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How to Repair a Salvage Car (And Is It Worth It?)

The market for salvaged cars is an interesting and varied one. In the majority of cases, a truly totaled car will be sold primarily for parts. This is indeed the fate of most cars past a certain stage of disrepair, which is not to say for a moment that trading in a car in such a condition cannot still be a profitable decision. One of the hottest trends amongused car dealerships in recent decades has been the proclamation “we buy any car”. And this isn’t mere marketing lingo; many used car dealerships really will purchase any car. There is a simple reason for this – a car in a poor state can be restored and sold on at a profit, and a wrecked car can be sold for parts.

Depending on the dealership though, the cost of restoration can vary. Most reputable dealerships have the restoration resources to restore almost any car and the requisite market reach to find a buyer somewhere across a network of outlets and partners. However, the smaller the dealership, the less considerable their restoration resources and, in turn, the less restoration work they can actually do. This means that, in many cases, a wrecked car can be sold as is, with restoration up to the buyer. The advantage of this arrangement is, of course, that such cars invariably go for extremely low prices, meaning you could find a great car at an amazing price.

CarFastCash, a Southern California based dealership with outlets across LA County, San Bernardino, and San Diego say that they often restore even the most wrecked cars to a roadworthy condition, managing to sell them on at a reasonable price. Before deciding to restore a car yourself, it might well be worth investigating such dealerships too.

How To Restore a Used Car

So you’ve decided instead to buy a straight-up salvage car for a low price, aiming to restore it yourself. How do you go about this? Read on to find out how to restore that piece of junk to its former roadworthy state.

Consider What You Can’t Do

This is perhaps the most important step. You should only buy a salvage car if you really know what you are doing as regards its repair. This does not mean that you need to be able to fix every problem it has at home in your garage, but you should certainly identify the repairs that will require a professional because that means extra expense. You should ensure the dealer tells you everything about the state of the carbecause so many problems with cars are invisible to any external inspection. By finding out everything about the car, you can then repair what you can and price the rest.

Identify Cosmetic and Functional Damage

This is an important tip because it means the difference between problems that have no bearing on how the car drives and those which do. The difference between these two is also that the latter will cost more to repair and probably can’t be done at home.

Is It Worth It?

Before doing anything, the question of whether a salvage car is worth the purchase is one that must be answered. As mentioned above, you should learn everything you can about the state of the car and identify what you will have to pay to have the necessary work done. It is then a case of simple arithmetic by adding up your expenses and comparing that to the price of the car. If the former is still the lower figure, then all that’s left to do is go for it.

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