Step-By-Step Preparation Guide For Car Auction Day

1. First, you want to plan the night before to arrive at the car auction at least 2 hours in advance of the start of the auction event. There will be more about this later but the reason is you want to have time to inspect the cars you are interested in before you start bidding on them. Also find yourself a Blue Book or Edmunds pricing guide to take along with you.

2. To have a friend or family member attend the car auction with you is best if possible. Do you know the saying? " two eyes are better than one" someone else will almost always see something that you don't see. Having someone with you will improve the quality of inspecting the cars and help you save some time. Keep in mind there will be a lot of cars to look at while your there. Another benefit is they can drive the car you came in back if you buy a car that day.

3. If you can not seem to find someone to go with you, check your local listings (yellow pages) for auto mechanics, target the small business type. Give a few of them a call and let them know about the auction in their area. They sometimes will jump at the opportunity to attend a car auction if they know about it. Plus they might help you with the inspection process for free.

4. When you arrive you will want to find the registration area and sign up. They usually will give you a badge, copy of the rules (auctioneer will go over the rules so no worries about that) and a list of all the vehicles there. If you don't receive the list, ask for it. The inventory list is important to have with you through-out the day.

5. Take a look through the inventory list and highlight any cars you are interested in. then write in next to them the high and low values you found in your pricing guide (Blue Book or Edmunds). Go to the lot of cars and start to inspect each car you have highlighted. Usually the cars are laid out same order as the inventory list so it will be easy enough to just start from number one and work your way through. Keep track of your time you will want to be back to the auction area about 10 minutes early to ensure a good seat. If you have 10 or 11 cars you want to look at, figure you have about 10 minutes per car to inspect them.

6. While inspecting the car be sure to open all the doors, hood and trunk, start it up and have a good listen for any strange noises, check for leaks ie. exhaust, coolant, oil, etc.. check all fluid levels, view and inspect the electronics and control panel functions in the dashboard. You are not allowed to drive the car so check it over good where it sits. Open all compartments use your flashlight and look for any unusual damage in these compartments or dampness in and around the floor boards. Cross off your list any car you have doubts about. There will always be another one you can find that is in great condition. If your in doubt leave it out! Move on your merry way pay no mind to it. For more tips on inspecting auction cars see our resource box in this article.

7. Now that you have the best of the best vehicles you are the most comfortable with buying. It is time to go bid on them remember to get back to the auction area early, get a good front row seat and wait for your car to come through for bid. Auctions move quickly be watchful you don't spend more than the values you have written down. the best deals are at least 30% below the lowest value. 50% to 80% of course is best. use those figures as a guide to know when to stop bidding.

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Samual is a self proclaimed car auction guru. To find these secret auctions in your area, search Car Auction data base for your dream car and get some detailed used car inspection tips visit samual's site => Car Auction tips and tricks

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