Cheap Car Auctions

I’ve bought and sold over 500 vehicles at various car auctions since 2002. Police auctions, Bank-repo auctions and State & Local Government auctions are all fantastic places to buy cars at wholesale prices. Like anything, however, not every car at these auctions is a winner waiting to be purchased for pennies on the dollar. Finding the best deals at the best auctions takes a little research. But, the fact remains, you’ll never find a better deal on a used car anywhere else.
Why are Auctions such a great place to purchase a car?
The biggest reason, of course, is the price. It is very common to get vehicles for 50% below retail. Especially, given the state of the economy, people want to buy reliable, fuel-efficient cars at great prices. If you can do the leg-work to acquire these cars at auctions…you can quickly start making a very good income for a few hours of work a month.
The other big draw to car auctions is that there are no dealers to argue with. Used car dealers are notorious for doing anything to sell a car. They have this reputation for a reason. By buying at auctions, you don’t have to worry about haggling over prices or having a salesman follow you all over the car lot.
Despite the obvious advantage of buying at auctions, I’m amazed how many people stay away because they think that the vehicles are in poor condition or that there’s some big ‘secret’ to finding these car auctions.
These are the two biggest and most expensive myths about Car Auctions….
Firstly, are there junky cars at these auctions? Yes. But are there great cars in great condition? Absolutely.
Over the years, I’ve bought many low-mileage seized autos that were in excellent condition. They were seized from a drug-dealer (or whatever type of criminal) by the police and auctioned off to help the local government raise money. I’ve also found a lot of great deals at Bank-repo auctions. Great cars in great condition that were simply repossessed by the bank because the person didn’t make their payments….and I was there to take advantage of a great deal. I’ve bought a lot of higher-end cars from these two types of auctions (especially BMW’s) because criminals tend to drive nice cars and banks repo cars that someone thought they could afford but really couldn’t.
Another great source of what I like to call more ‘functional’ vehicles are government agency auctions. A lot of state & local agencies are constantly buying new vehicles for their fleet and selling off the old ones. Not just police but, environmental agencies, department of transportation, city inspectors, etc. all drive government owned cars. These are traditionally very well taken care of (they’re required to by law) and have relatively low mileage. These make great resales because they’re cheap, reliable cars and people (especially in this economy with these gas prices) are always looking for such cars.
How do you find the good deals at these auctions?
A lot of people are still scared away from auctions because they think they have to be a mechanic to be able to separate the good cars from the “lemons”. I admit, I fell into this group when I started. At almost every auction you can inspect the cars before submitting a bid. While you won’t be able to take them for a test drive, many will still come with a manufacturer’s warranty. I’ve bought a lot of ‘government’ cars without even seeing them because they are always in such good condition. But here’s a quick checklist which I recommend for anyone just starting out – this will help you avoid getting a ‘lemon’:
1. If possible, start the engine and listen for anything unusual (or to see if it starts at all). Note most auction sites will sell these cars “as-is”. If you’re able to get a look at the car while the engine is running, you’ll be able to tell a great deal about in what condition it’s in. Check the exhaust to make sure it’s clean, check the air conditioning, heat and all the power options (windows, seats, sunroof, etc.).
2. Check for water damage under the seats, floor mats or in the trunk.
3. Lift the hood and check the oil. Check for white bubbles on the dipstick (this means there’s likely water in the oil tank) and check for any grains (i.e. sand or sediment). If the oil looks think and pasty it’s likely the car wasn’t regularly maintained. These aren’t necessarily deal breakers but I’d adjust my bid accordingly.
4. Check the transmission fluid too – you’ll want to see that’s it’s clean and not dark or sticky. Look at the tailpipe for excessive soot.
5. Check the exterior as well. This is easy and you’re really just looking for what condition it’s in. Is there rusting? If so how much? Look for paint bubbles or welding marks. Also, keep an eye out for slightly different shades of paint, rough surfaces or body panels out of alignment. Also, make sure and check the engine compartment for new bolts or bolts which don’t match in color.
As you get more comfortable with buying at car auctions you’ll learn what’s a ‘dealbreaker’ and what’s not. As I mentioned, unless a government car looks really bad in the picture, I’ll submit a bid without even looking at it. Even if a car I’ve just bought needs a tuneup, new brake pads or an alignment, I keep that in mind when I’m bidding. If I can make $2,000 on a resale, I’m happy to spend another $300-$400 to get it into shape. You’re still getting a great deal because of the purchase price.
I would also recommend (especially as you start out) getting a CarFax or AutoCheck vehicle history report. These are cheap ways to get a lot of information on the car you’re interested in.
When I started out, I got an AutoCheck report for every vehicle I was interested in and it gave me more than enough information to make an informed decision.
Even if you DO end up getting a ‘lemon’…i.e. you didn’t get an AutoCheck report and bought it sight unseen and it needs a new transmission that you don’t want to spend the money on? Then you can always sell it at the next auction. Someone will always want to buy it and fix it up…
How do you know what to bid?
Before bidding on any car you should know the “comps” or resale values. Look at Kelly Blue Book, Edmunds.com, the NADguides, the MMR prices (check out our website for more on this) and, of course, ebay motors and autotrader.com. Look for comparable cars with similar mileage and establish a range of prices. The low end of this range is you target bid price.
If the bidding gets too high just walk away…I remember something an experienced auto trader told me at my second auction when I was getting worked up about a BMW I was bidding on. “don’t get to excited kid…In this game, you always have another ‘at bat’ “. What he was saying is: don’t spend too much on a car because there is always another deal out there. I ended up letting that BMW go to someone else but I got another one a week later for several thousand less. I always try to remember that bit of advice.
How do you find these auctions?
A lot of these auctions can be tough to find. Only very recently have they started advertising online but most have had websites up for years. The result is…a simple “Google search” isn’t going to turn up anything.
You can always find some local auctions in the paper which is a good place to start. I’ve spent years compiling a list of these auctions by state which is another good resource to save you a lot of time and money. Check out my site for more.
The bottom line. You can’t afford NOT to look at Car Auctions.
I’ve been amazed at some of the deals I’ve found over the years at these auctions. It’s been enough to surpass my day job and for much less work. Even if you’re interested in just buying one car for yourself, you can’t afford NOT to look at a Car Auction. So what are you waiting for?!

Car auctions are a great place to get the car of your dreams for a fraction of the cost you would normally pay at your local car dealer. Car auctions are also a great place to make a couple hundred bucks or if you have the skills and knowledge of auctions you could make quite a substantial amount of money by buying a car at the auction and selling it for a profit in local area or maybe over the internet.

 

So what is a Car Auction?

A car auction is an event where cars and other vehicles are sold at unbelievably low prices to the public. If a person at the car auction is interested in buying a vehicle they will place a bid on it and then someone else might come along and place a higher bid on that same vehicle and then someone else might place a bid and whoever as the highest bid wins that vehicle.

 

Why are the cars so cheap?

The vehicles that are being auctioned off have usually either been seized or are ex-service vehicles and the reason prices being so low is because there are so many cars being seized, that they need some way of getting rid of them fast. Selling the vehicles to the public at low prices is the fastest way to get rid of them.

 

Is there are way to bid on the cars online?

Yes there are many websites for online car auctions but not all can be trusted. These websites are usually very easy to use show you step by step on how buy your first car from an online car auction.

When weighing your options for new vehicle, you should think about heading over to a government car auction instead of a used car dealer. The reason being is that not only are there the usual cars, but you can also find boats, vans, and even trucks and you can them at a price you would not believe.

Where Do Government Car Auction Vehicles Come From?

Government car auction can have lots of vehicles that are to be auctioned off and the reason is that most of the time, car owners fail to make their payments so they have to let their car go. This happens more frequent that most people know each month, so a lot of cars get repossessed or seized perhaps even because of a tax settlement and end up at car auctions.

You can find a vehicle model that is not older than two or three years of the current model year at car auctions. This means that there is a high chance that the car is barely damaged and can be safely driven right away. The price is the major appeal to most people as the price of the car can be lot cheaper when compared to purchasing a car by other means.

Another common reason that some vehicles end up in auction houses is because the government has issued a contract to purchase these vehicles for various purposes. Eventually these vehicles from the government that are no longer used are replaced with newer cars so the extra cars are sent to government car auctions to be sold off. This is true even for police cars and other vehicles.

How Do You Find Government Car Auctions?

The easiest way is to check your local newspaper for up and coming government auctions. Though there can be limited amount of information on the government car auctions that you can find if you go that route, your best bet to get more information is online. Some of the website services offer a service whereby with a few simple mouse clicks, you could have access to all the recent and upcoming government auctions in your area or anywhere you choose.

Online government car auctions can be a good option for most people. The ease of searching for the car that you want based on the state that you’re in plus the make and model of the car or other search criteria makes it popular among car enthusiasts. However, as with most things, the image that is shown on the site may be slightly different that what you would see at the auction.

Who Is Qualified To Bid In Government Car Auctions?

The good thing about public government car auctions is anyone who has a driver’s license can bid. Just make sure you have enough cash to pay for the car after you’ve won the bid and all should go well. The only concern you need to have is if the particular car auction is in another country, then you may have some additional paperwork to fill in afterwards. Some of the bidders that usually attend the auctions are car dealers looking for good bargains to stock up their inventory.

Government car auctions can be a great new experience for you when you want to purchase a new car that is cheap. By knowing your budget and not overbidding more than you can afford, you can be glad and walk away with something that you’ll like for years to come.

There are a lot of easy ways to buy a cheap car. Of course, you can buy a used car or you can even try to import a car from Japan, but the easiest way to buy really good, even a new car, is government car auctions.

Have you ever heart about it? If you are interested in buying a car, truck, motorcycle, ATV, RV, boat, or even a small aircraft but feel as though you simply do not have the money, a government car auction might be the best opportunity for you. These auctions can be a great source for finding used cars at very cheap prices, starting from as little as $100. I am not kidding. The prices there are really very low. The reasons government car auctions is that they go though so many cars and the original buy price is so low that they can afford to sell them at such a low price. These cars are offered there starting at such low prices, up to 90% off the book value to cut the expense involved in storing and maintaining cars repossessed and seized by the government institutions like the DEA, US Marshals office and also lending institutions (banks, credit unions etc). The majority of vehicles at a government car auction have been repossessed from criminals or people who have failed to make payments on government loans.

Government car auctions happen almost everyday across the United States and other countries. Local newspapers often carry listings of some of these auctions. You can start off in your local area and see what they have to offer but you may find that you will have to go to many different government car auctions to get a good selection and find the vehicle that’s right for you. But there is another way to find the car you need. Internet has greatly affected the government car auction and made buying cars very easy. Nowadays you can buy any car online from your computer.

But there is no such thing as free government car auction. The reason is simple – they have to cover the expenses incurred in holding the auction. But even without free government auctions, even if you have to pay a fee to enable you to participate in the dictation and if you acquire lucky, actually driving place your new car, well actually, newly purchased second have goted car, you still cease up getting so much more than what you pay for from acquiring a car from government car auctions.

There will be many government car auctions to choose from. I recommend to use online government auctions such as SeizeCars (see link at the end of this article). I use it myself, and i am very satisfied with this service. It takes me only a few minutes to find what I need.

Buying a vehicle at a government car auction is not difficult, once you know how it all works, and the savings are very substantial. I hope that the following article will help you to buy the car you need. Good luck!Government car auction “SeizeCars”