By:
Tahl Kopel
Sometimes when people want to
buy a good pre-owned car for a low price they
go to government-sponsored automobile auctions.
Because the government is not allowed to make
a profit on the cars it auctions off, there
are plenty of opportunities for people to find
incredible deals at government car auctions.
Most of the cars sold at government auctions
have been seized from people who for one reason
or another were unable to make payments on their
cars. These cars are then repossessed by the
lending institutions or banks that provided
the automobile loans that were used to buy the
cars in the first place. Other automobiles that
are sold at government auctions come from people
who failed to pay their income tax or other
taxes and do not have the cash to pay the government
what is owed. The government then liquidates
part of the tax cheat's estate and takes possession
of items such as cars. A third way cars come
to government auctions is if they belong to
a criminal and are taken by the government as
a result of a criminal procedure. Sometimes
the automobiles sold at government-sponsored
car auctions are old fleet cars that were used
by the various branches of government.
With the exception of the government fleet
cars, it is often difficult to ascertain information
regarding the history or a car being sold at
a government auction. Often, there is no way
a person can find out who owned the car before
it was seized, why the car was seized and is
now in the hands of the government, and what
the maintenance record on the car is. While
it may be possible to do a background check
based on a car's vehicle identification number
(VIN), it is often difficult to get a really
good picture of the condition of a car that
is sold at government automobile auction.
In the days and weeks leading up to some government-sponsored
car auctions, customers are allowed to examine
the cars, trucks, SUVs and automobiles that
will be sold at the auction. However, other
government-sponsored automobile auctions where
seized and repossessed vehicles are sold do
not let people examine the cars closely before
they are sold.
Car dealerships often send representatives
to government auctions in order to buy pre-owned
cars at low prices. These auto dealerships will
then usually sell the cars they buy at car auctions
for prices much higher than those they paid
for the vehicles.
Like all auctions, customers at government-sponsored
automobile auctions must place bids on how much
they are willing to pay for the car on the auction
block. Whoever makes the highest bid for a car
sold at a car auction gets the car. While it
is next to impossible to get an automobile loan
for the exact amount one pays for a car at a
government-sponsored vehicle auction, it is
possible to get a loan for a specified amount
before one heads off to the auction.
It is not unusual for high-end and luxury cars
to be sold at government-sponsored car auctions,
although most of the cars sold are the normal
trucks, cars and SUVs one sees everyday on the
road.
Back
to Car Articles Index
|
