Local regular Auctions

Here, in this Province, we have only one car insurer, run by the Province - Manitoba Public Insurance. They work with Private Auctioneers (2 or three) to sell off the cars that get damaged, stolen, written off from Hail Storms (yeah baseball size hail), etc.

They publish a monthly list of future auctions and results from earlier ones. Might help in evaluating what old rigs are going for or finding a part.

http://www.mpi.mb.ca/salvage/salvage_data.asp

 

They have a list of 150 cars most often at risk of being stolen or car-jacked for a joy ride. These cars can't be re-certified with a car immobilizer installed. Any of them from that list that are currently running on last year's insurance, can't be renewed until they get the immobilizer installed. Big Brother is friendly though. If its on that list, its free! If its not, like mine, they pay half, and let you pay the other $140 over the next 12 months with no interest.

The result is that insured drivers from last year got a refund on premiums of about 10%, and this years insured owners will get another one for about $100 or 15% and the 2008 premiums will drop by another 15%. Win-Win-Win and the fourth win is that fewer thefts mean fewer joyriders running over pedestrians, cop car chases, damaged fences, etc.

 

If you like, I can find and post the approved auctioneers that MPI use for these monthly auctions.

 

Some of those vehicles have very little damage how is it they are totaled?

 

The repair is worth more than the car. To put it another way, if its a vintage that was considered a polluter, they weigh that against the repair costs. For such a small Province (1.1 million - 300,000 cars) we write off a heck of a lot of fairly new (8 years old and older cars).

 

Dang there was a nice 75 chevy there

 

You see them as Winter Beaters. Guys from Toronto think came to Resto Heaven, no rust, just pock marks!

 

Top 10 Stolen Car Candidates

Stefan, here's the M-A-R story:

http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2007/12/19/ibc-stolencars.html

Asian cars are getting the Safest Ratings too.