A car sales manager wants to know if people would be upset to discover a car they purchased was bought at a TRA auction after the fact. His inquiry is raising questions about what TRA auctions are, and whether you’re best off avoiding buying a car from one. Odanis Salomon (@odanis.salomon) posted a TikTok from a lot filled with damaged cars. After sharing some of his own experiences at these auctions, he asks if cars bought in these circumstances that otherwise drive perfectly fine are a concern for prospective buyers. People who replied said that they’d like to know if their vehicles suffered significant damage prior to purchase. But are there benefits to buying an auctioned vehicle? What Is a TRA Sale? Total Resource Auctions, commonly known as TRA sales, are conducted by Cox Automotive subsidiary Manheim. The company describes the vehicles sold at its TRA sales as "less-than-desirable." Many are salvaged, damaged, or even inoperable. On its website, Manheim says that the auctions are "an eco-friendly way to reuse inventory and reduce vehicle waste." It further claims that a TRA sale allows buyers to "get great deals on parts and whole cars." Are TRA Cars Worth It? Fans agree that auction vehicles can indeed provide great value to an informed buyer. They can also become a nightmare for someone who didn’t realize they were buying someone else’s problem. The controversy surrounding auction vehicles largely centers on disclosure. "If you were sold a car that you didn’t know at the beginning, but was originally from a TRA sale, would you have a problem with that?" Salomon says. "Let me explain. So a TRA is a total resource auction sale. That’s usually where cars that have been in accidents, major accidents, insurance losses, labeled total losses. Or major things like that. This is where they go to be sold." He shows footage of vehicles on his lot. Many of them have visible damage. There’s a white van with its front bumper on the ground and its hood missing. There’s a dark gray Chevrolet SUV with a caved-in portion right above its rear driver’s side wheel well, among several other cars that have clearly been in collisions. "You’ll see this Nissan NV is dangerously banged up," he continues. "That Malibu, that Optima, that Elantra over there. Several cars here that, I mean, are throttled." But not every vehicle at a TRA sale is in terrible condition. Salomon says he’s picked up some transportation vans that are virtually perfect. Plus, these vehicles are often sold for well below average market value. "You can find pretty good deals here. But alas, there’s a lot of cars here, probably most of them have damages. You know? And of course, as a dealer, if you’re buying them, you’re gonna fix it up before you sell it to the consumer," Salomon says. Now he wants to know how buyers will feel if they learn after the fact that their new-to-you vehicle came from a TRA sale. He shows an example of the type of car he’s talking about, a Nissan sedan with a portion of its front passenger wheel well area damaged, along with an obliterated segment of its front bumper. "Let’s say you had a Nissan Sentra and it used to look like this. I mean absolutely knocked from the front end. But the dealer bought it, fixed it up, mint condition, drives perfect, no mechanical issues, no electrical issues. You find out a year later. Would you be [expletive]? Or would you be like, you know what? They fixed it up, I got a good deal, who cares?" he asks. A Great Deal—Or a Swindle? Commenters universally agreed they would be angry to learn only after the fact that a car had been bought at an auction. "Should be disclosed to the buyer," one wrote. Others were even less forgiving. "Yea I’m going to be [expletive] and sue," said one. Another accused unscrupulous dealerships of concealing this information from their customers. "These are the junk cars that they want to sell as expensive with clean titles," they wrote. Why Do Cars Get Sold at Auction? According to CarEdge, several factors can cause a car to be put up for auction. In some instances, used-car dealerships keep inventory on the lot for only 60 to 90 days. If it doesn’t sell, they put it up for auction to make room for newer inventory. Capital Auto Auction writes that sellers may put a damaged vehicle up for auction because the costs to repair it don’t offset the effort/cost to fix and sell it. "When a car needs repairs that cost more than its resale value, it’s no longer worth fixing. Dealers, insurers, or individual owners may send these cars to auction instead," Capital Auto says. Do Dealers Have to Disclose Salvage Titles? Failing to disclose that a vehicle has a salvage title can constitute fraud. A lawyer on Avvo told a frustrated car buyer who claimed a dealer lied about their vehicle having a salvage title that the dealership was required to inform them of this. The Roseman Law Firm writes that "a salvage title must be disclosed, and not in fine print," to consumers. This is because "cars with salvage title[s] are worth a fraction of the value of a vehicle with clean titles." Salvage car dealership AE of Miami also says that "if a dealership sold you a vehicle that has a salvage title and this … wasn’t disclosed to you, they have committed dealer fraud." Motor1 has reached out to Salomon via TikTok direct message for further comment. We’ll update this if he responds. We want your opinion! What would you like to see on Motor1.com? Take our 3 minute survey. - The Motor1.com Team
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