Basic Facts about Car Auctions for First Timers

There is an auto auction lot only minutes away from my house and I pass it almost every day. It’s an impressive sight, because the lot deals with cars by the hundreds, and they always pass through the lot very quickly--few of them remain for much longer than a week. They arrive after being traded in, repossessed or seized, stay unless reclaimed, and are disposed off in the weekly auto auctions. This lets the vehicles be resold to used car dealerships or just people looking for good deals. I soon learned that an auto auction is where many used car dealerships get the cars for their inventory.

Most auto auctions are not open to the public, and are attended by authorized car dealers. Sometimes you can get complimentary passes to these closed auctions, but it is not very likely. You may also be able to get a dealer to go to the auction and to bid on a particular vehicle for you. Take note that this particular method may not see immediate results. I have been able to purchase an auctioned vehicle through a dealer in this way, but it took several weeks before he could obtain for me a satisfactory used car with fair mileage and the right features. But at least I was able to get a used car for a lower price than I would have gotten otherwise--though it was not dirt cheap. The car was in fairly good running condition as well.

If getting a dealer to bid for you is not an option, your best bet is to look out for public auto auctions. Even the private auction lots usually hold the occasional public auction. Other places to try are government agencies, police garages, and impound lots.

Note that not all auto auction lots are reputable, and the bad ones do only rudimentary checks on the vehicles they put up for auction. Avoid such places, as you can end up with a car that has a disputed title, and can bring you only legal and financial trouble. The reputable auction sites do full vehicle history checks before putting up cars for auction. Still, it is a very good idea to do your own vehicle check if you are thinking of placing a bid on a car. You can get an auto’s vehicle identification number during the inspection period before the auction (usually a day or two before). Run the number through a website such as Carfax and you will get a vehicle history report that will tell you if the car has a clean title, and also note if it has been in any accidents or had other problems.