There are advantages and disadvantages to purchasing a vehicle at a government or police auction instead of going to a car dealership. Many people don’t realize it, but the police seize thousands vehicles every month and in most cases auction them off to the general public at greatly reduced prices.

In fact these auctions are a secret that car dealerships don’t want you to know about. An educated consumer could pose as a potential threat to at least a portion of their business.

Yet almost all North Americans still continue to use car dealerships to purchase their vehicles every day. Why? Most people unfortunately aren’t educated on police auctions. The government doesn’t spend any money advertising so auction attendance is solely based on word of month. Following is a list of pros and cons when buying at these auctions:

Advantages:

- Business model is much more conducive to lower prices

- No matter where you live, there are typically many auctions held around your area

- Detailed listings of vehicles at government and police auctions are now available on the Internet

- There is a large selection of vehicles that can be found at police auctions including: cars, jeeps, trucks, minivans, ATV’s and more!

- No middleman for you to have to deal with or pay

- No commissioned salesperson to have to deal with

- Motivated seller who is not equipped to handle inventory, everything must go

- Better income tax advantage (can be set up as a business for resale to spouse, kids etc.)

- Car taxes are typically less

- Start your own business (i.e. Sell cars on the Internet)

Disadvantages:

- Most of the sales are cash only (any credit would have be done externally)

- No warranty period beyond manufacturer warrenty, although most used dealerships only provide 30 days or so

If it’s not a problem paying cash, or you can get credit elsewhere, then the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Just remember to bring a mechanic or car expert who understands vehicles with you to the auction. They will inspect the vehicles that you’re interested in to make sure you get a great deal.