You can save thousands on your next car purchase at Erie PA car auctions. Even though auto auctions have been well publicized over the past several years, many people still avoid them. There are a lot of different reasons for this. Most people simply don’t know enough about them to feel comfortable getting involved, while others simply see them as being too high risk. The truth is that getting involved with these auctions has never been easier and while there will always be some cars that you should avoid, there are also some real gems. To get you started off on the right foot, here is a quick overview of how these auctions work, an introduction to the auction houses in Erie PA that hold auto auctions, and some few examples of the great deals that happy buyers have taken advantage of recently.
An Introduction to Purchasing Your Next Car at Erie PA Car Auctions
The first step is getting a basic understanding of how these auctions work. Let’s start with where these cars come from. In most cases, the type of auction will be publicized which will let you know exactly what type of cars to expect. For example, government auctions are held fairly regularly and they almost always include former fleet vehicles that were used by all branches of government. Most of the time, the auction listing will let you know what level of government is sponsoring the auction – local, county, state, or federal. These vehicles tend to be a little older and have a higher mileage. One of the benefits to this type of auction is that the government has created stringent maintenance schedules, so the cars will likely be in good working order.
Another popular type of auction in Erie PA that will interest you if you want a new car is repossession auctions. Some of these auto auctions will have repossessed vehicles from only one or two lending institutions, while others will allow all lending institutions to enter vehicles. Since most repossession happen very early in the loan term, the cars tend to be newer and have a lower mileage. A similar type of auction will include former lease vehicles. Most people don’t realize that leases do not originate from a dealership, but rather a leasing agency. Assuming the leasee doesn’t purchase the vehicle once the lease expires, it is up to the leasing agency to sell the car. While they often try to do this directly for 30 or 60 days, most of their cars end up at auction in order to make room for more incoming inventory.
The second step is getting a basic understanding of the auction process. The pre-auction process will include several important elements. The two elements that you should pay special attention to are the listing and the available viewing time. An early listing is using published in classified ads, but it will never include a full listing. The only real information that you will get is when the auction will be held. You also need to find out when the public viewing is. This will give you an opportunity to inspect the vehicles before you bid. Most of the time there will be one or two viewing periods during the week leading up to the auction, but sometimes it is only for a few hours before the auction begins.
Once you register for the auction, it is all about the bidding. This is where most people make mistakes – normally because they are nervous, get intimidate, or simply get too excited and try to bid on everything. When you place a winning bid, you normally have 24 to 48 hours to pay it. From there, you can take home your next car.
Erie PA Auction Houses Are Going Online
In most cases, learning about each individual auction house is counterproductive because it can be very time consuming. Regardless, here is a quick list of the most popular auction houses in the Erie PA area. They include: Summit Auto Auction, Greater Erie Auto Auction, Butler Auto Auction, Mannheim Auto Auction, York Spring Auto Auction, and several others.
The most important thing to keep in mind is that these auction houses are all starting to offer online bidding. Even more importantly, they are teaming up with well-known online auction sites. This means that you will be able to use a single website to access the listings from all of these auction houses simultaneously. Not only do you get a centralized location for all of this information, they will often allow you to place bids in real-time from the comfort of your home. In some cases, you can place proxy bids weeks before the auction begins.
Recent Examples of People Who Saved Thousands at Erie PA Auto Auctions
Over the past several months there has been no shortage of great deals at auto auctions from around the Erie PA area. Here are a few examples to give you an idea of what to expect. There was recently a 2004 Audi A4 worth around $8000 that sold for only $3150. While it did have pretty high mileage, there was no actual damage aside from normal wear and tear. Another great deal on an older, high-mileage car was a 2004 Mercedes Benz S430. While it did have over 200,000 miles, it was still valued at $19,375 and was sold for just under $4000.
If you want a slightly newer, lower mileage vehicle, then these two examples might interest you. The first is a 2006 Hyundai Sonata valued at $6,800 which the winning bidder brought home for only $1000. It had minor dents and scratches and just over 100,000 miles. A lot of people have discovered that buying newer cars will cosmetic damage is an ideal way to save money and still get a reliable vehicle. At a recent auction, there was a 2008 Pontiac G6 valued at nearly $12,000 which sold for $1,550. There was a decent amount of front end damage, although it was only cosmetic. There was no frame damage or problems under the hood.
You can save thousands on your next car at Erie PA auto auctions. The key is understanding how the auction process works, how to leverage reputable online auto auction sites to save time and money, and taking action.
