Pros & cons -buying a car at a police auction .?

Question

What pointers would you give a teenager before going to a police auction to buy a used car?

Answer 1

Take an adult with you that has some moxie about cars. Police auctions (in some areas and states) is the last place to go car shopping. The private market is still best as it currently is a buyers market in most parts of the country. Goodwill auctions are pretty good as are other faith based organizations. There are several on-line services as well as the local auto trading post mags. Generally, police send cars to their contracted impound yards so the only cars they have to auction are those that have been held as evidence from some crime case and the "history" of one of those cars is not the best source for a teen to get that first car.

Answer 2

Pro: You might find a bag of weed and/or other drugs still hidden in it like my friend did with his police auctioned car.

Answer 3

The up side is you can buy cars pretty cheap, the down side is you don't know anything about them, for example how they run and drive, how well they were maintained (if at all), how much were they abused before being impounded, what repairs they will need after purchasing, and the list goes on.

Answer 4

i used to work as a mechanic for the sheriff's dept in michigan by ann arbor...and i will tell you that although the cars seem great, i worked on them and would NEVER buy one at an auction...overpriced, and they never change the automatic transmission fluid and they always needed a transmission overhaul at 80K miles...also, the axles and undersides of the car can be severely damaged as the cops drive over medians, etc.

Answer 5

have a mechanic with u and make a run of seril # check it 4 leins before u buy