Let me start by making an obvious statement: the economy stinks. Food costs too much, gas costs too much. Everything costs too much. As consumers, we've got to make better choices, i.e. - don't buy stuff we can't afford.
Sure the shiny new Lexus is seducing us, begging us to buy it. But we must stay strong. We must say, "No Lexus, although I find you very attractive and you smell nice, I need a more practical car. I need a nice, dependable used car. Perhaps one that has been seized because of delinquent payments. See what happens when you buy stuff you can't afford?
Buying your next car at a seized car auctions is, hands down, the most fiscally responsible decision you can make this year. Nowhere else are you going to be able to buy a car for up to 80% off the retail price.
The quickest and easiest way to find a car auction in your area is to use an auction database. There are quite a few available online, but not all are created equal. In my personal experience, there are a few sites worth using:
Car-Auctions.com is a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) site. For $29.99 you get unlimited access to their database of car auctions without a whole lot of other bells and whistles.
Seize Cars.com is another good database. For a one-time fee of $49, you get unlimited access to all car and truck auctions, and they also have more in the way of auctions for boats and houses and electronics. So, if you need a car AND a family boat, this is a good choice.
Gov-Auctions.org is the site I’m personally a member of. They also charge $49 for unlimited access to car auctions, as well as boats, homes, electronics auctions, etc. But they offer some things the others don’t that I liked.
For one, they have real
24/7 customer support. Like if you have a question – a real human being gets back to you with an answer. How rare.
They also have a free auction tutorial which explains, step-by-step, how to get the car you want at an auction. I was new to car auctions so I found this very helpful.
Gov-Auctions.org also has a free car loan service where you can receive instant car loan offers with the best rates on the market without any of the usual hassles. A definite bonus.
So basically, you get a little more bang for your buck at this last site, but all three are really pretty good and worth checking out. And for the record, plenty of Lexus owners have their cars seized, so maybe you'll get lucky.
