Automobiles at Storage Auctions

I bought a unit today that had a 1993 Chevy Camaro in it. VIN says it's a 6 cylinder...which sucks that it's not a Z28. All you could see it the driver side windshield and mirror (apparently the boxes were moved so they could get the VIN), the rest of the car was buried under boxes. Can't even tell what kind of condition it's in because of the amount of dust.

Turns out, the car is titled in Arizona and has been sitting in a Texas storage unit for over at least 3 years but nobody knew exactly how long. A lot of the boxes look like they contain new satellite dishes and receivers.  The facility manager told me that they almost foreclosed on the tenant a year ago and all of the boxes weren't there at that time, just the car. So, that might be a plus if the stuff in the boxes is newer merchandise. Haven't had a chance to look yet. 

So, I guess what my question is, since the car is currently titled in Arizona, do I have to try to get title in Arizona and then transfer title to Texas?

So, I guess what my question is, since the car is currently titled in Arizona, do I have to try to get title in Arizona and then transfer title to Texas?

Call the Texas and/or Arizona RMV and ask them.

Gonna be tricky unless they sold you the car with the proper paperwork to transfer the title. Depending on the state laws you might only be able to sell it "parts only". That ATV I got turned out it had a lien on the title. I ended up selling it to an ATV dealer & let him deal with it.

Yeah, I did get a lot of paperwork. The sent paperwork to Arizona and to Texas. They also sent a demand to the lienholder and they refused. I have a copy of the notice of public sale and a bill of sale.

Once I see the vehicles condition, I'll have a better idea what I want to do. It may not even be worth titling. I might just part it out.

There aren't many of the 6 cylinders left on the road, so that might be a good thing if someone really needs specific parts.

6cylinder sports cars are actually higher in demand these days with new drivers and middle aged. Most want the look and not performance. A 1967 impala went up for auction here a few months ago and it was plated in Oregon. The management helped the buyer to get it registered in NC which he then transferred to his home state, Ohio.

This Camaro is literally buried. (See pic) I can't even get to 90% of the boxes without pulling the car out. Thinking about calling a tow truck and having it hauled to my house. I posted an ad on Craigslist for the car. Priced at $750 as is. I have a guy that seems really interested in buying  it as a fixer upper for his granddaughter. Maybe because it's a crap shoot and he might be able to pick up a running Camaro for $750.

I could pay for towing, hire a locksmith to make keys, buy a battery, put on four used tires, transfer the title and pay the fees, etc., but I would rather just make a small profit and move on. Plus, I'm more interested in whats in the boxes in the back.



You can't tell in the photo, but the car is actually purple...it's just covered with years of dust.

I could pay for towing, hire a locksmith to make keys, buy a battery, put on four used tires, transfer the title and pay the fees, etc., but I would rather just make a small profit and move on. Plus, I'm more interested in whats in the boxes in the back.

Maybe the title and keys are in one of those boxes!

Maybe the title and keys are in one of those boxes!

Maybe. I would just be happy if the keys were in the ignition.

Luckily those old camaro's ignition lock cyliders are easy (and cheap) to replace. $50-ish.
Only problem is since you don't have the original key you need to have a special tool to remove.....and by special I mean a hammer

if someone will pay $750 As-Is id grab it.

scrap? Frame is $100.  Catylitic converter $50-75.  Body parts depends on condition.
Is it a T-Top?   If so and seals are good that could be $500 right there.....

Thanks, Ill keep that in mind.

So far, I have 3 people that want to come look at the car on Sunday and 1 guy that wants the transmission. So I'm feeling pretty good about it at this point.

Got the car out of storage a few days ago. Luckily, the keys were in the ignition. My buddy who is a mechanic came out and was able to get the engine to turn over but the fuel pump turned out to be bad. So anyway, about an hour after I got the car home I got a call from a lady who was interested in the car for her son. They came out immediately and paid me $1250 for it. The titling process was quite easy since the storage facility completed all of their forms and followed all notification procedures correctly.

The rest of the stuff in the unit was all common household items and furniture. I'm going to list the unit for sale on VirtualStorageAuction.com since I don't want to have a garage sale.

Why don't you list it on storage treasures and get some real exposure?

The traffic would be insignificant compared to the sites we currently submit to.

I have a feeling Storage Treasures is getting ready to move into the online storage auction niche. If you recall, a few months back they released their results from their survey, which appeared to be more of a feasibility study on online storage auctions. Not only that, lately they have been focusing their SEO efforts on keywords related to the niche. I wouldn't be surprised if they came out with a competing site in the next year or so. 

With online storage auctions, attracting buyers is easy. Attracting storage facilities is challenging.

That ws a great find! glad it worked out for you!

I appreciate it. It was a bit of a gamble but as the saying goes, "scared money don't make money."