When most people pay to get damage to their cars repaired, there are some who spend their money to buy damaged cars.  While this may sound odd, there is logic behind it buying a damaged car and getting it repaired could be the cheapest means of getting a car.  If you have the time and the interest to restore a car bought from a damaged auto auction, it can be the cheapest car you can buy.  Unlike general car auctions where people go to look for the best cars at prices they can afford, in a damaged auto auction the buyer is looking to balance the amount of damage with the time and money he will need to spend to get himself a good and reliable set of wheels.

Do not even think of buying from a damaged auto auction if you are not at least a good amateur mechanic you may not be able to do all the repairs yourself, but unless you know what needs to be done and how it should be done, your repair costs could skyrocket and make the whole exercise a waste of time and money.  The first thing to do is to study the list of cars available at a damaged auto auction and make a short list of the ones that interest you this should be based on the type of car, the nature of the damage and the cost and effort of repair.  Keep in mind that spare parts for many models can be expensive and also hard to get hold of.  Get second opinions about the nature of the repairs required so that you can be sure that you have not bitten off more than you can chew this involves getting an expert to inspect the cars you have short listed along with you.  Once these estimates are ready check to see if buying the same car in an undamaged condition would not be cheaper and if so, drop the damaged auto auction and go in for the undamaged car.

Once you are sure that the economics of buying from a damaged auto auction makes sense, make sure that you do not let your self get involved in bidding wars and spend more than you planned this will affect the final restored price of the car and could make to whole effort a waste of time.  If you are willing to take all the time and trouble needed to restore a damaged car, you should be able to have a safe reliable car that will give you years of reliable service.