The best place to find cheap vehicles is at the police auto auctions or at any of the government auctions. This is where one can get seized cars and repossessed cars which have been handed over to various auctioneers to sell. The prices are a fraction of what they would cost outside. These vehicles have either been seized because of criminal cases against the owner, drug raids or because the loans have not been repaid. Once the vehicles are seized the government is not interested in making a profit on them but would like to recover some of the cost which keeping such vehicles involves. Maintaining and storage of vehicles is a big drain on the government financially and selling the vehicles as quickly as possible is what is preferred.
The government and the banks do not have the infrastructure for storing these vehicles or for conducting sales and this is why the vehicles are handed over to auctioneers to do the needful. You can find some luxury brands at these auctions and the prices are all rock bottom. If you are thinking of driving a Mercedes you can make this a reality by searching for it among the many car auctions in your town.
When planning on buying your car from an auction you should make sure that you get there early and look around so that you can see what cars are available there and short list a few good ones. It does not help to pick only one vehicle because if you do not win the bid you will have to return home disappointed. Instead keep an alternate choice available and you can start bidding for it if the first round does not go well.
The easiest way to locate vehicles at auctions is to do and online search. This way you do not have to go around doing a lot of foot work but can find what you want from home. An online search will guide you to all the auctions which are happening in your own town and once you register will be able to access their databases. Go through the list of vehicles and see if there is anything suitable for you.
Inspecting the vehicles is a must and in case you are not allowed to start the engines it will be difficult to gauge its condition. Getting the history of the vehicle through Carfax with the VIN number which the vehicle identification number is the only way you can tell what repairs and mishaps the vehicle has been through. Once you go through the history you will have an idea of what the condition of the vehicle is. Get a rough estimate of the cost of repairs so that you can add this to the bid amount for the vehicle, this is going to be the final cost of your vehicle.
You will also have to do some research as to what the cost of such vehicles is in the open market so that you can put a price to it while you bid. Do not go overboard with bidding as the vehicles at auctions are much cheaper than they are in the open market.
