| We often hear about the great deals people have | | | | more quickly or at a higher profit margin. In these |
| gotten at car auctions, but few of us really know much | | | | situations, the car dealer will be able to get rid of the |
| about them, much less have attended one. They work | | | | car quickly by putting it in an auction and use the cash |
| like most other auctions: You have an auctioneer and | | | | flow to put more current inventory on the car lot. It is |
| bidders. Sellers of auctioned cars can be anyone from | | | | not uncommon for the seller and bidders to all be car |
| car dealers to car lease companies to credit lenders to | | | | dealers. |
| law enforcement agencies. The bidders in the auctions | | | | The most talked about types among the general public |
| are usually car dealers, car collectors, and private | | | | are government car auctions. That is because the |
| individuals. In some cases, private auctions are held just | | | | government regularly seizes vehicles involved in felony |
| for dealers or collectors who are invited. The person | | | | offenses. These cars come in more varying conditions |
| with the highest bid wins the auction for the item being | | | | than cars from other types of auctions. Many of these |
| bid on at the time. All bids form a binding agreement. All | | | | cars have been highly customized and tweaked. |
| auction sales are final, unless otherwise stated. | | | | These are the auctions you hear about where a |
| One of the most common types of car auctions are | | | | bidder shows up and puts in a small bid and suddenly |
| the ones held by car lease companies. Once a car | | | | finds himself with a new car. While this is not the |
| becomes one to five years old, depending on the car | | | | normal situation anymore, it does still frequently occur. |
| model and the lease company, the car lease company | | | | For a variety of reasons, increasingly larger vehicles |
| will typically stop leasing the car and instead try to sell | | | | are showing up in car auctions. It is not so unexpected |
| it. In many cases, the car lease company chooses to | | | | to see a large diesel truck or recreational vehicle |
| auction the car off because it does not specialize in | | | | auctioned off these days. These often provide a much |
| car sales and it is inefficient for the lease company to | | | | better deal than small cars as there are fewer bidders |
| try to put the car out on a lot and try to sell it | | | | there for these types of vehicles. |
| themselves. A car lease company's best buyers at | | | | Before you go to a car auction, make sure you find |
| these are typically car dealers who do specialize in | | | | out what the rules are for that auction. Some allow |
| selling cars. In these cases, the car lease company | | | | you to inspect the cars before the auction takes place. |
| benefits by getting quick cash for the car and not | | | | You should take advantage of this or you will get |
| having to pay for storage, upkeep and sales people. | | | | fleeced because other bidders will have a mechanic |
| The car dealer benefits by getting a relatively new car | | | | look them over in most cases. Other auctions do not |
| that has been well-maintained that it can sell at a | | | | allow pre-inspection. Be wary of how much you bid in |
| decent markup. | | | | these auctions as good cars usually aren't put in these |
| However, sometimes it is the car dealers themselves | | | | types of auctions. Much of the information about |
| who hold car auctions. This generally occurs when | | | | various auctions and their rules and schedules is |
| they are running out of space on their sales lots and | | | | posted on the Internet. |
| they want to use that space for cars that sell either | | | | |