I am looking for a car and instead of buying a used car at an used car dealership, I would like to get the most bang for my buck by buying at an auction. I understand that some will only allow dealers to come. How can I get into these auctions and where about would these be located? Please help me, I tried looking at other answers on the websites but any in my area?
2007-04-04 13:36:59 · 4 answers · asked by alexyu5 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Buying & Selling
Ok here is the deal with auto auctions. First most require you to be a dealer because their licenses are wholesale only. You might get someone to buy it for you there for a flat fee but many times you will not get in because your not on the dealers appoved list. Here is the bigger issue with auctions. Unless you are willing to take a huge gamble on getting a good car don't do it. What is happening with car sales these days is new car dealers are selling more used cars. They make more profit on a used then new, There is no price sticker from a factory on a used car. Unless you really know cars, you have no clue what it's really worth. Years ago a dealer would take a customers trade in and if it was under 3 to 5 years old, check it out and if it was good, keep it and try and sell it. More then 5 years old he would just ship to the auction. Some dealers did not even sell used and some would only keep their own brand. So many decent cars would wind up at the auction houses. Now dealers are selling cars 10-15 years old and any brand. So anything decent they are selling themselves and not sending to the auction. Anything they feel they can not stand behind and warranty winds up at the auction. Ok you ask what is at the auction. These dealer trade ins, because they have problems. Repos; The repos are hit or miss. Most people know their car is going to be repoed so they don't do things like change the oil etc. Many beat the crap out of the car to get back at the finance company. Flood and accident damage cars; There are so many kartina cars that have been "title washed" so you can't tell where they have been is alarming at the least. Thousands upon thousands are turning up at auctions. Lease turn ins; well lets face it most lease cars are not maintained like they should be many have been "turned back" by customers to avoid excess mileage charges. Rental cars; Well with all the rental companies now having retail lots why would they send a car to the auction because it has issuest. When I go to the auction, I have been doing this for a long time, I bring my lap top with a wireless connection and run the cars through car fax on the spot before I bid. Some auctions, like atlanta run many lanes at once auction 2-3 thousand cars in one day. Some days I can't get from one lane to the next fast enough. You will see some people on roller blades. You have to do things quick and you can get burned. The average 10000 car bought by a dealer at a auction these days needs 1500-2000 in reconditioning. The dealer then adds his profit and sells it it for 15000. Yes on the surface it looks like your saving 5000 but the dealer has to warranty the car and has 1500 invested in parts and labor. At an auction you have 48 hours to "complain" about a bad motor or transmission. What I recommend is reasearch the car you want then shop for the best price at someplace that will stand behind the car if you have an issue. Spend the $20 or so bucks on a 30 day unlimited car fax account. If you don't have a wireless lap top have someone stay home and stand by the computer. If you see a car call home have your "family" enter the vehicle ID number into car fax and then you can see who is telling the truth. Many dealers these days are "car fax" and "auto check" certified. That means they have the car fax on file for you to look at or will run it for you. The dealer can finance the car for you as well as clean and detail it. I have picked up late model cars at the auction that smelled like someone puked in them. Spent thousands replacing interiors etc only to find someone doped the motor so it would not smoke at the auction. Its a risk even professionals get burned at from time to time. Can you afford to get burned? are you a mechanic?? if those answers are no then stay away. Sorry for the long answer but I hope you are now better informed.
2007-04-04 14:32:02 · answer #1 · answered by asccaracer 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Check with car salesmen, some of them have their dealers license and will go with you to the auction and buy the car for you and charge you a flat rate like 50 or 100 to do the deal.
either that or find a public auction that you can go to. Look in the yellow pages for auto auctions and check with them as to what you need to attend. You will need a letter of credit, identification, and you'll have to register and get a bidder's number.
2007-04-04 13:43:28 · answer #2 · answered by Fordman 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have a list good websites offering cheap used cars. They are all reputed delers and also arrange some auction for used cars.
You can comapire rates between them cause its a big list.
In this way you save money also.
Send me a mail at solidoffer11@yahoo.com with subjet- Used Cars. I will send a link of best website where you can find good offers, tips and resources.
Best wishes
2007-04-04 21:05:50 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You begin by getting a car dealers license.
2016-05-17 07:51:36 · answer #4 · answered by dimple 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋