Overhaulin'

Are auto auctions a rip off?

There are auto auctions in the LA area, cars that come from repos etc. They say this is where the dealerships go to buy a lot of their cars for their used car lots. But just ordinary people go to these as well. I've been looking at a site called www.seize.com & others. I want to get another car, they say people can get nice cards for like 60% or more less than a used car lot at a dealership. Is this true? I'm going to go to one next weekend just to watch, I just wanted to know if anyone here has any direct or had a friend buy one at an auction before. thx

Public Comments

1. Never buy a repo or seized car. They've almost always been treated badly and not maintained (who's going to put money into a car they know is going away soon?). They never have warranties either. Stay far away. No, further than that. Further....
2. not at all, we have bought 3 cars from an auction in the past years and all of them have been good.
3. well its all about looking carefully at the car, sure some of them are goin to be a little rough around the edges but some of them can be a real find and sometimes sell really cheap
4. I've bought my last two cars from auctions. All turned out wonderful with 200K+ miles. Just have to know which ones to bid on and which ones not to.
5. Don't waist your time at a car auction place unless your used car sales person...I've seen people buy at an auction then realized that the repairs are more than the car is worth...u don't need to deal with that..trust me... My suggestion is find the car that u like on the web..like craigslist.com or yahoo.com.or something. And the person selling the car is near your area and the price is right, ask the seller if u can take the car to have it inspected by an independant repair shop for that specializes on that particular car...they should also give very good advice on the car if it's worth the asking price.
6. Don't go to an auction unless you know a mechanic who will go to the auction with you and inspect any car you are considering to bid on. A novice at an auction will get taken every time. Look for an individual, not a dealer, who is selling their own good clean older car and buy that instead.
7. Yes they are a rip off because the cars are used and abused and you will never find out what the problem was unless to go to carfax.com and see. Some of those vehicles have engine problems that are not visible to the human eye. When women go... they look for the prettiest looking car and get 'ganked' everytime. There are some used car lots with better quality cars but they cost more. When you get tp paying prices that are too high... you might as well get a new car.
8. We bought a car from an auction only paid 1k for it. drove it for 2 years, it got stolen and we got 2k for it from insurance. The car had been very good to us but you have to know what you are looking for and how much you are willing to spend. I would do it again in a minute but remember it is like any used car some are good and some are bad.
9. Yes,it is true. Four months ago,I bouht a near new SUV from online government auction.It only cost me $730 and i have not had one problem with it yet . You can check out http://seized-car-auction.info ,That site lists top 5 Police auction sites and help you choose the best one. Good luck!