V1 New here, now for the donor search....

[CncMan333]

Hello all,

I am in Florida and I am looking forward to getting going on what I hope will be a fun and rewarding build. My preference is toward a fairly straightforward build with either a 2.4 natural aspirated or a supercharged setup. So my search begins -

I thought I had a line on a 06 GT with the NA 2.4 about a 3 hour drive to Jacksonville. The car had a salvage title and was listed as water damage, when I got there the car was only half there as it had already been shifted to their parts car inventory, strike 1. The was another manual car in Jacksonville so we checked that out, sketchy neighborhood, I thought for a minute we were going to be mugged, but we made it out alive and car was not worth the scrap value, it had "hit a few deers" actual quote from seller..... Strike 2. So the other prospect was in Daytona, just a 2 hour shot down east coast. Good price, 08 100K miles, listed as a manual..... not a manual. Good looking car but I really think a manual will make the Goblin more fun, so .... Strike 3. The search continues.

 

[BaltimoreHokie]

Welcome,
Have you looked on Copart? That's where I bought my first donor (sold since), and where I am currently looking. A good bit of the builders on here get theirs from there. Almost all vehicles there have been totaled though. So, you just need to pay special attention to where the damage is. At copart you can visit the car to inspect it, turn it on etc. Right now its actually pretty slim pickings and then auction fee's add up...you're located in FL which means you'll also need to use a broker.

 

[CncMan333]

I am a bit wary of going through the "salvaged vehicle" process. I would rather pay a bit more and get something that I know is proven on the road. Ideally of course it has something like water damage, interior damage, or body damage that gets the price down, but still makes for a good mechanical donor. Of course so far what my trip has proven is that the used cars with reasonable mileage <125K and moderate price <2K are really not even worth that much. I guess that is part of the adventure though.... If my current search fails me I may very well be looking at the salvage route.

 

[BaltimoreHokie]

The word salvage is really interesting when it comes to an 10 or more year old car. Some of the cars I see passing through the auction may have had a fender and a hood that were damaged from a very small accident. Since these cars aren't worth a whole lot, and body shops cost a ton, generally they just total the vehicle. As mentioned, you can go there and start it up etc. but...taking it for a joyride isn't quite possible.

 

[CncMan333]

I have looked at the local sites (autoexporter and salvage bid) and both seem to have mostly front end damage cars. I will keep an eye open though! Another place called ABetterBid seems to have a better class of salvage, but fewer options and mostly automatic ls sedans. Thanks for the advice, I would not want to pass up a great find.

 

[Karter2026]

Pay attention to copart cars. I looked at a bunch all were listed as automatic. While in the photos you could clearly see the shifter and verify it was a 5 spd.

 

[BaltimoreHokie]

I have looked at the local sites (autoexporter and salvage bid) and both seem to have mostly front end damage cars. I will keep an eye open though! Another place called ABetterBid seems to have a better class of salvage, but fewer options and mostly automatic ls sedans. Thanks for the advice, I would not want to pass up a great find.

I ended up winning a listing shortly after I posted. It's local so I'll rent a uhaul trailer and pick it up myself. Paid 1200 w fees. One downfall with this car is that there is a good bit of damage. So not many parts to resale. The upside is that it only has 70k miles and no check engine light. The service records were in the car and they were all done at Chevy.
https://www.copart.com/lot/52015787
As far as I can tell nothing I need to use is damaged. There is a chance the shock in the front passenger will need to be replaced but as far as I can tell everything else is good.

 

[ctuinstra]

That was a heck of a good buy! Looks like the interior and much of it was treated well. Nice wheels that you could use or sell to cover some of the costs.

 

[CncMan333]

That is great! What is all that white stuff all over it?

 

[JSATX]

I ended up winning a listing shortly after I posted. It's local so I'll rent a uhaul trailer and pick it up myself. Paid 1200 w fees. One downfall with this car is that there is a good bit of damage. So not many parts to resale. The upside is that it only has 70k miles and no check engine light. The service records were in the car and they were all done at Chevy.
https://www.copart.com/lot/52015787
As far as I can tell nothing I need to use is damaged. There is a chance the shock in the front passenger will need to be replaced but as far as I can tell everything else is good.

You got a hell of a deal. That’s barely more than what I paid for my base model.

 

[Andy]

Yeah you might be worried about the copart cars but I had similar thinking and I got a SC car from a private sale. After tearing the car down the suspension was shot and the control arm arms bushing needed replacement as I was going to do that anyway not an issue. If I had to do it all over again i would have got a copart car and probably saves like 1000 or 1500. I sold some parts from the car but not enough to offset the extra cost.

 

[Briann1177]

For every bad private sale experience, I'm sure there is an equally bad copart experience.

 

[KJP]

I purchased from a dealership for mine. I got a very good deal on it but had I not come across it I would have used copart with no worries. It's a used car you are gambling either way. I have most of my money back from parting it out.

 

[CncMan333]

It's good to know that people have been successful in many means of getting their donors. Right now I am just being patient and putting out feelers in every direction that I can.

 

[CncMan333]

The search is over! I found this great 07 manual trans, 2.2 motor. 110k miles. good looking under the hood, no leaks, and a rough looking body that brought the price down to 1,000 cash. drove to home 2 hours across the state. Paid the kit deposit, now ready to start to tearing this thing up! I will start a build post in the appropriate directory when we get it inside and start going through the process!

 

[KJP]

Nice find!
Should be a perfect donor

 

[ctuinstra]

Good find! The manual will be so fun!

 

[BaltimoreHokie]

Congrats!!! It think I am going to have about 15-16 hours into the teardown. Can't wait to see your progress

 

[Briann1177]

Nice. It's always good when you can haggle the price down for issues that won't affect your build too much. Missing trunk lid and broken windshield? I'll take it for $500 off.

 

[CncMan333]

I looked specifically for an "ugly car" This one has a broken drivers side door handle, very few teenagers will want to deal with that. There were several dens and dings and a bashed up passenger mirror. However oil changes seem to be made regularly, and this car has a lot more miles left in it.