Roughly 70% of auction cars heading to Ghana carry a salvage title of some kind. That doesn't make them bad — most are written off by US insurance companies for cosmetic damage that's cheap to fix here. The skill is knowing which damage is repairable and which is structural.
Safe(r) damage types
- Minor front-end — bumper, headlight, hood. Cheap to fix in Accra.
- Rear-end (no airbag deployment) — bumper, tailgate, lights.
- Hail damage — purely cosmetic, often the best value.
- Vandalism — usually broken glass and trim.
Damage to walk away from
- Frame damage — never. Resale and safety both suffer permanently.
- Water/flood — electrical gremlins forever.
- Burn / fire — structural risk, even if body looks OK.
- Rollover — even if it 'runs and drives'.
What about 'Run and Drive'?
It means the car started, moved forward and braked under its own power at the auction. It is not a mechanical guarantee. Treat it as a yellow light, not a green one.
Inspections
For salvage purchases above $7,000, a third-party inspection at the auction yard is money well spent. We arrange these for clients before bidding.
