You may have seen advertisements about how you can purchase a repossessed car for very little – in some cases, the prices they list may even seem too good to be true. The good news is that they aren’t, as long as you’re buying these repossessed cars from the government. They often sell cars for anywhere from 40 to upwards of 70 percent off the original price. If you know how to swoop in and get one of these cars, you can save yourself a lot of money.
But how does the government get these cars? Well, they get most of them from criminals who have been involved in criminal cases or from criminals who purchased the cars with stolen or illegally printed money. Once the government has possession of the cars, they attempt to find the previous, legal owner and return the vehicle. However, that isn’t always possible, and if a car isn’t returned within a certain amount of time, it’s sent to public auction.
Most government repossessed cars are auctioned off by a private auctioning service. While these auctions are open to everyone, it can be difficult to know when and where they are. The problem is that you can’t simply go to a police station and ask them what company handles their seized car auctions. Instead, you need to look up small auction companies in your area. Many of these companies are so small that they don’t do a lot of advertising, so you may have to simply go through the local listings and call several different auction houses before you find one that deals in repossessed cars.
Once you’ve found an auction service that sells repossessed vehicles, it’s time to go visit them. Once there, you should be able to find a list of repossessed cars that are coming up for auction. Try to get as much information as you can, especially on any cars you’re interested in. Also, find out what you’ll need to bring with you to the auction in case you end up buying a car – for example, how payment is accepted, what documents do you need, and how long will you have to claim the car. If possible, go to an auction just to observe before you go to one with the intent to buy so you can see how everything works. Don’t assume these auto repossession auctions will work like estate sales or other auctions you’ve attended – you never know what special rules you’ll need to follow.
Finally, once you’ve seen how the auctions work and have found a vehicle or two you want to bid on, it’s time to jump right in and try to get yourself a great deal on a car. Remember to apply the general rules that should be followed at all auctions. Keep your maximum price in mind at all times. Don’t get caught up in a bidding war; if you do, you’re likely to end up spending much more than you wanted to. If someone bids more than your maximum amount, let them have it. If you don’t, you’ll regret spending more money than you should have.
