Question by : Car Auctions: are they a good way to get a nice car at a low price?
I need a new car but I cannot afford much of a car payment at this time. A friend suggested that I try a car auction. I know very little about how a car auction works but I am “researching”. Is this really a good way to go or are there too many risk for someone who has not a clue about a car engine.
Best answer:
Answer by Daniel
It’s not something you should do if you’re not car savvy
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3 Responses
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Misty Says:
Depends on what type of car auction. Banks have them to sell repos which you can find a good deal on a newer car there and so do police to sell their used cars….you need to just remeber that even a brand new car can be a total pos and then again a 300,000 10 year old car could run top notch. You never know if you like it and can afford it I’d say go for it….but take a friend that knows a lil summin maybe to reasure you its not a lemon
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Uncle Bo Says:
Auctions are really for experts and dealers. It is very very easy to make a bad decision buying at an auction.
There are little to no protections for you. If you buy a car and find its bad, it is 100% on you. You have no recourse and no one to help you.
There are no loans and no financing. You have to pay for the car in full the same day you buy it. Either pay in cash or have your financing arranged before you go.
Even if the car you want is a good one, it is very easy to over pay when you and someone else wants the same car.
For the average person, there really is no benefit to an auction. The risks are huge and you only save a few hundred, maybe $ 1000 or so depending on the car.
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roger Says:
for the most part, car auctions get used by dealers and private parties alike to shuffle off cars with some severe problems. One problem, is most auctions, you are not allowed to test drive, or even start the vehicle. This means it is very difficult to figure out what mechanical condition a vehicle is in. Watching a vehicle idle for a few minutes to get to the auction block, is a far cry from the 40 minute test drive I recommend for any used vehicle.
All police agencies can and do impound vehicles for a variety of pathetic excuses. But the expensive sports cars all end up as undercover cars for a short time, and can be traded or sold to other police agencies to keep revolving the undercover stock. This means, the chances of getting an expensive sports car cheap is less. Dealers often go to all auctions, they make their money by buying usually in lots of 8 or 10 (depending on what type of transportation they use, a vehicle car carrier can hold 8 to 10 cars)
They hope that one or two turn out to be good money makers, and the rest get resold or sent back to auction over and over, until some unlucky soul gets stuck with a crappy car.
Even the best mechanic in the world can not tell you for sure about an auction car, all you can really bid on is the outside appearance, and hope the engine and tranny are good.
As for those advertisers who claim auctions 500 dollars!!! but you call, and all they can do is sell you phone numbers and addresses of auctions, or police agencies. This information is ALREADY FREE!!! you have to contact each place, some have a mailing list you get on, and then wait , others you have to call every month or two and find out if any auctions are scheduled. Bigger auctions like customs or large government agencies may only do one a year, in a different location, once on their mailing list you are notified of auction day and times.
It takes some time on the internet to find the phone number to a police agency, then you call and find out how to get on the list. The best way I ever found, is still the old fashioned way, be patient and check the ads everyday for the new ads, and try to be in the right place at the right time, but be there first when a good used car gets sold
here is a website that has free information about looking for used cars, http://www.samarins.com it also has some used car reviews, and includes repair histories, manufacturers have made millions of substandard crap cars, which is sad, personally after years of looking and doing research, I recommend only four brands of automobile a nissan, a honda, a toyota, and the all wheel drive subaru, and front engine rear wheel drive only (subaru is all wheel drive) front wheel drive cars, are cheap to produce, all the drive train is crammed in the front, everything is smaller, and weaker than front engine rear wheel drive cars, most do not hold up well past 50,000 miles (you will see people who can afford to put them in the paper and go buy a new car. But most often they fall apart pretty quickly and are 3 to 8 times more expensive to get fixed, Some things the entire sub frame and steering must be removed to access certain parts like alternator and steering pump. Walk away from front engine front wheel drive, they are not all that good when new.
