How To Find Government Auction Repossessed Cars

Yep, you'll find government auctions for repossessed cars - plus cars abandoned at airports, surplus and seized cars, repo cars, GSA fleet sales - all the cheap deals you can think of, happening in every single State. You just need to know where to go to find them listed.

My choice is Government Auctions for a number of reasons. Most of the sales and auctions are advertised only in the local paper. So if you live 50 miles down the road, chances are, you won't even hear about it!

By using a reliable directory you can find about the auctions that may not be in your home town but are still close enough to be worth traveling to.

If you had unlimited time, you could find the auctions on your own, but believe me, it is MUCH easier to pay a small fee and have someone "in the know" tell you where all the best places to look are.

These are ex-Government cars but they're not repossessed.

Did you know that the GSA Fleet (General Services Administration) will sell around 35,000 vehicles this coming year. Most vehicles are available between April to September, - that's like now - when the majority of their leases expire.

Having said that, they do have sales throughout the entire year. There are no buyer's fee but State taxes will apply if applicable.

GSA Fleet offers you cars, trucks and other vehicles with low mileage and only one previous owner. That's got to be good, doesn't it!

Most of their vehicles are leased so at the end of a car's lease (typically 3-5 years), GSA Fleet will sell a vehicle in order to finance its automotive fleet purchases.

You can find them through this site.

Not if you keep a few general guidelines in mind.

Know how much you can afford to bid and don't go over that amount. Another car will come along. There are ALWAYS more fish in the sea!

Some of the auctions are online and some are "live".

Online or not, you will normally have to register ahead of time to get a bidder's numbers and be able to bid.

Often you will not be able to test drive the vehicle. Rules on what you can do vary so you need to check out with each auction what applies.

As an example, this is the rule from one auction:
"During inspection you can start a vehicle to check the performance of its engine, air conditioning, heater, and other accessories. However, the vehicle must stay parked and cannot be driven."

Some auctions will have a "State tax" and some will have a"buyers tax" which varies between 5 -15% and some will have both!

You normally will have to complete payment and remove the vehicle fairly quickly. Have your finances arranged before hand.

If you're buying a used car from a dealer or yard rather than through auction, one of the most important things you need to know is all the little "tricks" they get up to during negotiations!

Talk about sharks!

This report was an eyeopener to me!

I thought I knew most of the dodges but these negotiating tips on buying a used car - from an ex-car salesman - amazed me.

I just did not realize how much of a "babe-in-the-woods" I was when it came to a dealers yard!