Check IAAI Date Stamp to Avoid Salvage Auction Scam
Last edit: June 11 2024 • 292 view
Every car at Insurance Auto Auctions (IAAI) has a date stamp and please always verify when IAAI took the pictures. IAAI stamps the date on the photo as soon as they take it.
We had a guy who placed a bid on a 2015 Ford Escape. He really liked the mileage on this thing—just 229 actual miles. Great, right?! He even messaged us saying that if the price was right, he was okay paying $2,000 to ship it to California from Hawaii 
But this isn’t the worst thing about this car. As you can see in the attached photos below, IAAI took them in 2015, so the car has been sitting at the auction for 9 years. Don’t ask me why—I have no idea. Wow! This was before I even started brokering cars at carsfromwest.com.
The question here is: do you think the car is in the same condition as it was in the pictures from 9 years ago? I doubt it.
The guy was lucky that we checked the car because: 1. it was in Hawaii, 2. it had Bill of Sale documents, and 3. we caught the date stamp.
So when you buy, make sure you check the date on IAAI cars! Most of the time, the IAAI date stamp is within 6 months. The car arrives at the auction, and they take pictures. Then the car sits at the auction waiting for documents. When the documents arrive, it is ready for sale. In some rare cases involving active criminal investigations, lawsuits, or issues with issuing the original paperwork, it might take longer. So if you see a car with a date stamp over a year old, it is a good idea to order an inspection.
2013 Lexus RX350 with old stamp date
One more example: We recently purchased a 2013 Lexus RX350 from IAAI for our customer, and the date stamp was from September 2023.
The car has been sitting at the auction for 8 months. When we picked up the car, we noticed extra damage on the left side.
Unfortunately, it happens once in a while. In our experience, it is 1 case out of 1,000. We try our best to help our customers as much as we can, but if the car sits at the auction for an extended period of time, an inspection is highly recommended!
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