You already know what a police force is: it takes care of peace and order, fights crimes, educates people on how to keep themselves and their households safe, etc. The last thing you’ll probably associate with them is an auction, primarily a car auction. But guess what, it does happen.
Many people do end up getting surprised once they learn that there are police auctions. Unknown to many, the police force can also amass assets.
First, they are provided with properties such as cars to allow them to do their job properly. Second, they are responsible for seizing or repossessing assets in line with civil forfeiture laws. Third, they can have surpluses, especially if they buy new vehicles. They can also have excess.
What do they do with all the assets? Rather than let them stay in the storage or be idle, they are better off sold. This way, too, they can reduce their expenses for maintenance and even earn money for their programs and other uses.
On the other hand, police auctions are beneficial to you since:
- You can purchase assets such as vehicles very cheaply. Granted, not all vehicles will come out affordable, particularly if you already include all the related costs such as repair, upgrade, bidding fees, and transport. But usually, you end up a winner, saving as much as 90% less than the market or trade-in value of the car.
In case you’re wondering why it can be this cheap, it’s because the police force isn’t in the business of selling cars. It isn’t concerned so much about the profit, so as long as the minimum bid price is hit, then the bidding can be cut short. It’s also possible that you have few competitors due to the volume of police auctions.
- You can purchase good-looking well-maintained cars. Items such as vehicles sold at auctions are sold as is, but since they come from the police, we expect them to be properly maintained. After all, the government allocates funds for maintenance of its assets.
- You have access to some of the reliable cars in the market. Some of the brands used by the U.S. police force are Chevrolet Volt, Ford Crown Victoria, Ford Taurus, Ford Fusion, Ford F550, Toyota Prius, and Nissan Altima. Meanwhile, they can also seize luxury vehicles, from Hummers to Ferraris.
How to Grab the Deal
The police force doesn’t sell their assets directly. Rather, the job to dispose them is given to the Government Services Administration. There are also other government auctions that are often not advertised.
So how do you ensure you don’t miss the deals? The best option for you is to subscribe to an auctions listing. An auctions list doesn’t organize auctions but rather provides you with leads on what types of auctions to join. Some of the lists have an easy-to-use interface you can sort out the list based on location, as well as upcoming and ongoing auctions. Subscription can be as low as less than $50, and that can already give you unlimited access for the rest of your life.
