Is it common for people to buy a car at a car auction? If so, is the car reliable and holds up long term?

21 comments

1. Yes it’s very common. Many cars that go to auction are former “fleet” cars, meaning it was owned by a company like for a rental fleet or company cars or taxis etc.

   When the company is done with the car, they won’t take the time to sell them to private buyers, they’ll just auction them off to get rid of them.

   You can get super lucky with the quality, or super unlucky. People with good eyes will spot issues before buying.

   Friend of mine bought a decommissioned police cruiser from auction and it lasted for about 6 years.

2. Sure, my brother buys all of his work trucks this way. Every vehicle has been maintained differently and auctions are AS:IS purchases. you don’t get a warranty, etc. If you’re looking at this as a cheap way to buy a car, you’ll want to either be mechanically adept or have savings to pay someone who is.

3. It certainly used to be very common, and no the cars are not reliable.

   The cars being auctioned are unsold inventory from used car lots and salvage vehicles from junk yards. They clean them up real good and do whatever it takes to make the car look presentable for auction. That often means using additives in the oil to make the engine sound smoother, for example, even if it means it’ll seize up after a few miles.

   Might be able to find a gem if you’re looking for a project car, but don’t expect to find a reliable daily driver at auction.

4. If you are a dealer or work for a dealership, yes. Its very common.

   Many car auctions are restricted to dealerships, wholesalers, etc… who have signed a contract with the auction of some sorts so they can attend. There are some auctions open to the general public, but most of the stuff like Manheim isn’t.

   And there’s really no hard and fast rules. There are some auctions that specialize in certain vehicles, but you can find everything from barely running pieces of junk at Manheim or ADESA auctions to high end units fresh off the factory floor.

   If you ever sold your car to Carmax, 90% chance it ended up at one of their auctions.

   Local and state governments may either run at auction, do their own auction, or do a wholesale public event. Personally I have no desire to drive some former DPW or police car.

5. Cars at auction are usually sold as-is with no guarantees of quality or warranty or anything like that. If you know cars and are good at fixing stuff then it can be a cheap way to get a good car but if you are like me, a know-nothing about cars and not mechanically inclined, it’s a good way to waste money on a piece of shit you won’t be able to drive.

6. The vast vast majority of people don’t, however some do. It somewhat depends how available public auctions are near you.

   I’ve bought a few cars from auction. Some wind up being amazing deals. Others are money pits.

7. A buddy of mine bought his first truck at a police auction. Usually they’re sold as-is, so it needed a little TLC upon buying but he got a great deal. I think he saved around $5,000. Truck would still be around today, but some dickhead ran a red light and T-boned him.

8. It’s rare in Texas, because most auctions require you to be licensed as a dealer to bid.

   The exception would be government auctions, where they’re selling off old police cruisers and whatnot. You see a good number of those on the road.

9. Very common in my neck of the woods. State agencies will get new cars like every 4 years and then auction the “old” ones.

   And depends, the ones that the state just used to get from here to there are usually in great shape, a repoed one or a former cop car….who knows.

10. In addition to the dealer/wholesale and fleet auctions locally many commenters have mentioned, online enthusiast auctions have also become popular over the past 5 years. Sites like [Bringatrailer.com](https://Bringatrailer.com) and [Carsandbids.com](https://Carsandbids.com) host auctions for hard to find or rare cars that people can bid on. Both provide the opportunity to interact with the seller to ask questions, and most sellers will also allow local inspections during the auction if the bidder wants.

11. My guess is that you’re not asking about high-end/enthusiast auctions, which are about desirable/rare vehicles.

    As a “civilian,” you don’t go to an auction to get a *reliable* car, you go to an auction to get a *cheap* car. By the point of being opened to the public, the best auction cars are gone (bought by dealerships, etc) and you should not expect a reliable daily driver right off the bat.

    Not to be harsh, but if you have to ask this, an auction is likely not for you.

12. I used to work with a person who would buy salvage cars and repair them for the extra cash.
    Obviously those weren’t in great condition but he always had stories of gems.
    I would not call this common for the average American.

13. There is a whole range of cars in different conditions. The key is to do your due diligence and check out the stock beforehand, so you have an idea of what you’re getting into.

    I bought a car at auction one time and it served me well. Drove it around the country a few times as well as using it for everyday.

    There usually aren’t any warranties or guarantees, sometimes you can buy a warranty from the place, I didn’t.

    You want to go just to ask questions and watch an auction before you’re ready to participate, to get a feel for the procedure and what to do when the time comes. And you can check out what options they have. You would schedule to bring a mechanic with you, or someone who knows a bit about cars, to take a look when you find something that catches your eye.

14. Auctions are full of cars dealer’s don’t want. There are many reasons for that – nice but not valuable enough, high mileage, accident/flood victims, mechanical problems, repo/drug impound… You really need to do your diligence on these since they’re sold as-is where-is and the auction doesn’t ask questions about the histories. If you’re not careful you could get stuck with a real lemon. But you could also do well.

    A note on the first type: dealers call those “bagels.” They’re perfectly serviceable, but their low resale value (under $10,000) makes them not worth a new-car dealer’s time and money to recondition. For a buy-here-pay-here lot though, they have some appeal.

15. I did. It’s mostly dealerships that buy there, but a friendly mechanic with a dealer license got me a very nice 1995 Mustang GT Convertible, Police Package at the Mannheim Auto Auction years ago.

    It lasted until Ford’s poorly thought out recall caught it on fire…

16. Find someone with a dealers license and go with them. In my, very limited, experience they generally get early access and can start the cars, pull them forward/backwards to see if the trans is okay, test electronics, see what lights or codes are present. This way you can get a pretty solid vehicle. As a civilian you get the leftovers from all of the dealers and the vehicle is likely to not make it home. A good option for a cheaper vehicle that I don’t see people mention very often is going to a dealership and asking to see what’s in the back lot of the used car side. A lot of these will be from auction and they just haven’t gotten the chance to go through them yet to be put of for sale. Might be able to score something for even less than they paid if it’s been there awhile

17. Car auctions come in 2 main types — wholesale auctions open to car dealers to trade inventory, and high end auctions for collectible/exotic cars. Very few average cars are bought by consumers at auction.

18. I just did at a local auction that is a commission type auction. People put their cars up for auction and the auction site gets a commission on the sale. It is a risky gamble, could start but not drive the car. I appear to have gotten a good deal no big issues. I bought basically a 11k car for 4K. I figured even if it needed a couple grand in work it’s still worth it. No warranty of any kind, and if say the transmission goes to hell it will be less of a good deal.

19. A typical car auction will be mostly used car dealers and a few people who want to buy a car, fix it up, and resell it on their own. Usually with one or two who are looking for a specific car they want to fix up and drive, or use for spare parts.

    The cars are mostly ones that were repossessed or abandoned, so they generally haven’t been well maintained. (If you’re not able to make your car payments, you’re probably not going to be changing the oil on schedule either.) The really good ones have already been sold to dealers.

    There are exceptions. You might get a car that was well kept, but just happened to be used in a crime and seized by police, and the dealers missed it. In any case, the cars are sold “as is/where is” so if you buy one and it won’t start, you’re going to have a certain amount of time (end of the day usually) to get it towed somewhere.

    It’s not uncommon for low-end used car dealers to buy cars at auction, raise the price by a factor of 10, and put it on their lots for sale. If it doesn’t sell for a few months, they’ll send it back to the auction and some other dealer will buy it. That way they look like they have cars coming in and going out all the time, which (they think) makes them look successful.

    At the other end of the scale, you have things like the annual auction at Auburn, Indiana, where they sell old, rare, and collectible cars to people with *far* too much money. Those are generally very reliable, because some rich dude has kept it in his air-conditioned garage since 1968.

20. I have had a couple cars that originated at auction. None of them had an auction-y issues. You just need to have a dealer that you trust to go to these auctions and make a decision.

    My most recent one was a 2017 GX 460 Premium with 35K for $38K. Absolutely no issues other than I wish I waited for the interior and infotainment refresh.

21. If i recall correctly, you need to have cash in hand, and have no guarantee the car works at all. You can potential get a cheap car, but you might also get a piece of junk