Vehicle Auctions

By Charles Sokolow

That dream car is out there, and it's waiting for you at the next live or online vehicle auction. Picture this: you're at a great party and you hit it off with the great person who has been giving you the eye for the past hour. Now, you both plan to head out of the party and grab some dinner. You both then proceed to walk out of the party and head to the closest bus stop and wait 30 minutes to pack into a sweat box on wheels. Now, picture the same scenario, but instead, you leave the party and hop into your sleek convertible that you picked up for well under market value. Which situation would you want to be stuck in?

Dealer auctions for cars can be nearly impossible to attend if you aren't involved in that field. To compensate, you can check out an even better option-government seized or surplus auctions. At one of these live or online auctions you can bid on items that were either seized by the government or there was an over surplus of one or more items. No matter what the issue was, you are going to be able to bid on some spectacular items-including high-end vehicles.

At a government seized vehicle auction, there has been Lamborghinis, supped-up muscle cars, Hummers, and a ton of other fantastic autos. All of them were sold for well under what the market value is on the car or truck. There are no hidden tricks with these government auctions. What you see is what you get. Though, the strategies I'm about to tell you aren't foolproof, they will undoubtedly help you out come auction time

The first thing you will need to do is figure out what type of vehicle you are looking to bid on. This will help you narrow down your field of research. Once you know the exact make and model of the car that you intend to bid on, you should check out a few sites.

eBay is a great place to do your research. If you have an eBay account, you can watch a few auctions for the exact car that you are looking for. After these auctions have all ended, you can grab an average price of these final prices and make a assessment of how much you want to spend.

Kelly Blue Book is another useful tool when you are doing your vehicle research. This guide will show you the approximate market value for every car model from the last decade. Use it as platform for the value of your potential next purchase, but don't make it the sole price guide.

Used car price guides can be your best friend before an auction. Check these guides to figure a base price. Remember, most used sales are done within a negotiation. A ton of sales happen because a seller with throw out a high price and then a buyer will try to lowball them. The final result will be made somewhere in the middle of those two figures.

One of the best pieces of advice I can give you is to make sure you head out to the auction as early as possible and stay as late as you can. Most people tend to come to auctions late because they feel like there are a ton of items there, so they will probably snag something good. Though, if you are one of the early birds, you will get battle it out with far fewer bargain hunters. If you stay late, you are going to be competing with much fewer people as well because they will have already spent all their funds.

The next, and probably the most important piece of info you can have come auction day, is to keep a value limit and stick to it. Set a price on every item you are looking to bid on, and make sure you never stray from that price. Many people freak out and lose control during an auction. Those are the people who end up overpaying for most of the assets they have won. You must not be that way. Stay sharp and don't let your feelings get ahead of your pocket.

With this info in mind, you should be good to go. Check out a live or online government auction and get yourself a new car. You don't want to be waiting on that bus line anymore-trust me, I know.

Government seized and surplus items can be a great invest. You can find whatever item you need for yourself or you can turn purchasing and selling these items into a business. Either way, these items are up for grabs and they are going to be sold for a great price. Check out a site like GovernmentAuctions.org for some great auction information and items.