatta enthusiast from bidding. I hope it goes to a good home.

[padgett]

The other factor at least in Florida is that a regular title costs $70. A salvage (branded) title costs $7. Could be that simple.

[Barney Eaton]

Like maybe it ripped the pan off the engine, it  ran out of oil and the engine seized.......just a minor problem

[39BuickEight]

They are advertising it is as run and drive verified:

 

 

[nsrick]

so did any one on here get this?

[Bob H]

FYI, the car sold for $5500 plus fees. The reserve was met at $5000 so it indeed did sell. The only hint to the buyer's identity was that  Missouri is home. That could be a broker's base of operations. Hope it doesn't become a flood car! Bob H

[Barney Eaton]

Billy (39 BuickEight) has the inside track on how these deals work.........what has not been addressed is the insurance company is in business to make money.  The transaction is not just what the car is worth and what they can scrap it for......

The other part of the equation is what we call in manufacturing, overhead.    Every day it cost a business so many dollars per hour to keep the doors open.  Everything from rent, taxes, utilities, etc, etc, and pencils.

When a vehicle is wrecked,  it looks like the two choices are,  (1) fix it  (2) scrap it.   Each choice has its plus and minuses,  and every hour someone at the insurance company spends on that case add additional cost.

It seems fairly common with Reattas for them to be scrapped.   I believe that is done because if the fix option is used, someone must not only fix the vehicle, but find the parts.   In the case of Reattas, it may be hard to estimate what the parts will cost and

secondly can they find all the parts they need.   From the insurance company standpoint,  it is probably much cheaper to scrap the car,  eliminating many hours of searching for parts etc...and if the owner is happy with the check amount, the deal is done.

Remember, even if the decision was to fix the car,  the owner must be happy with the results .....or more time (overhead) is expended by the insurance company before that case is closed.   

[Y-JobFan]

Would be interesting to know how the car was insured and for what amount.  That car should have been insured for no less than 20K and I know the car changed hands for north of that when bought.  

[Booreatta]

Has anyone figured out where this car went and if it is going to be fixed or parted out. I could sure use a red floor MAT

Edited April 10, 2019 by Booreatta
correction of spelling (see edit history)