Buying a car with deployed airbags, is the best option.

Buying a crashed car at auction is not a gamble — it is a real opportunity.
But only for those who know how to spot profit before placing a bid.

In practice, many of these vehicles are far more profitable than any other option available at auctions.
The difference is not the damage itself.
It lies in the fundamentals that allow you to determine whether a crashed car is actually profitable.

This guide is designed to help you detect opportunity before everyone else does.

The real mistake people make when buying crashed cars

The mistake is not buying a crashed vehicle.
The mistake is buying it without understanding what makes it profitable or not.

Most buyers focus only on:

• Low price

• Photos

• Fear of airbags

Professional buyers focus on:

• Which components are involved

• How complex the repair really is

• Which costs are real and which are exaggerated

• Whether real margin still exists after auction competition

Fundamentals that determine whether a crashed car is profitable

This is not theory.
These are real criteria that separate a good purchase from a guaranteed loss.

1️⃣ The real complexity of the components involved

Not all vehicles are equally easy to work on.

Some vehicles have components that are unnecessarily complex, for example:

• The Ford steering column, which can turn a simple repair into a long and expensive job.

• Other brands, such as Chevrolet, where in many cases advanced scan tools are not even required to resolve certain SRS-related issues.

The same type of impact, on two different brands, can result in completely different levels of difficulty.

2️⃣ The relationship between brand and type of impact

The type of collision changes everything.

It is not the same:

• A frontal impact on a BMW

• As a side impact on a Toyota Tacoma

But it can be a great opportunity:

• A rear impact on a Honda HR-V

• A frontal impact on a Hyundai Tucson

A crash should not be evaluated only by where it occurred, but by how that specific brand absorbs and distributes impact forces.

3️⃣ The airbag cost myth

This point surprises many buyers.

Why can a 2023 Mercedes-Benz curtain airbag be cheaper than a 2018 Honda Accord curtain airbag, even though Mercedes is considered a luxury brand?

Because airbag cost:

• Does not directly depend on the brand

• Does not depend on the vehicle’s prestige

• Does not depend on whether it is considered luxury or not

Airbag pricing is determined by completely different factors that are not obvious at first glance.

4️⃣ The secret few consider: resetting the airbag module

Most buyers of crashed vehicles:

• Purchase a brand-new SRS module

• Assume there is no alternative

• Increase repair costs unnecessarily

In many cases, resetting the airbag module can save a significant amount of money.

When understood correctly, this factor alone can completely change a vehicle’s profitability.

5️⃣ The correct maximum price: it’s not about buying cheap, it’s about buying with margin

This is one of the most important fundamentals.

It is not about:

“Buying as cheap as possible”

It is about:

“Buying at the correct price based on expected profit and competition”

At auctions, it is common to see:

• Buyers inflating prices

• Junkers bidding without calculations

• Bidding wars that erase all margin

Knowing when to walk away is just as important as knowing when to buy.

Why many crashed cars are more profitable than any other option

Because they:

• Have less competition

• Are misunderstood by most buyers

• Create unnecessary fear

• Hide clear opportunities for those who know how to analyze them

One well-purchased crashed vehicle can outperform multiple average purchases.

What comes after this guide

This guide is meant to spark interest, not explain everything.

In the following articles, we will go deeper into:

• How to define profitability based on impact type and brand

• How to evaluate profitability based on how many airbags deployed

• How resetting the SRS module changes the numbers completely

• How to calculate real repair costs before bidding

• How to avoid vehicles that result in guaranteed losses

Conclusion

Buying a crashed car at auction is not only reasonable,
in many cases it is the most profitable option available.

The difference is not the vehicle.
It is:

• Knowing what to look for

• Knowing what to avoid

• Knowing when to walk away

This guide teaches you how to detect opportunity.
The next articles will teach you how to turn that opportunity into profit.