Besides closed auctions for dealers, the United States also offers open auctions for the public. These are mainly used as a dumpster for repossessed cars, aging cars from rental companies, off-lease returns; trade-ins, or even cars seized by government agencies such as the IRS, DEA and FBI. Some insurance companies also submit their totaled cars to feed the salvage car market. Although used cars are the main focus of the market, new cars are also included in the auctions, especially when dealers want to get rid of unsold inventory. At an auction you may find many types of cars from off-lease, off-rental, company or fleet cars, repossessions, trade-ins, salvage, and even new cars.
When you buy a car off from an auction, you need to pay the price it went for, plus taxes and storage fees. All this paperwork is taken care by either the person bidding for you at the auction or yourself with personnel from the auction. Once it has been paid off, auctions usually give a period of time where you can keep the car in storage free of charge or at a minimum rate until you arrange pickup or transportation. Make sure this is arranged before hand and paid in full before driver is there to pick up the car. These fees many cases are not greater than $50.00 and driver might agree to pay and later invoice you upon delivery; however this may not always be the case. Drivers are not responsible for these fees, and if he is not willing to cover this bill in order to take car, he is in all his right to decline taking the car and charge you cancellation fees. Make sure this arranged before hand to avoid misunderstandings later on.
Another important thing when transporting a car from an auction is to provide the lot number where the car is located. VIN number and color are optional, however if available, it’s better to provide them. Many auctions will also provide buyer a receipt that must be presented by driver in order to take car, if this is the case it is extremely important that you provide this receipt and any other document to your transport booking agent so they can provide the driver with this documentation. Delays due to missing paperwork can cause extra unnecessary fees. Remember that just like you have schedules to stick to, drivers have schedules they have to stick to as well in order to provide a safe and timely delivery.
Buying a car from an auction is a very common buying and selling channel for the car industry nowadays, if using this method, make sure you take full advantage of its benefits and foresee all the transport details to avoid any inconvenience.