Police Vehicle Auctions vs Car Dealerships - Which is Best?
Instead of going to a car dealership and buying vehicles the usual way, have you ever considered visiting a government or police auction? If you’re not aware, the police seize thousands of cars and other vehicles every month and often auction them off to the general public at extremely reduced prices.
Government auctions are a well kept secret that dealerships would rather you not know about. They purchase these vehicles themselves for very low prices and sell them to the rest of the public for good profit. The more consumers become educated about police auctions, the more competition they face at the auction plus car dealerships sales they could potential lose that business.
Yet over 90% of the population still goes to car dealerships to purchase their vehicles. People are simply not aware of the great deals that police auctions have to offer. The government isn’t about to spend any budget publicizing the auctions either. Below is a list of pros of advantages versus disadvantages in buying vehicles at these auctions:
Pros:
- Business model is much more conducive to lower prices
- Police auctions are held everywhere in US and Canada.
- Detailed listings of vehicles at government and police auctions are now available on the Internet
- There is usually a wide selection of vehicles that can be found at government auctions - sports cars, SUV’s, pick up trucks, motorcycles, jeeps, etc.
- No middleman for you to have to deal with or pay
- No commissioned salesperson to have to deal with
- Seller is motivated and doesn’t want to handle inventory, everything has to be sold!
- Better income tax advantages (run as a business)
- Car taxes are typically less
- Once you have an understanding of police auctions, you can start your own business (i.e. Sell cars on eBay or Autotrader.com).
Cons:
- You’ll probably have to pay it all in cash (which for some is a blessing)
- No extended warranty beyond what the manufacturer offers. Most used dealerships give only 30 days
If you don’t mind paying cash for a near new vehicle, then the advantages obviously outweigh the advantages. Don’t forget to have someone with you who understands vehicles to inspect the ones you’re interested in.