I used to drive my own cars to every auction, now I pay a dispatcher in Dallas and sleep in on Saturdays
For about four years I bought cars at auction in Dallas and drove every single one home myself, even the ones that barely ran. I would leave my house at 5am on a Saturday, drive 90 minutes each way, and roll the dice on whether a car would make it back or die on the shoulder of I-35. After a 2006 Accord blew a head gasket outside Waco, I sat on the side of the road for 3 hours waiting on a tow that cost me $275 on top of the $1,400 I had just paid for the car. That was the moment I started looking into brokers instead of playing hero. Now I text a dispatcher in Dallas, send him the auction address and my shop address, and the car shows up on a truck 5 to 7 days later for around $350 to $500 depending on distance. The weird part is I still get nervous not seeing the car leave the lot myself, like something could get swapped in transit. For those of you who stopped doing your own pickups, did you ever have a car show up with damage or missing parts after using a broker?
Heard from a guy at a local car meet that most of those dispatchers only cover up to a certain dollar amount, so if something gets messed up you're kind of on your own fighting it out. Maybe worth asking yours what their damage policy actually covers before the next one ships.