The National Association of Fleet Administrators reports in its annual safety survey that 23,192 vehicles of its member companies were involved in accidents in 1991. The total physical damage estimate for these vehicles was $20,614,935, representing an average cost of $1,019 per vehicle.

But what about the vehicles that are so heavily damaged that they have to be removed from fleet services? How do you recoup these losses? One way is by selling them through a salvage company.

Salvage companies provide a venue for selling damaged, inoperable, and burned vehicles to dismantlers, wholesalers, dealers, and repair shops - often for more money than a fleet can get by selling direct.

Steve Carson, marketing and advertising manager for Copart, Inc. in Vallejo, CA, says that selling a damaged car at a salvage auction increases a vehicle's resale value. "We increase fleet returns by as much as 30 percent by selling damaged vehicles through auctions."

While the amount of damage affects how much a vehicle brings in at auction, there are things you can do beforehand to maximize the resale price.

Every Vehicle Has Value

Regardless of the amount of damage, every vehicle still has value.

"Every car has its own price. Even a total burn can sometimes bring money," says Carson.

Bob McDevitt, vice president of sales and marketing at Anglo American Auto Auctions in Nashville, TN, agrees with Carson. "There's value to almost everything," he says. "Usually a car isn't wrecked so badly that a salvage company or used-parts company wouldn't want it." Normally the resale value of a salvaged vehicle is determined by what parts are intact and the value those parts have in the resale market.

Selecting the Right Auction

Selling cars by salvage sale is relatively simple. All you need to do is contact an auction which will pick up the car and get it ready for sale. Those auctions that do not sell salvage will be able to direct you to those that do.

It is important to choose the right auction to sell salvage vehicles. First of all, auctions that specialize in salvage sales bring in buyers that are specifically looking for these kinds of vehicles. Secondly, an auction that has a good reputation and a high volume of consigned vehicles will attract a larger number of buyers, says Mel Martin, president of M&M Auto Storage Pool, which is a subsidiary of Insurance Auto Auctions, in Phoenix, AZ. Many auctions will be able to sell your salvaged vehicles within one week.

How to Increase a Car's Value

In order to ensure that your vehicle will bring in a good bid, the car must be as clean as possible. "If the vehicle is clean, it will sell better," says Martin. He also adds that merchandising is very important to getting the best return on your salvaged vehicle.

Many salvage companies will clean vehicles for a small fee, but unless you specify that you want that done, they will not do anything to recondition a vehicle.

"Unless we are instructed otherwise, the car comes in as a total and it is not touched," says Norm Grunstad, executive director of the American Salvage Pool Association in Phoenix, AZ. "It is sold as it arrived and goes out of the gate as it arrived."

In addition to cleaning a vehicle to improve its overall appearance, you will get a higher bid if the tires are filled up, and the battery is charged.

Sealed Bid vs. Open Auction

Vehicles can be auctioned off by sealed bid or open auction.

In a sealed bid, buyers write their bid on a piece of paper. The bid is then placed in a sealed envelope and the seller reviews the bids at a later time. McDevitt says that selling a salvaged vehicle this way is not as competitive a open bidding and often leads to manipulation by the buyers. "The dealers get together and bid what they want," he says. "In an open bidding arrangement, everybody's there sticking their hands up and they're going to bid on what they feel the vehicle is worth."

What Happens After a Car is Sold?

Once a car is sold, the salvage dealer takes care of getting the car licensed and titled. If the buyer needs the car (or cars) delivered, the salvage auction will arrange for delivery.

Many buyers repair the drivable cars at their shops and resell them to consumers as used vehicles. In order to protect the salvage buyer and ultimately the consumer purchasing the used vehicle, the vehicle's title is branded to reflect that the car is a salvaged vehicle.

Federal Task Force and National Database Seek to Deter Title Washing

Legislation designed to toughen law enforcement against auto theft, stolen parts trafficking, title fraud, and the export of stolen cars was signed into law on Oct. 8, 1992.

The new law, the Anti-Car Theft Act of 1992, establishes a federal task force to help stop salvage "title washing," and creates a national database that would give each state access to the records of another state. Vehicles that have had their titles "washed clean" of salvage brands are vehicles that typically have been involved in a serious accident, declared a total loss, then rebuilt and put back on the road - with a conscious misrepresentation of the vehicle's history and, more importantly, regardless of whether or not the vehicle is safe.

Just how many salvage vehicles with washed titles exist is unclear. State officials in Michigan and Pennsylvania estimate that as many as 70 percent of all cars wrecked in traffic accidents in their states and sold as salvage are rebuilt and returned to the road.

Rep. Bob Clement (D-TN) supported the legislation saying that, "The computerized motor vehicle title information system established in the law would make it easier for a consumer to know that a used car has been wrecked. Unless the states make sure that a 'salvage' or 'junk' brand stays on a title permanently, no matter where or in how many states a vehicle is retitled, consumers will have no real protection."

Experts estimate that salvage fraud costs consumers between $3 and $4 billion a year. "Vehicle salvage fraud is a long, sad chapter in automotive history," says Michael Richardson, president of Anglo American Auto Auctions in Nashville, TN. "We will be glad to see it end."