Government Car Auction

Nowadays, if somebody drives a posh car, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the person is rich – the luxury vehicle might have been bought at one of the numerous seized car auctions held regularly.

As the name suggests, seized car auctions offer vehicles that were seized by the government or the police due to some illegal activity. Apart from criminals, automobiles at repossessed vehicle auctions come from people failed to pay the mortgage, defaulted on tax payments, etc. The goal of the government is not to cash on these vehicles, but rather get rid of them quickly and avoid storage and maintenance expenses.

Seized car auctions as well as other types of similar auctions have their own advantages and disadvantages. Being aware of them will help you decide whether or not this is the way you want to purchase your vehicle.

Advantages of Seized Car Auctions

1. Unbelievably low starting bid. You can expect 80 and even 90% discount – a great bargain if you compare it with the retailer price.

2. Good condition. Most vehicles sold have been in use not more than 5 years. Quite often, there are cars in a “close to new” condition.

3. History reports available. Ideally, every such auto auction will provide free Car Fax VIN reports. Additionally, you can use an Auto Check Vehicle History to make sure that the car was not damaged in an accident.

4. Possibility to find a rare model. If you are on a lookout for a particular model, especially rare or imported one, chances are you will find it at such an auction. Check online seized car auctions as well – they have an impressive number of listings, so it is really not so hard to find what you want.

Disadvantages of Seized Car Auctions

1. Sold “as is”. After acquiring a vehicle, it is impossible to exchange or return it for a refund. Therefore, take time to assess the vehicle’s condition and check its history.

2. Hard for beginners. If you are a first-timer, a repossessed vehicle auction may seem to be a tough place to you. Needless to say, it is difficult to keep up with experienced car dealers. A friend who is not new to seized car auctions would be of great help. Or, turn to online auto auctions – they are easier to control the bidding process.

3. Time consuming. Searching for the seized car auctions in your area, registration, preliminary checking, attending one (especially if it is quite far from your place), and getting all the necessary paperwork done later may take up to a few weeks. Again, participation in an online auction is easier, though involves more risks and concerns.

With these knowledge in hand, you are in a better position to buy a vehicle that is auctioned. For more details on where and how to pick up your dream car from seized car auctions, read up my blog.

Have you heard of car flipping? Flipping a car means that you buy it cheaply, then fix it up and resell it for a profit. If you get a good enough deal on the car, you don’t even have to fix it, you can just buy it low, then immediately sell high. The key is getting the car cheaply enough, and the best place to buy cars cheap is government car auctions.

These auctions are open to the public and have fantastic deals on cars. The going price for cars at auction ranges from 20% to 90% off of retail price. It is very common for cars to sell for far less than their trade in value, and it is not difficult to get a good enough value that you can resell the car for profit.

You just have to wait for a great deal. There are always certain cars that do not draw a lot of interest at an auction, sometimes for unknown reasons. Also, I like to wait until late in the auction. By then, many people have already spent their money and have dropped out, so there are often good deals to be had.

The first time I flipped an auction car was on a whim. I was at auction looking for a car for myself but didn’t find one I liked. But I saw a 1999 Dodge Durango going for less than it was worth towards the end of the auction. It was cheap enough that I could afford to pay cash, so I bid and bought it for ,200.00.

There were stains on the upholstery and it was very dirty inside, so I bought a few bottles of cleaner and got out my vacuum cleaner and went to work. It took about 4 hours of scrubbing to get the interior clean, and most of the stains came out. I also sewed a small rip in the cloth, certainly not a professional job, but it was better than the stuffing coming out.

I also changed the oil, charged the AC, and ran some gum out through it. Then, after a good car wash, it looked pretty nice and was running smoothly. Total spent on repairs: .00 (including the cleaners) and 8 hours of labor.

It was time to put it on sale. I listed it in the local newspaper and on Autotrader.com for ,500.00 and I immediately got some responses. I sold it a week later for ,800.00. Total profit: ,520.00. And it only took me about 1 day worth of labor to do everything. Since then I have flipped 4 other cars from government car auctions, with similar success. I have found that it is very possible to mark a car up about 80% higher than the price you pay with only a small amount of work done to the car if you carefully choose the car you buy and get a good deal. I am not a very good mechanic, so I always try to buy a car with little to no mechanical problems, as this could run up the cost very quickly and cause you to lose money on the deal.

So the keys to success are: inspect the cars carefully, use a blue book to ensure you are getting a good price, and stay away from cars with mechanical problems. Follow this and you will be turning a nice profit in no time.