Government Car Auctions Are Great Source For Car Deals
October 13, 2008 – 5:23 pmWhile it has never really been a secret that most of the local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies hold used car auctions on a routine basis, there is still a substantial segment of the population that is not really clued in about how to find and participate in these public auto auctions. Government car auctions are a terrific way to score an excellent price on a wide variety of vehicles. If you are in the market for a car, then it makes sense to learn about them.
Many people are only interested in a government car auto to get a reliable car for the family and save some money in the process. However, there are some people who turn big profits by frequenting these government auctions, snapping up all the deals they can, and then turning around and selling these same vehicles at their used car dealership for twice the price, or more, of what they paid at the auction.
Dealers who buy multiple cars from government car auctions are not bandits. One of the things that many people fail to realize when they first attend one of these auto auctions is that all of the cars are sold without any kind of warranty, or in the “as is” condition, and that all sales are absolutely final.
For the car dealer who uses a government car auction to get a number of cars for his dealership on a regular basis, this means that there will be a percentage of the cars that are in need of a considerable amount of repair work before they can be resold. Most of the time, these dealers have a staff of mechanics that can deal with these problems, so in many ways it can be better that the dealers get these cars that have hidden problems because they can handle these issues more easily than an average consumer can.
For people who have the skills and equipment to work on cars themselves, a government car auction can be the perfect way to get a car at a price that is almost a steal. But, if you don’t know a lot about the mechanical workings of a car, then it might not be quite as wonderful. The car you end up bidding on and winning may be reliable, or it could be a lemon. Just keep in mind that it is the responsibility of the bidder to determine the condition of the vehicle before they start bidding on it. Once you are awarded the winning bid, you are committed and the car is yours.
If you can get a hold of a government car auctions listing that isn’t publicize widely, then you will have the best opportunity for getting the best possible price. This will entail undertaking a bit of sleuthing work to track down the government auto auctions that are local to you, instead of waiting to hear an advertisement about it, but the extra effort you put in could save you hundreds or thousands of dollars when you go to the car auto auction.