Are you currently living in any of the tri-state areas of the United States? Would you like to own something valuable, like a car, for a price you can afford? Perhaps you want to join government auctions.
Why do we have government auctions in the first place?
Many people think that auctions are sponsored or organized by private institutions only, but there is a growing number of those from the government. In fact, you’ll find thousands of them all around the country!
But the very interesting question is why state and federal agencies participate in one. Here are some of the reasons:
- In the United States, there’s such a thing as civil forfeiture. It’s actually a very controversial process since the police or anyone from the defense can have the right to seize a thing such as a car or a boat from the owner as long as he suspects that it’s been used in an illegal activity.
But the merits of the process are beyond the scope of this article. Suffice to say, federal and state agencies can have seized vehicles, and if they are proven to be involved in something illegal especially money laundering, the state may have the right to sell them in auctions to recover the money it’s possibly lost due to the activity.
- The government can also incur a surplus. This happens when they acquire new vehicles without unloading their present inventory. This can be a problem since it means they have to allocate a bigger budget for the maintenance of these vehicles.
- They want to upgrade their cars. This is especially true in states where budget is rather limited. Before they can buy new ones, they have to dispose the old ones and use whatever funds they can raise from the auctions to purchase new vehicles.
Here Are What’s Amazing with Government Auctions
While government auctions are no different from private auctions, many people join them because:
Vehicles are probably in their best condition. Most of the vehicles that really come from the government, such as surplus, are believed to be in mint condition since, as mentioned, they are properly maintained. They are also more likely to be in compliance with the federal and state auto regulations and have clean titles (although this doesn’t mean you should no longer perform due diligence and find out the condition of these titles yourself).
You can buy them very cheaply. Depending on the auction, the number of bidders, and the car that’s up for bidding, you can possibly enjoy as much as 50% savings than when you get the same vehicle from a dealer or a private trade-in. That means with significant cost savings, you can now buy more than a single vehicle.
There are several auctions you can participate in. If you happen to be out of luck with one, you can try several others within the tri-state area. The more options you have, the bigger are your chances of securing a great vehicle for a very good price.
