_Cars That Get Picked Up Quick At Car Auctions
_Cars That Get Picked Up Quick At Car Auctions
government surplus
Listen carefully to those Hyundai commercials on TV recently. They talk all about the best pick and safety awards their cars get, but there is one thing missing from all that banter - reliability. That's because my mother-in-law replaced the transmission in her Hyundai twice in one year, and it was a brand spanking new car not even two years before that.
Some cars are definitely more reliable than others, and at a car auction, reliability sells. That is the top priority of every buyer at every car auction. Second on their list are cars that are cheap to repair or operate. Obviously a Saab or BMW is going to cost an arm and a leg to repair, and might not move quick - unless the third kind of buyer steps in, the luxury deal hunter.
If you time it just right, you can get a great deal on just the car you're looking for, depending on what's moving and what's not, and that depends on what kind of buyers are flocking to the car auction. Different seasons bring in different kinds of buyers, so every car has its season and hour. You just have to know when to buy, and when to hold out.
The four kinds of buyers
First of all, there's you. Low man on the totem pole in terms of experience at a car auction. That's about half of all the buyers you will see. Joe Schmo just looking for something that runs, and hopefully has all its parts. These guys are completely unpredictable, since you really can't know how much they are looking to shell out at a car auction or when they will show up. Don't underestimate your competition just because of the way they look.
Secondly, you have your reliability hunters. These buyers will pick up anything with a Honda or Toyota tag, and most of them will pay top dollar - or chicken out as soon as someone else bids. Nevertheless, don't expect to get a Honda or Toyota in the first few hours of a car auction or just before winter. You will need to either pick one out of the non-running cars and hope there's nothing seriously wrong, wait until the very end and hope the car auction still has some left, or hope to luck out in the more frigid months of spring.
The next guy at the car auction is looking for something that is cheap to work on or work with, usually during warmer months. You won't see these buyers bidding on SUVs, trucks, minivans, or luxury cars unless it's well beneath their price range and nobody else is interested. However, these are typically the people looking to flip anything they get at a car auction, so they might surprise you.
Then you have the car auction luxury hunters. These buyers have thousands to throw around and aren't afraid to use it, and usually go for the guaranteed or dealer quality cars at anything less than the usual sticker price and usually during the warmer months. They might also pick up a slightly beat up Caddie, Beamer, or classic car to restore, if they feel a special fondness for those kinds of cars.
government car auctions
government surplus
Listen carefully to those Hyundai commercials on TV recently. They talk all about the best pick and safety awards their cars get, but there is one thing missing from all that banter - reliability. That's because my mother-in-law replaced the transmission in her Hyundai twice in one year, and it was a brand spanking new car not even two years before that.
Some cars are definitely more reliable than others, and at a car auction, reliability sells. That is the top priority of every buyer at every car auction. Second on their list are cars that are cheap to repair or operate. Obviously a Saab or BMW is going to cost an arm and a leg to repair, and might not move quick - unless the third kind of buyer steps in, the luxury deal hunter.
If you time it just right, you can get a great deal on just the car you're looking for, depending on what's moving and what's not, and that depends on what kind of buyers are flocking to the car auction. Different seasons bring in different kinds of buyers, so every car has its season and hour. You just have to know when to buy, and when to hold out.
The four kinds of buyers
First of all, there's you. Low man on the totem pole in terms of experience at a car auction. That's about half of all the buyers you will see. Joe Schmo just looking for something that runs, and hopefully has all its parts. These guys are completely unpredictable, since you really can't know how much they are looking to shell out at a car auction or when they will show up. Don't underestimate your competition just because of the way they look.
Secondly, you have your reliability hunters. These buyers will pick up anything with a Honda or Toyota tag, and most of them will pay top dollar - or chicken out as soon as someone else bids. Nevertheless, don't expect to get a Honda or Toyota in the first few hours of a car auction or just before winter. You will need to either pick one out of the non-running cars and hope there's nothing seriously wrong, wait until the very end and hope the car auction still has some left, or hope to luck out in the more frigid months of spring.
The next guy at the car auction is looking for something that is cheap to work on or work with, usually during warmer months. You won't see these buyers bidding on SUVs, trucks, minivans, or luxury cars unless it's well beneath their price range and nobody else is interested. However, these are typically the people looking to flip anything they get at a car auction, so they might surprise you.
Then you have the car auction luxury hunters. These buyers have thousands to throw around and aren't afraid to use it, and usually go for the guaranteed or dealer quality cars at anything less than the usual sticker price and usually during the warmer months. They might also pick up a slightly beat up Caddie, Beamer, or classic car to restore, if they feel a special fondness for those kinds of cars.
government car auctions