Auction Intel data report · Q2 2026
What damage type does to a write-off's price
Across Australian salvage auctions in Q2 2026 (April to June 2026), the kind of damage mattered as much as the car. Impact (collision) damage — by far the most common, at nearly 9 in 10 repairable write-offs (about 88%) — sold for a median of $2,300, the lowest of any type. Cars with cosmetic or malicious damage held more value: hail at a median $3,800, and vandalism, theft and malicious damage at $6,100 — roughly 2.7× an impact car — likely because that kind of damage tends to leave the mechanicals intact. Those cars were only slightly newer (median 2018 vs 2016 for impact), so age doesn't explain the gap — it tracks the type of damage, not how new the car is.
$2,300
Impact (nearly 9 in 10 sales)
$3,800
Hail damage
$6,100
Vandalism / theft (dearest)
2.7×
Vandalism/theft vs impact
Based on 8,401 sold repairable write-offs.
Median sold price by damage type
| Damage type | Median sold | Typical range | Median year | Sold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Impact / collision | $2,300 | $1,050–$5,100 | 2016 | 7,443 |
| Mechanical / engine * | $2,400 | $800–$4,725 | 2017 | 63 |
| Hail | $3,800 | $1,550–$8,900 | 2017 | 277 |
| Water / flood * | $5,025 | $1,988–$9,038 | 2016 | 60 |
| Vandalism / malicious / theft | $6,100 | $2,288–$11,812 | 2018 | 508 |
Median = the middle sale; typical range = the middle 50% of sales (25th–75th percentile); median year = the middle model year. * Mechanical and water/flood are smaller samples (about 60 sales each) — treat them as indicative. The table shows the five largest damage groups; a small number of mixed and unclassified sales are part of the 8,401 total but not shown. Damage type is the auction house's primary classification; some cars have more than one kind of damage.
Why some write-offs hold more value than others
The broad pattern: the more a car's damage is likely to involve structure, safety systems or mechanicals, the lower the price. A crashed car may need chassis, suspension, airbag and safety-system work — costly, and harder to pass an inspection. A vandalised, stripped or stolen-recovered car, or one with hail dents, is more often mechanically sound, so it's typically cheaper to return to the road — which likely explains why buyers pay more for it. Because we show the typical model year for each type, you can see this isn't an age effect: the dearer categories are barely newer than the cheapest.
Water and flood damage is the exception. It sells dear here (a median of about $5,025), but it is not cosmetic — flooding brings hidden electrical, corrosion and drivetrain problems that can resurface for years. On such a small sample (about 60 sales) the high median more likely reflects newer or more desirable models entering the pool than an easy repair. Flood write-offs are among the riskiest of all — treat them with extra caution.
For a buyer, the lesson is that the cheapest write-offs (impact damage) are usually cheap for a reason — most likely because the repair bill and inspection risk tend to be highest. The headline price is only the start; what matters is the price plus the realistic cost to repair that specific damage.
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How we worked this out
- Source — Auction Intel's own database of sold listings from the Australian salvage auctions we track (chiefly Pickles and IAAI), covering April to June 2026.
- Scope — 8,401 repairable write-offs that actually sold, grouped by the auction house's primary damage classification.
- Age — we show the median model year for every damage type, so you can see the price differences are not just newer cars.
- What the data does and doesn't show — we have the sold price, model year and damage class. We do not have repair-cost or inspection-outcome data, so any explanation of why a damage type is dearer or cheaper is our reasonable interpretation, not a measured fact.
- Cleaning — we excluded sales under $200 and a handful of "sold below the live bid" anomalies. Mechanical and water/flood groups are small (~60 sales) and flagged as indicative.
- Stat — the median (middle sale), not the average.
Last updated 23 June 2026. We refresh this report as more sales accrue. Figures are a guide to the market, not a valuation of any specific vehicle.
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