What Is A Government Car Auction?

The federal government buys a huge number of vehicles each year and sells off its old cars and trucks through regularly conducted government car auctions. Over 300 government car auctions are held in various part of the country each year and all types of vehicles are put up for sale. Anyone who is over 18 years of age and holds a valid driving license can take part in these auctions and there is no registration fee to be paid for participation. These government car auctions are conducted in many ways - besides traditional live auction, internet auctions, fixed or negotiated price auctions, drop by sales and sealed bid auctions are methods in use. Payments by successful bidders are normally accepted in the form of cash, credit card payments, money orders and cashier's checks.


When you consider that government car auctions usually sell off over 30,000 cars and trucks a year, it is obvious that there will be a wide range of vehicles on sale. Some of the vehicles for sale may have been exposed to heavy and hard use and may not be worth bidding for, but many are in excellent condition with very low mileage. Each vehicle is carefully checked for defects before it is placed up for sale and many of them also are fitted with extras and accessories which would be very expensive if bought new on the market. This doesn't however, mean that a person can blindly buy a car for sale at a government car auction as these are all used vehicles and so there will always be some element of risk involved in buying them. While each vehicle is thoroughly detailed before being put up for sale, they are sold without any warranty and any problem that may occur once the payment has been made will have to be rectified at the buyer's expense.


But since these are government car auctions with no personal profit involved, there is no chance of being deliberately cheated and so the risks of buying from here are much less than in private auctions. It is always better that a bidder who has no knowledge of cars have the services of someone who does available to advise him on which cars to bid on and which to avoid. Do not make the mistake of getting carried away and buying a car just because it is far cheaper than you thought it could be - wait until you find the kind of car that is right for you; buying a cheap car that does not meet your needs is pointless. An often over looked source of good used cars are the auctions that the U.S. Marshal Service holds for cars that have been seized by law enforcement agencies.