Why You Can Get the Best Deals on Cars Through Online Auctions

Let us preface this post by saying that we don’t want to take anything away from live car auctions. Sure, you can often find deals there if you know what you’re doing. But hear us out as we explain why you can probably get better deals if you go the online auction route.

You get to bid from the comfort of your own home.

Have you ever attended live auctions for cars? Who wants to stand around a dusty parking lot with a hundred other strangers huffing and puffing over a car? When you’re on a computer at home, you can think more clearly and not get hyped up by the energy of the crowd.

Less competition.

Although most people are familiar with online auctions, many don’t really consider them when it comes to buying a car. They usually end up at live public car auctions looking for deals. If you’re attending a popular public auction that specializes in selling cars, then you’ll have to compete with more people. And if you’re not careful, you could get caught up in the frenzy of bidding and end up paying over the market price.

You have time to research the car you’re interested in buying.

Many auto auction sites will post pictures of cars for their upcoming auctions, but that’s about it. You don’t get much more information than that. You can come down before the live auction to preview cars for a couple hours, but oftentimes you’ll feel rushed – especially if you have your eye on a few cars.

In order to truly get a good deal on a car, you’ll need to know what the current market price is. KBB.com is a good place to start. You’ll also need to know the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) so you can run a CarFax report in order to find out the sale and accident (if any) history. Again, this can all be done on your computer at home anytime before you commit to placing a bid.

As with anything you purchase online, it’s important to do your due diligence. The last thing you want is to purchase a car that breaks down on you shortly after purchasing it.

Here at Cal Auctions we often get bankruptcy vehicles that need to be auctioned off. Sometimes the cars are only a few years old and in great condition. We even offer a preview day(s) before the auction ends so you could bring your own mechanic to help you check out the vehicle if necessary. You’ll get plenty of time to look at the car without being surrounded by tons of other people who want the same car.

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