Whenever you read in the newspapers about how there has been a hurricane in some faraway area, you perhaps gloss over it and move on to other things of interest. When a hurricane causes flooding in an area, what you feel happens to all the hundreds of cars people have parked along the roads in that town? When Hurricane Katrina swung around five years back, if caused a half million cars flooded. Where did those cars go subsequently? Those cars were bought up by sleazy auctioneers to be superficially reconditioned and sold any where near you.

At some auctions of used cars, their use of some jargon can aid them in all kind of sales techniques they use. For instance, if they say that a car is sold ‘as is’, that means they don’t provide a guarantee for anything. Occasionally, if you want a guarantee, you pay additional fee. You really want to know what you’re doing buying at a car auction, especially for used cars.

How about the title to the car? Will you be getting a clear title? At the car auction for used cars, even if they mean well, they really don’t make enough on a sale to rationalize a complete title check. Commonly, they’ll skip the title check altogether. You could be being sold a ripped off car for all you know. One of the best car title checks available on the internet is AutoCheck. Make sure you run a car that you plan buying on this database prior to you part with a dollar.

With regards to actually paying for a car you choose at an auction, you never paid precisely what you bid. You always need to pay a little extra. They call it the buyer’s premium. Typically, it’s a percentage somewhere between 2% and 10% of the amount you bid for. If you have an option, you should probably buy a used car from a rent a car company than from an auction. Have you ever experienced a rental car break down on you? Most individuals never experience such a scenario because those are cars that are kept under constant maintenance to ensure smooth running for the company. A car you buy at an auction however could have been an accident, could have been flooded or been stolen.

Do yourself a favor: before buying at a car auction, be sure to check everything up on auto check by the VIN numbers of all the cars you are considering. Look carefully at the contract before you sign. Try to see what kind of title indication they give you. Get to the auction block ahead of time to look closely at the VIN number stickers on all the cars. Just make sure that all of the numbers read the same on each car. Be sure to bring your laptop with you so that you can look up on AutoCheck right on the spot.