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Car Dealer Auctions

Car Dealer Auctions

Every year there are countless automobiles sold at car auctions. These auctions go by a few names based on their backgrounds, i.e., salvage car auctions, police auto auctions, seized car auctions, recovered cars, damaged cars, car dealer auctions, etc. For the most part these auctions are restricted to car dealerships and exclude the general public. The exception now to this is the advent of online auctions like Car Auction Inc where these auction vehicles are available to the public via the internet. 

The selling price of cars sold at auctions is always lower than what the dealer would advertise on its lot, the reason being the specific seller’s need to clear their inventories quickly and hassle-free. There are a number of categories these unwanted cars originate from: expired leases, old rental car fleets, aging company cars, repossessed and seized vehicles, and trade-ins. 

Leases 

• Banks and financial institutions with leased vehicles being returned employ closed auctions (not open to the public) to remove the old cars. Off-lease vehicles are good choices for auction buyers as they are usually in good condition because of the mileage limits, required maintenance, and penalties for abuse and excessive wear. As well, the banks need to unload them quickly and thus accept lower bids. 

Rentals 

• Car rental companies prefer to unload their vehicles once a year to make room for the new ones. This creates a glut of late-model cars in the marketplace. They rely on auto auctions as well for a rapid sell-off. These cars are good bidding targets because they are well maintained and usually no more than a year old. Despite that, they commonly have high mileage and rough usage by the variety of drivers and driving conditions. 

Company cars 

• Various size companies often have fleets of cars, trucks, or vans for their employees that they have to replace every two or more years. This is another example of the need for an auto auction. Company cars driven by executives are sometimes luxury class and usually driven gently. And thus they tend to be in good shape. Conversely, trucks and vans might get more use and abuse. All types get adequate maintenance. 

Repossessed 

• Financial institutions facing delinquent car loans have to repossess, or take back the vehicle. When this happens an auction is their only outlet for disposing of the car. Buyers can often get good deals on repossessed cars because the banks only seek to offset their losses from the loan. Condition is another issue here as there are higher chances of neglect and possible sabotage by the delinquent owner. Repairs and maintenance could be lax, too.

Trade-ins 

• When a dealership accepts a trade-in for a new car, they don’t often keep them on the lot for resale. Hanging on to aging vehicles is detrimental to dealerships because the costs are high and this also reflects on their reputation. If it is seen that there are a lot of cars on the lot not moving, this could imply poor salesmanship. So it is wise to move these cars out of the inventory. At auction they can usually get a bit more for them than what they offered on the trade-in. The condition of these vehicles varies wildly, some have after-market additions, and some may be older and out of warranty. 

Among these categories of cars many will be of high quality and late models still under warranty. Federal law requires full disclosure up front of major mechanical problems which may void the warranties. Cars with a known history of trouble are categorized as salvage, and are put on the auction block mostly by the insurance companies that had underwritten them. So in addition to these car dealer auctions there are salvage car auctions, and police auto auctions that include government cars as well. 

Before car auctions on line existed, most car auctions were closed to the public and reserved only for auto dealers. Now with services like Car Auction Inc, that is no longer true. Having access to the internet, the general public is now invited to share in the great deals that only an exclusive few formerly enjoyed.

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