Understand Different Types of Car Auctions
Not many people are familiar with auctions because let’s face it, auctions are not something that we attend on a regular basis, unless we are a used car dealer. Here are a couple of answers to the questions that most likely play in your mind:
1. What is the difference between a police impound car auction, a government-run auction and a repossessed auction?
One difference is the source of the vehicles. Vehicles at a police impound car auction are cars that have been seized by the police for involvement in illegal activity. Vehicles at a government-run auction come from agencies such as the Homeland Security, Border Patrol, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). A surplus of vehicles bought with government funds is usually the reason for releasing these vehicles to be auctioned to the public. The source of these vehicles can include universities and hospitals too. At a repossessed auction, vehicles used to belong to customers who are unable to service their loans. These auctions are organized by banks or financial institutions.
The other difference is that there are no registration fees or charges if the auctions are government-run ones. Auctions that are run by private auction houses may charge up to 5% of the cost of the car as a source of income as well as to cover the fees of the auctioneers. So if you want to choose an auction to go to, a government-run will save you some money.
2. What are open and closed auctions?
As the name indicates, open auctions are open to the public and anyone is able to attend and bid as long as they possess a valid driver’s license. In a closed auction, only used car dealers are allowed to attend and bid.
3. How do I check the vehicle’s background?
The right time to do this is during the pre-sale Inspection. Get the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) during this time and run a check with this in the CARFAX report. This will give you some details about the vehicle. At some auctions, a post-sale inspection is offered as well.
4. How is the condition of the vehicles?
Most vehicles are below 3 years old with barely 20,000km on their metres. If you perform a Google search for government auctions, you will find someone mentioning that he bought a 4 year old BMW at a price below a Toyota. That’s a steal!
Hopefully the answers to these questions help your understanding of the world of vehicle auctions!
This article was prepared on behalf of YourNextCar.info, an authority website in government seized cars. Visit the website to learn more about how to win in car auctions.
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