Auction or dealership
Copart cars and dealership cars are not the same car
If you have priced a US import in Nigeria, you have met Copart and IAAI prices. This is what sits behind them — written to be useful whether or not you ever buy from us.
The auctions
What Copart and IAAI are
Copart and IAAI (Insurance Auto Auctions) are two of the largest vehicle auction companies in the United States. Much of what they sell comes from insurance companies after a claim has been settled as a total loss: collision, flood, fire, hail or theft recovery.
Not every car on those sites is a wreck; they also sell some clean-title and repossessed vehicles. But the headline prices Nigerian buyers see are usually for damaged, branded-title cars — and the listing photographs rarely show what is underneath.
Title brands
What the title is telling you
- Clean
- Never declared a total loss by an insurer. Not a promise of no accidents, but no write-off.
- Salvage
- Declared a total loss. Generally not allowed on US roads until repaired and inspected.
- Rebuilt or reconstructed
- A salvage car that has been repaired and has passed a state inspection.
- Flood or water damage
- Declared damaged by water. Electrical faults and corrosion can surface months later.
The exact names and rules vary from state to state. That matters more than it sounds, as the next section shows.
The part nobody explains
How a branded title becomes a clean one
Title washing is not a rumour, it is a paperwork process. Knowing the four steps is the fastest way to protect yourself, from us or from anyone else.
- 01
The write-off
An insurer declares the car a total loss. The title is branded salvage in that state.
- 02
The move
The car is re-registered in a state with weaker disclosure rules, where that brand is not carried across.
- 03
The reissue
A fresh title is issued. On paper the car now reads clean, though nothing about it has changed.
- 04
The export
It ships with clean paperwork and sells at a clean-title price to a buyer who never sees the history.
The defence is simple, and it is the whole reason we buy where we buy: a VIN you can check yourself, an independent history report, and a dealership invoice with a name on it.
Side by side
A dealership car against an auction car
| Franchised US dealership — how we buy | Salvage auction — how most importers buy |
|---|---|
| Franchised US dealership — how we buy Taken in as a trade-in from a retail owner | Salvage auction — how most importers buy Sold after an insurer has written it off |
| Franchised US dealership — how we buy Inspected and reconditioned to a retail standard | Salvage auction — how most importers buy Collision, flood, hail or theft recovery |
| Franchised US dealership — how we buy Title accepted by the dealership itself | Salvage auction — how most importers buy Repaired quickly to look sellable |
| Franchised US dealership — how we buy Named previous owner and service record | Salvage auction — how most importers buy History gaps the seller cannot explain |
| Franchised US dealership — how we buy Clean title, never an insurance write-off | Salvage auction — how most importers buy Salvage or rebuilt brand on the title |
| Franchised US dealership — how we buy Costs more at source, and holds its value | Salvage auction — how most importers buy Cheap at source, expensive to own |
Protect yourself
How to check any US car before you import it
- Get the 17-character VIN before you pay anything.
- Run an independent history report on it — not one supplied by the seller.
- Search the VIN online. Cars sold through Copart or IAAI often still have their auction listing and damage photographs findable.
- Read the title brand on the actual title document, not a description of it.
- Ask for dated photographs of the underside, engine bay and interior, not just the paintwork.
We send all of this for every car we source. Use the same checklist on any offer — ours included.
In fairness
When an auction car can make sense
For a mechanic or rebuilder who can see the damage, price the repair and do it properly, an auction car can be a sensible buy. The problem is the buyer thousands of kilometres away who is shown the finished car and told it is clean.
That buyer is who we work for. We only buy from licensed dealerships, so the question never comes up.
Questions
What buyers ask us
No. Copart and IAAI also sell some clean-title and repossessed vehicles. But much of their volume comes from insurers after total-loss claims, and the cheapest listings are usually branded-title cars.
It is the minimum, not the whole picture. A title can be washed clean by re-registering the car in another state, so pair it with an independent history report run on the VIN.
Because they were not written off. A retail trade-in, inspected and resold under the dealership name, costs more at source — and holds its value when you come to sell it in Nigeria.
No. Every car we source comes from a licensed US dealership. Anything branded salvage, rebuilt or flood never enters our pipeline.
Want the dealership kind?
Tell us the car. We send the VIN and history for every match before you commit to anything.