Auto auction
Auction inspection sheets allow buyers and inspectors to evaluate the worth of a car over such systems.
[5] In the United States, auto auctions play a major role as a wholesale market for second-hand vehicles.
[8] These auctions are a primary outlet for financial services firms to dispose of their large volume of off-lease returns, for rental and other companies to sell off their aging fleets and for car dealerships to dump trade-ins or other unwanted inventory.
Some auctions in the United States are used by banks, the IRS, and other government agencies to sell vehicles that were repossessed for failure to make monthly payments or pay taxes, or were seized by the FBI, DEA, or the police.
[14] Some buyers prefer to look for local car sellers on eBay, within a certain radius so that they can go and do a manual inspection of the vehicle.
Auctions in the UK are also used by banks, local and central Governments, private sellers, and car dealerships.
The law requires listing dealers to disclose bigger mechanical problems, which may void the manufacturer's warranty and classify the vehicle as junk, salvage, lemon/consumer buy-back, etc.
Other types of auctions specialize in the sale of police or government cars; some of those allow public access.
Regardless of their source, vehicles are sent to auction with the main purpose to be sold quickly and hassle-free, and this usually happens at prices that dealers can easily recoup with a small profit from a resale.
Contrary to popular belief, cars seldom sell for unreasonably low prices at dealer auctions.
Many aspects of a vehicle's appearance may suffer in the term of everyday use and result in any of the following damages: stained or otherwise used upholstery, scratched bumpers, dings on the doors, chipped hood, dented quarter panels.
Some auction locations inspect and prepare the cars for sale if the listing dealer so chooses (at a premium).
Many auctions offer (for a fee) post-sale inspections for qualifying vehicles that can determine mechanical or frame damage issues and allow the buying dealer a window of opportunity to back out of the purchase.
Auction announcements may also use a light system consisting of red, yellow, and green to draw attention to additional information.
