If you are in the Seattle area, then you should check out King County public auctions the next time you need to buy a car. Across the King County area, you will have a variety of different types of auctions to choose from. Once you understand the different types of public auctions available, it will be easier to hand pick the style which is right for you. Before learning about the different types of public auctions, it is important to understand how your personal situation can affect the type of auction that best fits your needs.
Key Variables to Consider before Choosing King County Public Auctions
Timeframe
One of the first variables you need to consider when deciding what type of public auction to attend is your purchasing timeframe. If something happened to your previous vehicle and you need to buy a new one as soon as possible, then general public auctions will likely be your best solution. There are a number of auction houses in King County which hold public auctions on a monthly or weekly basis. If you are strapped for time, then you will be better served looking into these auctions rather than waiting for an upcoming government fleet auction.
Car Related Preferences
The next aspect to consider is your personal car related preferences. If you are trying to laser target a specific make or model then a public auction will likely be a better choice than a government auction. This is because the listings for public auctions tend to vary wildly based upon what vehicles were submitted to the auction house during the previous weeks. On the other hand, government auctions almost exclusively feature American-made cars because those are the types of cars they place in their fleet. Additionally, if you are interested in add-on features or packages then a public auction will be where you want to focus. Government fleet vehicles tend to have a minimum amount of bells and whistles because they are primarily commuter cars.
Available Funds
Another characteristic to keep in mind is your level of available funds to purchase a car at auction in King County. Most auctions will require you to make a payment in full soon after the auction closes. Depending upon the specific auction house, this could be at the end of the auction itself or it could be up to seven days later. There are a handful of King County public auctions which allow you to utilize in-house financing services. If you are short on cash, you can still qualify for a specific credit limit which is often restricted to a particular auction. For example, if you were approved for a line of credit through an auction house but did not make a purchase, you will likely need to reapply for the same line of credit before the next auction.
Choosing Your Target King County Public Car Auction
Now you a better understanding of what variables you need to consider, it is time to look at the basic categories of King County public car auctions and what they offer. The first type is government fleet vehicle auctions. In King County, you will find auctions held by the County and local districts. The County auctions are held twice a year and all of the local municipalities will hold one or two. If you are not limited by a specific timeframe, these auctions provide an excellent opportunity to get a great deal on a quality used car. The primary reason that you can find low-cost cars is because there will be a small selection in terms of make and model. Any time you attend an auction where there are multiple cars of the same make and model, the average price will fall because bidders don’t have to compete over a specific car. Instead, everyone can pay lower prices and still get the type of car they want.
The second type of government auction is police seizure and abandoned vehicle auctions. These auctions are held at local auction houses and their availability will vary. Fortunately, these auctions tie in well with the other category of King County public car auctions. The final category is often referred to as general public auctions. They include repossession auctions, used car auctions, and open listing auctions. Since all of these different types of auctions are all held through local auction houses, there are auctions almost every weekend. If you need to get another vehicle soon, working through local auction house calendars is the easiest way to find an auction in the next several days. While there is no guarantee of specific makes and models being available, there are always a lot to choose from.
Getting Ahead of the Curve
If you are new to King County public car auctions, then tracking down every upcoming auction can seem like an impossible task. Many people have found value in utilizing reputable online auto auction websites to do this for them. By choosing the right site to work with, you will get updated listings of every public auction in King County and the surrounding area. By centralizing all this information into a single location, you can quickly decide which auction has the type of car you are looking for. In some cases, you can even place a proxy bids prior to the auction or bid in real time through the website. This allows you to take advantage of multiple auctions simultaneously without having to send a person to attend each one of them.
