It is definitely not worth spending your hard earned money on expensive cars, so go for car auctions where you can get real value for your money by buying some of the cheap cars which are available here. You can get a car which is as good as new and in great shape for less than half the retail market value if you go to a local auction or a used car auction. So you do not have to go in for a new car and spend thousand of dollars, instead look for a car at the repo auction and you may get exactly what you need at a ridiculously low price.
Where do repo cars come from
Repo cars are those which are repossessed by the law from persons who have not been paying their taxes, indulge in illegal activities and also have pending payments on their loans for buying these vehicles. As these cars are often owned by drug peddlers they are usually among the more luxurious makes or are almost new as the loans are yet to be cleared. Either way you end up getting a swanky new car for yourself at a really cheap price and save yourself a large amount of money and do not have to dip into your savings. When properties and vehicles are confiscated because of such activities they are all sent to various auctioneers to be auctioned.
How to go about bidding prudently
If this is the first time that you are attending a live auction it is better to learn how to bid before you go ahead. It is best to gain some experience and see experts in action before you start bidding for your own vehicle. This way you will get the knack of bidding and will not loose out on money by bidding too high a price. Watch dealers and other regulars at auctions bidding and you can follow their pattern. Never start at too high a price because then you will have to keep going higher and the price you end up paying could be much more than the retail market price.
Do some market research on the car
Another important thing which you should take care about is to find out the price of the vehicles which you have short listed in the retail market. The prices at the vehicle auctions should be much less than what the price is in the open market as these cars are being sold off for different reasons and not just to make a profit. The government prefers to get rid of the cars as fast as possible as maintaining and storing them cost quite a packet. So for swift sales the prices are kept low and the auctions are all open to the public.
Keep an upper limit for bidding and do not go beyond it no matter how tempted you are. This way you can really maintain a budget and not spend extra money on the vehicle. This helps in more ways than one, as your expenses do not end once you have paid for the vehicle but remember they are going to mount as you now have a car to maintain and also see to the fuel expenditure.