Friday, November 30, 2007

Online Used Car Auction Sites - Should You Join?

There's a lot of talk these days about online used car auction sites. You might ask "Are these online used care auction sites for real?" and "Should I join a car auction site?"

In this article I will answer these questions about online used car auction sites.

Where do these used cars come from and how come they are so cheap?
This was the first big question for me and basically what happens is that people default on their lease payments or car loans of their new cars and because of this, their cars get seized or repossessed by various financial institutions. After the car is seized it gets auctioned off quickly because there are large costs involved in the storing and maintenance of these vehicles.

I was surprised to learn that it's actually common practice for many used car dealerships to go to these auctions and buy several seized cars and then sell them at marked up prices! It's a little known secret that dealers really don't want us to know about.

How do these online used car auction sites gain access to these cars?
These auctions of seized cars are a very protected and secretive source of revenue for many car dealerships and it is never advertised to the general public. Thank God for the internet because these online used car auction sites are now able to gain information and access rights to let you utilize many direct sources to get great deals on used cars.

Can I check the VIN of the car that I like?
Yes! I was glad to see that the majority of the car auction sites do include a CarFax VIN report that you can view before you even place a bid. This definitely allows you to relax knowing that there's nothing fishy going on at these online car auction sites.

What condition are these cars in?
The condition of the cars on these used car auction sites was another thing I was concerned about since you can't fully inspect the vehicles yourself. Well what's great is that the government bodies take extremely good care of their vehicles and their maintenance is top notch. It is actually part of their organisational responsibility to comply with work safety legislation.

The majority of cars sold on these online used car auction sites come with service history information and various stamped log books. Not to mention many of the cars are still under the manufacturer's warranty! The greatest part about these online car auction sites is that most cars are only 2-3 yrs old and the majority have only 40,000 -60,000 kms, or 25,000 - 40,000 miles on them!

Conclusion
I spent about a week researching and collecting as much information about various auction sites before I finally joined one. I'm happy to say that these services are fast, easy to use, and best of all, cheap! I ended up saving a ton of cash getting my dream car, a beautiful 2 year old red Mustang!

Are you interested in using a car auction site to save tons on your next car?

Read this comparison review of the top 3 online used car auction sites, go here: http://CarAuctions.ReviewHelpDesk.com