Even Wrecked Cars Are Getting More Expensive
Junked-car auctioneer Copart is selling totaled vehicles at record prices. Here's why.
There’s a lot of money to be made in totaled cars.
Photographer: picture alliance
Think used cars are expensive? Take a look at totaled cars.
Copart Inc. is a $34 billion company that specializes in auctioning off wrecked cars that insurers deem too damaged to justify the cost of repairs. The insurance companies and other sellers — which include banks, charities and, increasingly, used-car dealers — get what’s recovered in the auction, but they also pay a fee to Copart that in many cases increases proportionally with the value of a vehicle. Late Wednesday, Copart reported record revenue and earnings that handily beat analysts’ estimates, thanks in no small part to what the company said were the highest-ever selling prices for the vehicles auctioned on its platforms.