If you are among the many that are actively looking for a decent vehicle that doesn’t cost you an arm and a leg, then a public auto auction is probably the right place for you to look. At an auto auction you can get high quality, vehicles ranging from fast sports cars to luxury classic cars far below their regular price.

There are lots of different car auctions taking place all over the country every day. One of the most famous is the American Auto Auction.

There are auto auctions online as well and if you are thinking about bidding at one of those there are a couple of things you need to consider:

- The description and photo of the auction car don’t necessarily fit what really the facts disclosed. Like most other businesses, the online auction business has its, “not-so-serious” actors that have the nasty habit of making vehicles appear more attractive than they really are by writing false descriptions and displaying manipulated images.

Stay away from the crap and find the serious car auction sites (for example by clicking on the hyperlinks in this article.)
Since you are unable to inspect the vehicle before you make a bid, I think it’s appropriate with a warning.

- In most cases a public auto auction site consider that a contract has been established between the seller and the buyer who made the highest bid to complete the transaction within a specified period of time.

Do Some Legwork Upfront.

Don’t go to a car auction, be it online or traditional, before you have done your homework.

- sit down and figure out a maximum amount that you can afford to lose (worst case scenario.)

When you have figured out this amount you will

- already have narrowed down your options with regard to which car to bid on
- Prevent the risk of bidding too high and spending more than necessary.
- you also want to acquire sufficient automotive knowledge or update the knowledge already might have.

Another option is to bring someone with the necessary knowledge with you and trust his or her abilities to judge the vehicle you consider to purchase.

- get a list of the different vehicles makes and models, their listing values as well as their general asking prices and take it with you to the public auto auction.

With this knowledge you are in a much better position to distinguish a good deal from a bad auction car and take advantage of it.

by Terry Carters