The Expert Podcast

  • Main Focus: Avoid vehicles with a "Certificate of Destruction" or "Non-Repairable" designation.
Key Points:
  • Cars labeled "Non-Repairable," "Junk Parts Only," or with a "Certificate of Destruction" are meant for parts only and cannot be titled in any state in the U.S.
  • These designations permanently cancel the vehicle's VIN number from ever receiving a title.
  • Challenges in Exporting: Customs and Border Protection (CBP) typically requires these cars to be dismantled before export, making them difficult to ship out.
  • Why Insurance Companies Do This: They apply these designations to prevent cars from being put back on the road due to liability concerns.
Avoid These Cars:
  • Don’t consider "Non-Repairable" vehicles as a challenge to fix up and title. Even if you manage repairs, you won’t be able to get a title.
  • Be cautious with "No Title, Bill of Sale Only" vehicles, especially from states like Washington. These vehicles could be just as ineligible for titling despite appearing as a potential deal.
  • Federal Law: A federal statute prohibits issuing a title for "Non-Repairable" vehicles, so there's no workaround or loophole.
What to Do if You've Already Bought One:
  • If you've purchased a car with a "Certificate of Destruction" or "Non-Repairable" status, check out our website for options on how to get the most money back for it.
  • It might be possible to sell it back to Copart, depending on whether they should have sold it to you in the first place.
Looking Ahead:
  • Over the next few years, expect more vehicles at Copart to come with these designations. Salvage titles will become rare, and the majority will be marked as "Parts Only."
  • Always verify that a vehicle has a clean or salvage title before purchasing to avoid the risk of not being able to put it back on the road.

What is The Expert Podcast?

The Expert Podcast brings you firsthand narratives from experts across diverse industries, including private investigators, general contractors and builders, insurance agencies, vehicle specialists, lawyers, and many others.

Don't buy any cars at Copart that say "certificate of destruction" or "non-reparable." These cars are designated to be used for parts only. If you see a vehicle at Copart or IAA that says "non-reparable," "junk parts only," or "certificate of destruction," you will not be able to get a title for it. That's a designation that permanently cancels that VIN number from ever getting a title in any state in the country. In fact, it's even hard to export them. The CBP (Customs and Border Protection) normally requires a car to be completely dismantled into major component parts before it gets shipped out, so you can't export it either.

How does this happen? Well, the insurance companies are slapping this designation on these cars because they don't want them back on the road for liability purposes. We've talked about that in other videos, so avoid them like the plague. If you see a car that says "non-reparable," don't consider it a challenge, like someone's throwing down a gauntlet saying, "I bet you can't repair it." Even if you can repair it, you can't title it.

Also, be aware of vehicles that have no title, only a bill of sale, out of certain states like Washington State. It may seem innocent enough—well, "you know, bill of sale only, that's okay." It's not. Some states don't even put a designation on a vehicle of "parts only" or "non-reparable." They just say "no title, bill of sale," and it's the same thing. You could buy that car from Copart in Washington State with "bill of sale only" and then come to find out later it's not able to be titled and is ineligible.

Now, you can try all you want—you can search all around the internet, you can desperately try to contact different companies—but there is no way to get a title for it. Believe me, we've tried. This has been going on for 10 years. We get 100 calls a day from people who bought these cars. If there was a way to do it, believe me, we'd be doing it. It's a federal law that prohibits any state from issuing a title for these vehicles. By law, it's a federal statute that prohibits these cars from going on the road. So, avoid them like the plague. Don't buy one.

If you have purchased one, you can check out our website for maybe some options of how to get the most amount of money back for it. You're not going to put that car back on the road, but you may be able to do some things to extract some value and get some of your money back, maybe even selling it back to Copart. It may be possible that they weren't supposed to sell it to you in the first place. There's some laws around that too.

But, non-reparable, certificate of destruction, junk parts only—don't buy those cars. In fact, over the next few years, you'll find more and more vehicles at Copart will have that on it. There are going to be very few salvage titles left. All of them are going to be parts only over the next couple of years. So, unless you can specifically verify that the car is a salvage or clean title, don't buy it because you won't be able to put it back on the road.