I purchased a totaled side by side (SxS) from an auction and I am going to walk your through all the costs from the initial purchase to the final safety inspection. At this end of this I hope everyone can learn from my logical fallacies and hands-on experience to decide if this is an endeavor worth trying yourself.
Background
Before this experience I had never owned or worked on a side by side. There was not a lot of logic behind the decision to purchase a totaled SxS, rather a gamble on a gut feeling that it would be a fun adventure that saved a lot of money over buying one new. It would have been smart of me to put in more time and research understanding the diversity of SxS models and the associated costs of replacement parts, but where is the fun in that?
First, I bid on several SxS at several different auctions. I lost at multiple virtual auctions for several months on approximately twenty different side by sides. During this time, I slowly increased both my comfort level and risk tolerance until I won my first auction on a minimally damaged SxS for around $5,200. I wish I could tell you the story of rebuilding it, but I failed to meet the seller reserve and the insurance company that owned it decided to reauction it rather than accept my winning bid. Admittedly the disappointment with this loss may have negatively influenced my judgement in the next auction that I did win.
Assessing Value and Potential Costs Remotely
The SxS I purchased was a salvage title 2021 Polaris RZR XP 1000 Premium that was being sold by an insurance company through a Copart auction. Copart listed the estimated value of the SxS before it was totaled as $17,332. Kelly Blue Book returned a similar value and looking online I found they were listed for sale for anywhere between $13,000 and $19,000 depending on the condition and modifications.
I never saw this vehicle in person and relied on a few online images and the damage description listed on the website to make a rough determination of the work that would need to be done. The primary damage was listed simply as front end, and the secondary damage was listed as undercarriage. From what I could easily see from the images it was clear that the passenger side front shock shaft, control arms, axle shaft, tie rod, and sway bar link would need replaced. I assessed based on proximity that it was also likely that the fascia/grill, radiator, radiator shroud, steering rack, the front passenger fender, and at least one tire would need replaced.
My initial guestimate is that it would cost me less than $3,000 to rebuild this SxS. Had I inspected the vehicle in person, or scrutinized the images closer on a larger screen, I would have realized I significantly underestimated the extent of the damages. Hindsight is 20/20 though and my thought at the time was that if my total investment was under $10,000 that I would still be able to break even on resale value with a rebuilt title SxS so long as I was able to rebuild it better than stock with the right aftermarket modifications.
The Initial Costs
I set up the auto-bid and won with my maximum bid of $6000. If my intent was a large profit margin, this bid was likely too high for this SxS. After fees and charges the total I paid to Copart was $7,348. Shipping from Pennsylvania to my home in Maryland cost $500. To put this in perspective, the auction lot was 225 miles or four hours driving away from my home. This brings the grand total to $7,848 and I have yet to replace a single part, or even assess all the total damages.
Broken Parts List
Throughout the tear-down process the following were found to be damaged, broken, or missing:
- Both front shock shafts bent
- Suspension mount bracket bent
- Roll cage bent and dented in multiple locations
- Front frame bent and dented in several locations on the passenger side
- Front stabilizer bar bent on passenger side
- Front passenger stabilizer bar link broken
- Front passenger stabilizer mounting bracket broken
- Two missing stabilizer bushing halves
- Front Upper control arm broken
- Front Lower Control Arm broken
- Front Passenger side front axle shaft broken
- Front passenger tire had a bubbled/bulged sidewall
- Front fascia broken
- Front passenger side fender assembly broken
- Front passenger side fender flare broken
- Front passenger side door frame bent
- Front passenger side lower door cover broken
- Front Passenger side brake line broken
- Front passenger side accent light cracked
- Radiator bent in several places
- Radiator shroud broken
- Passenger side radiator bracket bent
- Both rear tires had holes that required a plug
- Rear driver side lower radius arm bent
- Muffler cover mounting brackets bent
- Floor drain covers missing
- Three wheel center caps, four lugs nuts, and a few bolts for mounting the plastic were missing
Disassembling a SxS for the First Time
As someone who has only ever worked on pickup trucks and Jeep Wranglers, I was shocked at how easy it was to work on a SxS. The best part about working on this Polaris RZR is that it required very few tools. It was fantastic not to have to guess which size socket I needed. The average garage mechanic can absolutely tackle this project with basic tools for disassembly/assembly of all the bolt on parts. The only exception to the previous statement is fixing frame/tubing damage and removal of a broken cv axle shaft from the differential. Thankfully the frame is a multi-piece, bolt-together design so replacing broken frame sections is still relatively easy. Removing the broken CV axle shaft was a struggle without a specialty tool. The bottom line is anyone can work on one of these machines and have fun doing it.
Mistakes and Lessons Learned
Do not let emotions and excitement control the amount you bid. There will always be more opportunities, so have a partner sanity check your logic if you can. Do not get wrapped up in winning an auction, instead focus on the math and maximizing the value of a project that you can both afford and will be happy with after the auction is long-gone. I let my previous losses cause me to bid more than I logically knew I should have to of made a financially sound purchase. I did not do terrible with my purchase, but I strongly suspect I could have purchased an easier project for a lesser price.
Inspect the vehicle in person or purchase an inspection report. Having done either of these would have given me a much better understanding of the initial value of the vehicle and the amount of work and money that would be required to rebuild it.
Understand the auction and transport fees. Some states you can purchase salvage vehicles yourself, others may require you use a broker with a type of salvager license. Either way you should understand that the amount you bid is far from the total cost. I clearly did not read the contract terms close enough because I was surprised by the total I owed to the auction.
The Next Steps
I have already disassembled the front half of the SxS and removed every broken or damaged item I intend to replace. Now I need to order all the replacement parts and begin piecing this project back together. The next part of this series will detail the cost of every replacement part, list the source of the parts, and elaborate on justifying which parts were purchased new versus used and OEM versus aftermarket.
