So You Want to Try Your
Luck at the Auction?

l. Introduction

About auctions
So you'd like to try buying a car at auction. Our advice is "Don't." Most industry auctions are restricted to dealers. Those that are open to the public are often best suited, in our opinion, for people who truly know cars and who either know how to fix them or have access to a low-cost maintenance facility. At those auctions open to the public you can walk around and look at the car, open the doors and look inside, note the mileage and look at the engine, but you will not be allowed to drive it. Indeed, the chances are great that you will not even be allowed to start the car.

In most cases, full payment is required at the time of purchase, all sales are final, and they come "as is," which means there is no guarantee or warranty. This is a high-risk proposition, and while there are some good deals to be had, we suggest that you have an expert along to help reduce the risk.

But You Can Buy So Cheap!

As many of the ads for auction information suggest, it is possible to buy a great used car for an unbelievably low price. However, the ads should probably add the word "sometimes" and maybe even "rarely."
Having said that, let us quickly add that there are good deals to be had at auctions. The trick is to know what's a deal and what's a disaster. Candidly, that takes some expertise that most of us simply don't possess. Even the experts can get fooled. As the old adage puts it: "You pays your money and you takes your chances. " We know of a situation in which a luxury car dealer who was attending a wholesale auction asked one of the manufacturer's field representatives for his opinion on a particular used car that was about to be auctioned. The field representative, whose business is inspecting cars, looked it over and told the dealer that it looked like a good buy.