Car Buying 101 Tutorial
Car Buying 101 Part V
There is a wide variety of vehicles auctioned by the government every year. These vehicles run the full spectrum of makes and models and are acquired by the government through IRS seizures, RICO seizures, municipal seizures, unclaimed and surplus properties, and through various government agencies.
The most common forms of government auctions for vehicles come from the Treasury Department and GSA at the federal level and from city police departments at the municipal level.
For those looking to buy a car at rock-bottom pricing, government auctions offer an opportunity to get a car for below market value because the vehicles are typically sold at no reserve, which means the high bid gets the car, even if the high bid is $100. Like I said earlier in the tutorial, getting a late-model SUV, or late-model anything for that matter, is not likely, so it’s best to keep your expectations more realistic.
If car dealers are willing to pay several thousand dollars below low Kelly Blue Book for a vehicle, that might not be a bad strategy for you to adopt as well. This means if there is an aggressive bidder who is willing to go higher, you might not win the vehicle. It’s important to note however, than once the bidding on the vehicle passes into the range of low Kelly Blue Book, there are many other avenues in which you can purchase a vehicle, including eBay motors and craigslist.com.
Most government auctions offer a preview period where you can inspect the vehicles and we strongly recommend that you take advantage of previews to look over vehicles and see how they sound when they are started.
At government auctions, try to take the emotion out of bidding and reign in your expectations. The auctioneer’s job is to build excitement in the auction with the tone of his voice, so be careful not to be caught up in it.
The government will attempt to list the vehicle’s mechanical condition as accurately as possible, but all vehicles are sold “as is, where is.” So don’t count on help after the sale, and there aren’t any refunds to be had either. You have to be willing to take full responsibility for all maintenance issues on the vehicle after the auction, so remember to factor that into your bidding. Most car purchases are irreversible, so keep that in mind when you are making a purchase by any means.
People ask us all the time if they can get a great deal at a government auction. We’ve seen users write into PoliceAuctions.com that were very satisfied with the deal they got using the information on our site, so in our opinion, it’s possible, as long as you arm yourself with a Kelly Blue Book and are careful not to overbid.
