Vehicles & Condition

Insurance Companies do not provide a damage report and/or full description of their vehicles. However, very brief descriptions for Loss Type and Damage Type are normally offered under the Vehicle Description section of each listing. All information provided by the Insurance Companies to our authorized affiliate dealers is displayed on the site but we are not responsible for accuracy and all sales are "As-Is."

Unfortunately, we are unable to determine how damages occur, how long a vehicle has been sitting in its current condition, and if repairs have been done. The Insurance Company does not provide us or our affiliate dealers with damage reports and/or full descriptions and histories of their vehicles. However, very brief descriptions for Loss Type and Damage Type are normally offered under the Vehicle Description section of each listing. All information provided by the Insurance Company to our authorized affiliate dealers is displayed on the site. All vehicles are sold 'AS-IS'.

Because loose parts can be lost/misplaced/detached at Insurance Auctions and/or in transit, we do not guarantee loose parts' availability, even if they are visible in the photographs. We try our best to ensure that our transporters pickup every available piece that is supposed to come with the specified vehicle.

Most vehicles displayed on our website are located on Insurance Company premises and are neither available for nor subject to inspection and testing. Therefore, the Insurance Company lets us know if the item runs or not, (if it does) we include this information in the listing but are not responsible for accuracy of the information.

Insurance Auctions provide only the first 11 digits of the VIN for decoding purposes. The winner will receive the complete VIN once balance is paid on the vehicle.

All vehicles displayed on our website are sold 'as-is', therefore there is no recourse. We understand undercarriage and other latent defects are not visible in the photographs. Customers must understand that salvage vehicles may have latent defects (e.g. undercarriage damage, under hood damage, etc.). Elite Auto Auctions and its affiliate dealers are NOT aware of latent defects of any vehicle. The Insurance Company does not provide us or our affiliate dealers with damage reports and/or full descriptions and histories of their vehicles. All information provided by the Insurance Company to our authorized affiliate dealers is displayed on the site.

Vehicles might also have been previously repaired. Elite Auto Auctions and its affiliate dealers 1) are NOT aware of repairs performed, and 2) cannot comment on or warrant the craftsmanship of repairs, if performed, on any vehicle. Please place your offers with care!

Elite Auto Auctions does not repair vehicles and, for legal reasons, does not provide repair estimates. Prices for new parts can be obtained from a local authorized dealer (of your vehicle make). Prices for used parts can be obtained from a local salvage yard or an on-line auction site.

In some cases, Insurance Auction personnel are able to verify a vehicle's Engine Start capability and Run and Drive condition. Elite Auto Auctions does not perform these verifications. We also have no knowledge of how the Insurance Auction determines Engine Start capability (e.g. booster box, wires spliced/bypassed, etc.), or of how well the engine runs and/or car drives. Elite Auto Auctions can NOT be held responsible for the verification results, running/driving quality and associated problems. If Auction Verification is not published for a particular vehicle, this information is not available.

At the time the vehicle arrived at the Insurance Company facility, it was verified that the vehicle (i) started, (ii) could be put into gear, and (iii) was capable of moving forward under its own power. There is NO guarantee, representation, or warranty that the vehicle is in roadworthy condition or can be driven lawfully upon the highways of any state.

There is no guarantee, representation, or warranty that the vehicle will (i) start, (ii) drive, or (iii) move forward under its own power at the time the vehicle is picked up at the Insurance Company facility.

"Loss Type" describes why the vehicle ended up at auction, and "Other" is simply a catch-all bucket used when the reason doesn't fit a standard insurance category like collision or theft. Paired with a repossession note, it usually just confirms the car was surrendered after a loan default rather than damaged in an accident. It's a paperwork classification, not a condition rating — always check the separate condition report and photos for the vehicle's actual physical state.

Yes, many salvage vehicles are repaired and returned to the road, though the path depends heavily on the damage type and your state's title laws. Typically you'll need to: source replacement parts, complete the repair, pass a state-mandated salvage or reconstructed-vehicle inspection (which verifies the VIN, checks for proper repair, and sometimes screens for stolen parts), and then apply for a rebuilt title through your state's DMV. Some states make this straightforward; others have strict caps on what can be rebuilt at all, so it's worth checking your local DMV rules before you bid.

Mechanical damage is reported by the seller (often an insurer or fleet company) at intake, and in most cases no diagnostic work is performed beyond a visual or basic operational check — nobody has actually pulled the engine apart to find the root cause. The label flags that something mechanical is wrong without claiming to diagnose it. If you need more certainty, request any available engine-start video, review the run-and-drive status field, and budget for an independent pre-bid inspection if the vehicle is local to you.

It depends entirely on the vehicle's title status and condition, not on the fact that it was repossessed. A repo with a clean title that runs and drives can typically be driven away once payment, paperwork, and any required temporary registration are sorted. A repo with a salvage title cannot legally be driven on public roads until it's repaired and re-titled in your state — it has to be transported. Always check the title status field on the listing first.

Engine videos are recorded during intake at the storage facility, and capacity to film every single unit just isn't there given the volume moving through auction yards daily. Vehicles that are non-running, severely damaged, or flagged for certain loss types (like fire or flood) are also less likely to get one, since starting them may not be safe or possible. No video isn't necessarily a red flag — check the run-and-drive status and damage description for the fuller picture.

This indicates the vehicle came from a rental fleet, since SIXT Titling Trust is the legal title-holding entity used by the SIXT rental car company in the U.S. Former rental vehicles are typically well-maintained on a fixed service schedule but also see higher mileage and more varied driver wear than a personally owned car. It's a fleet origin marker, similar to seeing Avis Budget Group or Hertz listed as the seller on other vehicles.

Auction listings generally don't carry a narrative history of the incident — you'll see a damage type code, condition photos, and odometer/title status, but not a story of "what happened and when." Repair history is similarly limited; if a vehicle shows a salvage or rebuilt title, that's your clearest signal that some repair or total-loss event occurred previously. For anything beyond what's listed, a vehicle history report (using the VIN) is the best way to dig further.

Check the "Auction Verification" or "Run Status" field on the listing — it will usually say something like "Starts," "Engine Start Program," "Runs and Drives," or "Stationary." These are intake-time assessments performed by the storage facility, not guarantees, and conditions can change between intake and pickup (a battery can die, for instance). If a status isn't listed at all, treat the vehicle as unverified and inspect in person if possible before bidding heavily.

Generally, yes — if a part is photographed inside or with the vehicle at the time of listing, it's expected to stay with the vehicle through to pickup. That said, parts can shift or go missing between intake and the day you collect the car, especially at high-volume storage yards. It's worth documenting what's shown in photos and raising any discrepancy immediately at pickup rather than after you've left the lot.

Auction platforms typically won't have — or won't disclose — specific incident narratives behind these flags, since the data comes from the original insurer's claim coding rather than a written report available to buyers. "Theft" as a loss type simply means the vehicle was reported stolen and later recovered, often with related damage from how it was treated while missing. A "Biohazard" flag means a contamination concern was identified (commonly bodily fluids) requiring remediation before resale, not necessarily that something occurred inside the specific vehicle you're viewing versus standard handling protocol for that loss category.

No — in virtually every state, a vehicle with a salvage title cannot be legally driven or registered for road use until it has been repaired and passed the state's salvage/rebuilt inspection process. You'll need to arrange transport (a trailer, flatbed, or auto transport service) to move it from the auction or storage facility to wherever the repair will take place.

A missing damage report is more common with certain seller types (some insurance-direct or fleet listings skip a formal report) and doesn't necessarily mean there's no damage — it usually means you need to rely more heavily on the condition photos, the loss type field, and the run-and-drive status instead. If the gap concerns you, an in-person preview or independent third-party inspection before bidding is the safest way to fill in what the paperwork doesn't.

A biohazard designation means the vehicle was flagged for contamination requiring specialized cleaning or remediation before it can be safely resold — most commonly bodily fluids from a medical event or fatality, but it can also apply to other hazardous contamination. By the time these vehicles reach auction they typically have undergone, or are slated for, professional decontamination, but the title and listing will continue to carry the biohazard note as a permanent disclosure. Always factor in extra due diligence and, where local law requires, professional cleaning verification before resale.

This means the storage facility hasn't recorded a verified run-status (such as "Runs and Drives" or "Engine Start") for that vehicle at the time of listing — it's an absence of data, not a confirmation that something is wrong. It often shows up on vehicles that arrived too damaged to test safely, or simply haven't been processed through verification yet. Treat it as unknown rather than negative, and lean on photos and any other available fields.

"Runs and Drives" means staff at the storage facility were able to start the vehicle and move it under its own power for a short distance. "Engine Start" is a step below that — the engine turns over and runs, but the vehicle wasn't tested for actual drivability (it may not shift, steer properly, or move safely). Both are point-in-time checks performed at intake, not a guarantee of condition on the day you pick the vehicle up.

"Stationary" means the vehicle could not be started or moved during intake verification — it stayed in place. This could be due to a dead battery, mechanical failure, missing components, or damage severe enough to prevent operation. It's the most cautious of the verification statuses and typically signals you should plan for transport rather than expecting to drive the vehicle away.

Mechanical damage broadly refers to a failure or breakdown in the vehicle's drivetrain, engine, transmission, electrical system, or other functional components — as opposed to body damage from a collision. It's used when a vehicle is inoperable or impaired due to internal failure rather than an accident, fire, flood, or theft. Because the category is broad, the specific failure (a blown engine versus a failed transmission, for example) usually isn't broken out separately in the listing data.

Yes, engine failure is one of the most common causes behind a "mechanical damage" listing, alongside transmission and electrical issues. The listing typically won't isolate which subsystem failed, so look at any available engine-start video and the run-status field as the best available clues, and assume an engine-specific inspection may be necessary before you commit to a repair budget.

Listing photos are your primary window into this, supplemented by a vehicle history report pulled with the VIN, which can sometimes show prior insurance claims, reported accidents, or title-status changes. Beyond that, auction platforms don't typically retain a contractor's repair log, so an in-person or third-party inspection is the most reliable way to assess repair quality on a specific unit before you bid.

This varies too widely to estimate from a listing alone — it depends on the make and model, parts availability, labor rates in your area, and the true extent of damage once a mechanic actually looks at it. As a rule of thumb, experienced buyers get a quote from a trusted shop before bidding on anything with real damage, rather than estimating from photos, since hidden damage is common with salvage and damaged-title vehicles.

It means the vehicle was submerged or otherwise exposed to significant water intrusion, which can affect the engine, electrical systems, upholstery, and corrosion-prone components depending on depth and duration. It isn't automatically unrepairable — light flood exposure is sometimes fixed economically — but electrical and corrosion issues can surface months later, which is why flood vehicles carry a higher risk profile and tend to need a thorough mechanical and electrical inspection before any repair investment.

Not necessarily — "Engine Starts" only confirms the engine turns over and runs. It doesn't confirm or deny whether the vehicle can be driven; that's a separate field ("Runs and Drives") that may or may not appear depending on whether staff tested it further. If you only see an engine-start confirmation and no drive-tested status, treat drivability as unverified.