Since it's hard to find a decent used car from private seller for $5k most of them are old and slightly high mileage and people telling me avoid dealerships, how about auction car as long if it's clean title and no or minor body damage? I saw a 2018 Ford Focus SE 78k miles $3800, 2016 Kia Optima 89k miles $5200, 2013 Cadillac CTS 76k miles $4500, and 2013 Nissan Sentra 75k miles $2800 w/ mechanical damage. These are "Buy It Now" prices according to copart website and are clean title and no body damage but I'm gonna bid for much lower prices if I win.
Iv bought plenty of cars at Auction,most are ex company cars and are well maintained in most cases .That focus sounds a good deal imo
Definitely no from an auction and definitely not those cars. Keep an eye on neighborhood platforms sometimes people post cars for sale there within the neighborhood and you could find a good deal. If you have a trusted independent mechanic ask them to let you know if they come across something.
I understand the appeal, but really, no. Good cars don’t go to auction. Use the search bar above to find additional discussion
Auctions look very attractive at first glance. There are two basic types. Cars with leans and cars that have been damaged so bad the insurance company determined the car could not be repaired or put into a safe condition.
Damaged cars have titles marked salvage or non-reparable. They have to be certified by a state inspector before they can be registered. There are guys out there that make a living rebuilding them. They know what they are doing. They know the ins and outs of the inspection process. Unless you are a experienced mechanic steer clear of these.
The cars with leans come from abandoned cars left at impound lots and repair stations. They were towed and never claimed by the owner. They have title problems. A lot of times the proper procedures were not followed when taking possession of these cars and the original owner can come along and take the car back.
Research the car thoroughly. Get the VIN and use Carfax and other car data bases including dealers. Have a mechnic look it over the car if possible. These auction sights that sell cars from remotely located auctions like Copart are a roll of the dice. Despite the claim they have a clear title typically they don't. You can wait months before you have enough paper work to register the car.
Absolutely do not buy a flood damaged car. Despite their appearance they are usually total trash. If you get them running they won't last. Once the electronics is under water it's never reliable again.
I have bought several cars at auction and had no failures. The first was a VW new bug (which I would not recommend, because replacing ANYTHING is a pain), which I bought for 1400 and sold two years later for $4000. Two years ago, a 2015 Toyota Camry with a CVT transmission. I think if you know what to look for, (only buy babied cars) and research on what you want to buy.
Iv bought plenty of cars ...
See if you can find something on Facebook or Craigslist
It is possible to get a good auction car but it's a very big gamble