Another Copart thread- why a Epic Vin report is worth the $6

GON

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Came across a what may of been a decent looking deal (rare) on a 2010 S-class on Copart. Deals on Copart are super rare, and even worse now that is seems everyone is getting large sums of money from the federal government. I find it cheaper to buy a vehicle with a clean title than what vehciles are currently selling at auction on Copart for with salvage titles.

The pictures looked ok, yet something seemed strange as the fix looks pretty easy. May be costly and/or time consuming (to get a deal on the needed parts) for the hood, windshield, and likely headlights.

Decided to pay for a Epic Vin report which shows all history on a vehicle that was put on the internet by VIN.

This first post will show what is going to auction tomorrow. The next post will show the vehicle a few weeks ago, the first time it went to auction in December 2020, this is the second time it is going to auction this month.
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This is the vehicle when it was sold earlier in December 2020 at auction. My guess is the vehicle has major issues, from unibody damage to mechanical to who knows what. Whoever was fixing it stopped, with visually looks like easy to fix damage, and sent it back to auction. Damage likes this, and even more so vandalism, is often used a distraction to big hidden issues.
 

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It seems like these S classes get exported or get put on buy here pay here lots once they are of off lease age. The monumental depreciation and expensive parts makes them easy to total with minor visible damage for the insurance companies. What is book value on this in undamaged condition? Those aftermarket wheels make me immediately question the car’s history.
 
Here are the wheels on this exact 2010 S-class when it sold used in 2014. The epic vin report comes in handy for things like this.

This S-class goes to auction tomorrow. I think a used ten year old s-class, with extreme background history screening, may be one on the best values in used cars. My daily driver is a 2004 S-class with 205k miles, I purchase from copart, a houston flood vehicle, with 145k miles.
 

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I saw the AMG badges in the Copart pics and ran the vin and see it’s a regular S class. A hood, grille, bumper parts, rad support, windshield and rt headlamp would be enough to total it if the car is a $15ish thousand car. Wouldn’t shock me if it needed major engine or trans work and the owner damaged it so insurance would pay. Then the recent buyer found there was more wrong than just the visible stuff.
 
I think those may have ABC and you get issues with the pump and various leaks not to mention the rest of the suspension at each corner. I think the transmission are usually decent, but they sometimes need conductor plates and then there's always transfer case/differential issues. The regular S550 engine should be fine, but suffers the same issues as the M272 V6 engines with the intake manifold going bad if the oil separator/oil breather cover is leaking oil into the intake. With the new model of S class, I'm hoping the price of 2014+ models start to drop, they've been up there for a while yet 2013 and lower models can be had for under 20k.
 
I saw the AMG badges in the Copart pics and ran the vin and see it’s a regular S class. A hood, grille, bumper parts, rad support, windshield and rt headlamp would be enough to total it if the car is a $15ish thousand car. Wouldn’t shock me if it needed major engine or trans work and the owner damaged it so insurance would pay. Then the recent buyer found there was more wrong than just the visible stuff.
I don't know much about Mercedes, but I think a lot of US cars get AMG body work even if it's a plain jane version.

In any case, the car in the OP is some bougie junk on Rim Tyme wheels.
 
Do you have to be a dealer to get an Epic Report?
No, I buy the subscription pack of I think six reports for $6 each. Individually they cost $19. It can be very helpful. but really just an added fee that Copart can charge. Epic Vin reports almost always tell me the car is a "pass". Saves a lot of time trying to "see whats under the lipstick".

I am sure Epic Vin and Copart have some type of formal partnership (revenue sharing).
 
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Found yet another "double auction".

This 2012 S-class goes on the block in Houston tomorrow. Yet it was auctioned a little earlier this quarter. You can see the two different copart lot number stickers on the windshield.

Not sure what is going on- but guessing a party purchased the vehicle at auction- the damage was greater than they guestimated... and they sent it back to copart looking for another uneducated buyer
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I don't know much about Mercedes, but I think a lot of US cars get AMG body work even if it's a plain jane version.

In any case, the car in the OP is some bougie junk on Rim Tyme wheels.
Any time I see garish wheels like that on something like an S-Class It has to be a huge red flag. These do not tolerate owners who don’t go by the book, You want these after some rich old guy owned it or a fleet owned it and took it to the dealer for everything, not after it sat in the section 8 housing parking lot.
 
Sometimes a buyer will buy a car and patch it up *just enough* to make it look dramatically better in the pictures, then turn back around and re-auction it at a quick and tidy profit. They only improve on what the pictures will show, and won't attempt to resolve any costly or labor intensive issues.

To avoid this, look at who the seller is... is it an insurance company, or not?
 
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Junk at CoPart. No news here. It's hard to find that "one in a thousand jewell."
 
Going to stay out of commenting further about the sums of money as it gets into a lane not permitted on BITOG.
 
Who are these people and how large are these large sums of money?

Are they business owners?
The sums of money comment still doesn't make the cars at CoPart anything special. So it's nonsensical comment.
 
I don't know much about Mercedes, but I think a lot of US cars get AMG body work even if it's a plain jane version.

In any case, the car in the OP is some bougie junk on Rim Tyme wheels.
If this is the case then how would we ever know if we're actually buying a genuine AMG? Would the VIN reveal that or do we have to dig deeper?
 
Sometimes a buyer will buy a car and patch it up *just enough* to make it look dramatically better in the pictures, then turn back around and re-auction it at a quick and tidy profit. They only improve on what the pictures will show, and won't attempt to resolve any costly or labor intensive issues.

To avoid this, look at who the seller is... is it an insurance company, or not?
Please forgive my ignorance but if the vendor is an insurance company would this be good or bad?🤔
 
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