vehicle auctions

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Let’s talk vehicle auctions . . .

For the last twenty years, my family has been buying all of our cars at the county or state auctions. My current daily driver is an ex-police car, as were the two before that. I pick them up for about 2 grand or so with 80 to 90 thousand miles on them, drive them for 3 or 4 years, and then scrap them at 150+ thousand miles and buy another one.

It’s not just police cars. Most of the ones my family has bought have been regular cars used by the Social Services or Health departments and similar agencies.

You can’t test drive them, but you do see them started and run. Unlike a dealer or private party sale, the state and the county are painfully honest about telling you about any known problems. They also post it’s service history – things like new water pump at XX miles, new brakes and rotors at YY miles, etc.

You are bidding mostly against small used car dealerships. They know what they can sell these cars for, and they drop out of the bidding when it gets too high for them to make a profit. Which means that you don’t get it for a song, but you do get it for less than you would pay buying it from a dealer.

If you are in the northeast, I see that New York state has another vehicle auction coming up in Albany on July 10.

They are listing a couple of nice Dodge Sprinter vans with diesel motors, as well as an assortment of regular vans, pickup trucks, and 4X4 SUVS.

Details at:
https://online.ogs.ny.gov/surpluspublic/auction/Contents.asp?vSaleNo=AU201407101

I assume most states have similar programs for disposing of state vehicles.

Regards
John

 

[PastTense]

Some sites you can use (besides eBay):
http://www.publicsurplus.com/sms/browse/cataucs?catid=4
http://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm

Insurance auctions (costs $200 or so to register, mostly wrecks from insurance companies but my state also lists there--large number of selling sites across the country)
https://www.iaai.com/Home/Default

 

[compassrose]

Blue Ridge Auto Auction, Blue Ridge, GA
Cavelier (it was a "cop" car that was never actually a cop car, we only found out when we had to get parts for it)
Chevy S10 truck
Ford Astro Van (never again)
Jeep (my current towed)
Saturn (bought for the kids first car)

Greenwood Auto Auction, Greenwood, GA (very fast running 3 lane auction)
Dodge Ram full size pickup truck

Both auctions were "open to the public" auto auctions. I know for a fact that I paid half of the price they were asking at the Chattanooga car lot where I first saw the 1995 jeep at ($6K plus $600 auction fee... jeep was $13,999 at Mountain View used car lot). It was 2 yo when I bought it. The mini van was a $500 "test" to see if I would like a mini van. We kept it a year and bought the jeep then sold the van. We like buying at the auctions.

We have no had any luck with the six police auctions we attended. If I was a suspicious person, I would say they had plants in the audience.

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Ooops! Semi-senior moment. It was Oakwood Auto Auction in Gainesville, GA, not Greenwood in Greenwood.

 

[offroad]

Great topic. Can you explain more about what you need to have in hand to buy? Do you bring $10,000 in cash? (Think not). Do you have a certified cashier check? ( are those safe?).

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And what is the entrance fee? How do you spot a "plant" in the crowd who is trying to drive up the price? Difference between public and private and why?

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

I only have experience with the New York State auctions and the ones run by Dutchess County, NY.

The state will only take cash, a certified check, or a credit card. A "pre-qualified business" can pay with a regular check. I assume by that they are referring to the used car dealers who have licenses and tax exempt certificates. The couple of times I went to their auctions, I did indeed carry cash.

I don't know how you can bring a cashiers check when you don't know how much the car is going to cost. I doubt you can hand them a check for a greater amount and expect them to give you back change.

Dutchess County WILL take personal checks. But they warn you that if your check fails to clear, the Dutchess County Sheriff will arrest you, no ifs,ands, or buts; and you will have to try to explain to the Judge just how your check came to bounce.

Regards
John

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As for dealers auctions, this is where new car dealerships get rid of trade-ins that they don't, for some reason, want to sell as used cars on their own lots. The smaller used car dealerships buy there to replenish their stock.

Some are only open to licensed dealers, others are open to the public.

I could see how a dealer who owned the car might be tempted to drive the price up a bit by putting a plant or two in the audience. Of course, if they get greedy and try to drive it too high, they might be stuck with the vehicle and have to pay the auctioneer's fees to boot.

Might the auctioneer be in cahoots with such a dealer? Maybe. But I'm pretty sure such collusion is illegal, and the auctioneer is risking his license by doing that.

I don't know how you would spot such a plant if you were at an open auction.

I doubt it could be done at a closed auction. Everybody there pretty much knows everybody else there, as the same people show up auction after auction.

Regards
John