Since the middle of 2011, dealerships have seen an uptick in new car sales. Not surprisingly, the general public has seen an increase in new car prices. If you take the time to look around, you can find new cars being sold cheaper at Cook County auto auctions. There are a number of different types of auctions held in the Cook County area and knowing which ones will have new cars is the key to success. To give a better idea of auction landscape across Cook County, here is an overview of the different types of auto auctions and what types of new cars that you can find.
Cook County is the second most populous county in the entire country with more than 5 million residents. It is most well-known for being home to a majority of the Chicago area. In fact, this county’s population is said to be larger than the individual population of 29 different states and the population of the seven smallest states combined. While Chicago is its most well-known resident, it actually has more than 130 incorporated municipalities. This means that the Cook County area will give you access to more auto auctions than anywhere in the state of Illinois.
What Types of Auto Auctions in Cook County Should You Look For
In Cook County, there are a variety of different types of auctions to choose from. The three types of auctions that will give you the most opportunities to purchase new cars are only going to be repossession auctions, impound/seizure auctions, and any auction held by the US Marshals Service. Of these types of auctions, repossession auctions are the most common which means that they will be held the most often. A repossession auction includes vehicles that lending institutions have reclaimed from the original owner because they could not keep up with their monthly payments. The reason that repossession auctions tend to have more new cars for sale is because most people who will default on their loan will do so in the first few months. One thing to keep in mind is that while most banks and lending institutions will place their cars and auctions that only list repossessed vehicles, some will place them in general public auctions as well.
As a general rule, government auctions are not the place to find new cars for sale however there are two notable exceptions. The first is an impound, or seizure, auction. While a majority of the listing will be alter vehicles which the previous owner decided not to reclaim, there does tend to consistently be a handful of new cars on a regular basis. The US Marshals Service in particular will have newer cars up for auction. This is because they tend to do a lot of high-value property seizures, which means high-value vehicles. It is important to note that the US Marshals Service has auctions across the entire country which means that there will only be one or two held in Cook County during any given year.
What Types of Auto Auctions in Cook County Should You Ignore
Just as important as knowing which auctions you should target, is knowing which ones to avoid. This isn’t to say that the following types of auctions won’t ever have new vehicles for sale, is definitely much less likely. The first type of auction that falls into this category is known as GSA auctions or government fleet auctions. The GSA is a branch of the federal government which oversees the sale of every fleet vehicle which is no longer being used. They organize auctions across the country on a regular basis. If you are looking for new cars for sale at Cook County auto auctions, then you may want to avoid these. While randomly you will find one or two new cars, the vehicles at these auctions tend to be 5 to 10 years old and have a decent amount of mileage on them. This isn’t to say that these are not high quality, reliable vehicles, rather they simply won’t be newer models. The same is true for any of the state, county, or local government auctions held in Cook County.
Another type of auction that you may have less luck at is known as general public auctions. These auctions source their vehicles from pretty much everywhere. This means that they can come from lending institutions, insurance companies, government agencies, estate sales, and even dealerships which are overstocked. Since they will get some vehicles from banks or credit unions there is a chance that some of the vehicles will be newer, however it is a crap-shoot.
A Few Examples of Newer Cars Sold Cheaper at Cook County Auto Auctions
At this point you may be wondering what to expect from a newer cars sold cheap at an auto auction. Here are a few recent examples of what you can find. The first is a 2008 BMW X6 XDrive 3. While it isn’t exactly new, it had less than 30,000 miles on it and it ran extremely well. In the Cook County area, it had a local market value of nearly $40,000 but sold for only $32,250. A newer example is a 2010 Chevrolet Malibu with 34,000 miles on it. It was valued at nearly $14,000 and sold for $6500. A final example is a 2011 Toyota Camry with 21,000 miles on it. It did have some damage that occurred during the repossession process, however it was all cosmetic and the estimated repairs or less than $1000. The Camry had a local market value of nearly $25,000 and was sold to the winning bidder for less than $12,000.
As you can see, there is no shortage of new cars sold cheaper at Cook County auto auctions. Now you have a better idea of which types of auctions will give you the highest chances for success, it should be much easier to find exactly what you’re looking for. One thing to keep in mind is that because Cook County is so large, you could end up tracking dozens of auction houses simultaneously. To make things easier, using a reputable online auto auction service will help speed up your research process by providing a compilation of data from each of these auction houses into a single report. This will make finding your new car easier and save you a ton of time.
