Police Car Auctions - Useful Tips
Ever wanted to go shopping for a new car at a police or government car auction? If so, this article was written for you. Specifically, we're going to talk about where these seized vehicles may have came from, and a few useful tips for making sure you get a car which you like to drive.
Every day, more or less, there's a police car auction taking place somewhere in the United States. At these auctions country sheriffs, state and federal law enforcement agencies, and local police departments offer to consumers all the cars they have confiscated through arrests or through what are known as "seizure and surplus" laws.
Some of these vehicles might have come from notorious criminals, mobsters, suspected terrorists and drug kingpins. (There have been stories of criminals who somehow made their fuel tanks bigger so they could store cocaine inside.)
On the other hand, some of these vehicles might have simply been abandoned by the side of the road for reasons unknown. In any case, the police have no intention of keeping these vehicles-storage and maintenance are expensive. And so they will hand them off to you, sometimes at shockingly low prices. There have been customers who have attended police car auctions and who left driving a car in near-mint condition for around five hundred dollars!
You won't be able to test drive the cars at police car auctions, so try to get a catalogue online of cars available at an upcoming auction. Use the Vehicle Identification Numbers (VIN's) of cars that interest you to run a history of those vehicles on Carfax.com or a similar website.
Also, when inspecting the cars on auction day, check out all the stickers on those cars you like to make sure all the VIN's match. Such research will help you avoid getting a clunker.
To summarize, this article has shown you some useful tips for getting a good deal at a police car auction. Bare these tips in mind, and you should have a successful time at the next auction you choose to visit.
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You must be careful at police auctions since you can't test drive the cars. If you are willing to accept the risk of the unknown and no warrenty I'm sure you can get some amazing deals.
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