auto auction, anyone been?

[IllNastyImpreza]

I've been curious about auto auctions lately. I hear that you can get some KILLER deals on cars. Have any of you been to any? Is it worth the few hundred bucks it costs to get registerd? How could I get started? I would love to tag along if anyone is going to one

[formica]

Auto auctions, at least up here in Canuckistan, are mostly cars that dealers get on trade and don't want to keep on their lots (older than 2-3 years, wrong marque, etc.) The stuff sells for around wholesale prices - good deals to be had if you're lucky and don't get teh auction fever (OMFG I MUST BUY! BID BID!).

I drive by a place everyday that has auctions open to the public once a week. Starting to get tempted to check it out myself

[JayBay]

Check out InterstateAutoAuction.com, they're up in Salem, NH. They have a public auction every Wednesday night. I haven't been, but sometimes they have some decent looking cars listed. They have an online bidding site too, and you can see the sold price on some of the cars. Doesn't seem like the deals are any better than you could get through a private party sale on Craigslist, though.

[LUvikes29]

any time an auction is open to the public, you're not going to get fantastic deals on the cars. Think about it. If everyone could just go to auction, and buy cars for thousands less, there'd be no need for dealers. Although you can generally save some money by picking up these cars, as mentioned, they're cars that ended up at auction because at least one (usually more, because we try to call cars out locally before taking them to auction and paying auction fees) dealer has passed on them. To end up at public auction probably means they got passed on the first time around at dealer auction too.
As far as your question about paying the $ to get set up to go to closed auctions. It's a can of worms. If you know what you're doing, or are going with someone who does, you can get a pretty good deal if you get lucky. If you don't, you'll end up getting burned. Remember, you'd be bidding against people who bid on cars for a living. As much as you like football, you wouldn't want to play in an NFL game (I wouldn't anyway). Besides, you have no protection when you're bidding like that. If it has a blown head gasket, or needs suspension work, you own it. If you're prepared to take that chance though, you can save a lot of $

[meyek]

My uncle buys his cars through auctions. But he has a friend who can get into the private auctions and buy the car on his behalf. Basically according to him it's the best way to get a car for the lowest price possible, but you have to be patient.

[rjp]

if, by chance, you go to an auction and see a red ford contou gl with a bad touch up job on the hood, DO NOT BID!

[Filanwizard]

i hear police auctions can sometimes net some nice cars off of drug stings.

[rjp]

police auction is probably a better bet, because those are just the cars that they have seized, while the non-poh-poh ones are donates cars (often) and the junkers and old cars dealers don't want to hold onto.

[Fitz]

NH holds two state auctions per year. One in the late fall and another in late spring. Everything from cars to trucks to bulldozers to guns to plows to "hydroponic growing equipment" to jewelry to furniture to machining equipment from local state colleges and highschools etc....

Not a bad place to blow cash.

Fitz