The price you pay for at used car auctions is always higher than what you originally bid. Lets not forget about the buyers premium and this can range from a few hundred dollars all the way up to a couple thousand dollars. It can be ten percent of the bid of maybe just five. When you get caught up in the excitement of a bid it is easy to forget about the buyers premium.
By the time you are done bidding it is possible that you might be paying the same price that you would pay at a private dealer. The whole reason for going to an auction is to get a car cheaper than what you would at a private dealer. And some people travel quite far to go to these auctions. So when you think about it you might be in the hole after leaving the auction and you might as well go to a private dealer.
So when it comes to going to an auction to buy a car, always assume the worst. If you get a bad feeling about something you can always trust that this is probably not a good thing and you should trust your own instincts. Do not be stupid and think that you’re gonna get lucky and that someone who scams you will get justice served upon them. This rarely ever happens.
All of the same rules will apply when it comes to buying a car from a rental car company. These cars are still used cars and are still used by many many people. However the used cars from rental companies usually will have a free limited warranty on them from the company. Auctions are more dangerous because that is where all of the flooded and rebuilt cars usually go.
Remember that when you are buying a car on-line you can not inspect it by no means unless the car is being sold at a local auction. Now if you get an auction that is out of state then you cant look at the car at all until after you go and get it and then you might realize that it is not worth the price you paid for it by far,
Always get to the auction as early as you possibly can so that you can pick out what you are bidding on and to make sure that you can inspect it as much as you can. Make sure to beat the crowds so that there is no one and nothing to distract you. Bring a Kelly blue book with you so that you are not going to be over paying for something.
You always have to pay a higher price than what you actually bid for the car, this alone should tell you how terrible these auctions are. There sometimes is a buyers premium. So this means that you will have to pay at least a thousand or more on top of the price that you win the car for, and lets not forget you also have to pay for taxes on the car.
No matter what, always make sure that what you get is going to be worth the money that you pay for it because you do not want to get something that is a piece of crap and end up paying way more for it than what it is worth.
Want to make sure you’re getting a real bargain at used car auctions? Worried what you may be missing when you read car auction classifieds? Don’t get fooled!