At a Car Auction it's always Buyer Beware

Any time you read in the papers about how there has been a hurricane in some far-off place, you probably gloss over it and move on to other items of interest. When a hurricane causes flooding in an area, what you think happens to all the hundreds of cars people have parked along the streets in that town? When Hurricane Katrina swung around five years ago, if left about a half million cars flooded. Where did those cars go after that? Those cars were bought up by sleazy auctioneers to be superficially refurbished and sold somewhere near you.

At many auctions, their use of little pieces of jargon can aids them in all kind of sales tactics they use. For instance, if they say that a car is sold 'as is', that means they don't offer you a guarantee for anything. Sometimes, if you want a guarantee, you pay special fee. You really need to know what you're doing buying at a car auction. How about the title to the car? Will you be getting a clear title? At the auto auction, even if they mean well, they really don't make enough on a sale to justify a thorough title check. Most of the time, they'll skip the title check altogether. You could be being sold a stolen car for all you know. One of the best car title checks available online is AutoCheck. Be sure to run a car that you intend buying on this database before you part with a dollar.

When it comes to actually paying for a car you buy at an auction, you never paid exactly what you bid. You always need to pay a little extra. They call it the buyer's premium. Usually, it's a percentage anywhere between 2% and 10% of the amount you bid for. If you have a choice, you should probably buy a used car from a rental car company then from an auction. Have you ever had a rental car break down on you? Most people never experience such a scenario because those are cars that are kept under constant maintenance to ensure smooth running for the company. A car you buy at an auction on the other hand could have been an accident, could have been flooded or been stolen.

Do yourself a favor: before you buy at a car auction, be sure to check everything up on auto check by the VIN numbers of all the cars you are interested in. Look closely at the contract before you sign. Try to see what kind of title indication they give you. Get to the auction block ahead of time to look closely at the VIN number stickers on all the cars. Just make sure that all of the numbers read the same on each car. Be sure to carry your laptop with you so that you can look up on AutoCheck right on the spot.