Well let me tell you about my experience. A friend told me about this web site to be able to get a decent car at a good price. Well I got an account and went on and bought a car. Well I was excited because I did some research before buying, such as how to look for a good deal (or at least thought I did) and went I went to go pick it up. I tried to start it and nothing, well maybe because it had no key. Well in the auction they said it had keys and it runs and drives
Now let me tell you what happened next. Well I went back up to the counter and told them the keys were missing and it did not run and drive hence no key Well they are wow no key someone must have taken them (acted like it was not their problem). Also told me they dont guaranty keys and put a copied print out of a part of online agreement (Which by the way conflicts with their member protection guarantee), and it was my problem and have no problem defrauding the customers at auction time stating that they have the keys and supposebly one hour before they dont let anyone around the cars. So that leads me to believe they dont check the cars before they go on the auction block (Which leads me to believe they are lazy and dishonest.
Also let me tell you about how run and drive guarantee works they start it, put in drive and drive forward a few yards then stop and put in reverse. If it can do that it is run and drives guaranteed *Spit*. Well after long talk with them they decided to have a lock smith come out to rekey the car (Or so they said). Well they were unable to do it that day so I have to go home to Raleigh and then drive back out the next week (2 hour drive on the norm). Well went to get the car and low and behold the key was there, but again did not start hence run and drive right? Well got a jump and it started. Pulling out of the drive way it would not shift right. Well I was like h**l I have been had but maybe its not that bad. Well got it home 3 hours later driving in second gear (took forever). Well figured out it was the transmission. So it sat for a month in that time killed the battery had it towed to a transmission shop. The transmission shop called me saying the cars immobilizer was not reading the chip in the key. Well I went there called a lock smith and the keys they gave me did not have a chip. They tried and tried to start it with the key well lets just say Copart got over on me again they were not even chipped. Even the lock smith was questioning this one. But when I started it I did not shut it off till I got home in Wendell. Well come to find out there is tow was for this to happen they find an odd ball key and program the chip to it and type it close to the ignition or set the car in emergency mode to start with the key one time then it would not start again hence with the transmission I did not stop it till I got home. Well so I was like d**n it $174 rekey. Buyer be where they deceive member to sell cars and will go as far and deceiving in pictures taking bad angles and blurry pictures to cover up damage.
Member Protection Pledge (They are there for the person selling and not for the buyer)
Enhanced Vehicle (Does this not scream rip off the customer) |
Vehicles listed as "Enhanced Vehicles" are those where: (i) the seller has authorized Copart to perform an enhancement service to the vehicle such as a wash and vacuum or protective covering or (ii) the vehicle is under a program that gives Copart discretion to utilize enhancement services to maximize the value of the vehicle. This designation does not guarantee that any enhancement service was completed but rather indicates that qualifying vehicles would likely be enhanced. It is the Member's responsibility to inspect and verify the utilization of enhancement services. |
shovelhead
Lansing,#2Consumer Suggestion
Tue, December 03, 2013
Copart is not a bad place to purchase vehicles but just be careful and do your homework. Many shady dealers place vehicles in salvage auctions. Some of these are partially put back together to make them look good for the internet photos. We use Salvage Research when bidding at online salvage auctions. They will help you by finding these shady dealer cars. Go to their site and see some of the examples.......
URClueless
Anytown,#3Consumer Comment
Wed, July 04, 2012
While I understand the original posters (OPs) frustration with his purchase it doesn't really seem that Copart played much, if any, role in this buyers dissatisfaction. It is quite obvious he didn't really understand what he was buying or the process involved in buying through Copart. That is mainly his fault and not the fault of the company. It would also help if the OP was able to write a clear, concise, coherent sentence so someone could actually understand what he was trying to say.
Copart clearly lists all of the info regarding the cars, to the best of their ability, in the vehicle listing. On the Copart website they also clearly explain the process of purchasing cars through them & what to expect when doing so.
Ripoff Report isn't the only place where I have read complaints about Copart. But the similarities in the complaints is uncanny. The majority of vehicles that Copart sells have salvage titles, which means that the cars have been written off by the insurance companies & junked, instead of being repaired. Then people, like the OP, purchase a junker from Copart & then cry/complain when the car turns out to be a pile of junk. What do people expect from a car they paid a few thousand dollars for that has a salvage car title? People need to use a little bit of common sense.
I purchased a 2001 Mercedes S430 through Copart back in June 2009. However, I wasn't interested in buying a pile of junk, so I only searched for cars with 'clear' titles which had the primary damage listed as 'normal wear'.
Back in 2009 Copart didn't list the vehicle identification numbers (VIN #s) in the car listing like they do now. In 2009 you also had to go through a reseller (i.e. a licensed car dealer) to purchase cars from their auctions. Now you can register directly through Copart's website to purchase vehicles.
What I had to do in 2009 was to request the VIN #s for the cars I was interested in from the reseller. Then I took the VIN #s & ran both a CarFax & AutoCheck report for each vehicle before I finally settled on the car I was interested in bidding on. When my car finally came up for auction I bid online & ended up winning. Then I went on UShip.com & hired a transport company to pick the car up at Copart's Las Vegas facility & had it delivered to my house.
Even though I purchased a car from Copart for $10.5k with a clear title that only had normal wear & a clean CarFax & Autocheck report I still didn't expect it to be perfect. After all, the car was already 8 years old & had almost 80K miles on it. It was obviously going to need some work.
Sure enough there were issues with the car that I had to repair. I went online to several Mercedes car forums & researched the problems since I knew that others would have the same issues with their older Mercedes. Then I went & purchased the parts needed & made the repairs myself.
I also took the car in to have the oil/brake/coolant/transmission fluids changed out. In addition, I took it to a PDR (paintless dent repair) shop & had them pop out 4 dents from the driver's side rear passenger door. I also bought a new set of tires for the car since the car had two different brands of tires on it when I received it. Furthermore, I bought a set of Mercedes AMG wheels that I found on eBay to make the car look more up to date since the stock wheels looked small & outdated. Last but not least I detailed the car & bought a new set of carpeted Mercedes floor mats for it.
Did I pay quite a bit for the car. Yes. Did I have to put even more time & money into the car to make it almost perfect. Yes. But when I was through the car looked great inside & out. It was also mechanically sound & it ran well. I drove it for a few months & then put it up for sale on AutoTrader. The car sold in a matter of days to the 1st person who called about it.
The moral of the story is this. CAVEAT EMPTOR (let the buyer beware)!
1. Don't buy a car from Copart if you don't know anything about cars or how to repair them
2. Don't buy a car from Copart unless you can afford to spend time & money making repairs to the car
3. Don't expect something for nothing (i.e. a perfect car for $1k or $2k dollars that has a salvage title)
4. Don't expect the car to be perfect even with a 'clear' title & 'normal wear' listed as the primary problem
If you follow the above rules you will reduce the likelihood of having issues. Remember, Copart sells used vehicles, most of which have been junked that have salvage titles. Don't take the car listing as gospel. Don't be surprised if the car won't start, has missing keys, mismatched tires etc...Those are things that come with the territory when buying from a salvage car company like Copart.
coast
USA#4Consumer Comment
Thu, February 16, 2012
"I did some research before buying"
Research that doesn't include a test-drive is useless.