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You wouldn’t know it from the road, but there are typically around 4000 vehicles tucked away awaiting sale at the Copart auction facility in Newburgh, New York. And arriving on a Thursday morning for the regular weekly auction, you really wouldn’t guess that about 1000 of those vehicles would be on their way to new homes by day’s end—whether that means the driveway of a proud new owner, on a dealer’s lot, in a body shop for pre-resale repairs, or off to the crusher. On the Thursday of our visit, the parking lot is empty, save for one agitated tow-truck driver talking on a cell phone and whose half of the conversation consists almost entirely of expletives.
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Inside, however, is a different story. A busy staff of about a dozen headset-wearing workers is fielding nonstop calls from dealers, and handling title issues, deliveries, and other questions. The auction is in full swing, but there’s no fast-talking auctioneer, slamming of gavels, shouting of bids, or cars crossing the block. As with many car auctions these days, all the bidding happens online. And fast.
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Used-car auctions are big business, and companies like Copart, Adesa, and Manheim are the giants of the industry, with daily auctions nationwide. Copart puts 75,000 cars up for sale every day, but Manheim is the biggest, handling some 7 million vehicles in 11 countries annually. It’s a complicated business, with cars moving locally and across the country to maximize profits based on supply and demand, regional needs, and even the price of scrap metal. The vehicles come from a variety of sources, including fleets, rental companies, carmakers, financial institutions, insurance companies, and other wholesalers.
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The bad news for bargain hunters is that the bulk of these auctions are for dealers only. But paddle-wielding wannabes have plenty of other options, from municipal and federal government auctions, to commercial auctions catering to the public, and auction sites like the ubiquitous eBay.
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Not Just for Dealers Only
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There are exceptions to the dealer-only rule. Adesa and Copart make some vehicles available to the general public, but getting into the game is not for the timid. Rules vary, and can be complicated. Copart (www.copart.com) has the more consumer-friendly website of the two, with pages of instructions, detailed terms and conditions, how-to videos, and access to endless pages of vehicles for sale, with plenty of photos and brief descriptions. Once you complete a quick registration, it’s easy to log in and lose an hour or six.
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The bulk of Copart’s cars are in need of body work or other repairs likely to be beyond the abilities of a typical shade-tree mechanic, and many look like they’d be best suited to be an artificial reef. But there are some interesting possibilities, and maybe even bargains if you’re willing to spend the time to dig through the listings—especially if you can do some or all of the necessary repairs yourself. A 2008 Honda Civic EX with light front damage and a Copart estimated retail value of $11,200 sold for $2950 in about 45 seconds while we were logged on. A 2015 BMW M4 with nose damage barely visible in photos had been bid to $25,000 as this was being written, a small fraction of its estimated retail value of $87,000. But the auction still had two days to go.
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There are some bargains available, if you have the time, patience, and resources to spend.
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Add It Up
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The thing is, prices listed aren’t the whole deal. For most sales, you’re going to need to enlist the services of a licensed dealer to place your bid and act as a broker. The Copart website provides a list of brokers, whose fees vary but typically charge around $200 and extract a refundable deposit of $400 and up for each car you want to bid on. We totaled up the fees quoted by one broker, and our heads hurt by the time we were done.
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Optional pre-purchase inspection services add another $200. Planning your own visit to have a look at the car is also recommended, and that’ll cost you $25 for a gate pass. You’ll also get hit up for a buyer’s fee that rises with the price of the car, from $200 on a $1000 purchase to $600 for a $20,000 car. The fee goes up from there. Add to that a $200 transaction fee and $59 gate fee for moving the car into and out of Copart’s yard, and you could be looking at $1000 or more in fees for your purchase. And that’s before paying any taxes, towing costs to get it off the lot, or shopping for parts to make it roadworthy. Add to this the complication of having to write checks to both Copart and the broker for their respective parts of the deal, and you might just be better off to cut out the middleman (you) and buy a car that’s ready to go.
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If all that sounds like a little much, other options are available. A smattering of consumer auctions are scattered around the country, including the Mason Dixon Auto Auction of Greencastle, Pennsylvania, and Interstate Auto Auction of Salem, New Hampshire. Mason Dixon (www.masondixonautoauction.com) serves up 2000 vehicles a month at weekly Tuesday evening auctions, culled from individuals, dealers, finance company repos, charitable donation companies, and others. Judging from the photos on their website, most of the cars are well past their prime. But some look like reasonable deals, if you’re looking for either inexpensive transportation or maybe an entry for, say, 24 Hours of LeMons.
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Mason Dixon posts recent sale prices on its website, such as a 2000 Honda Civic with 138,000 miles that went for $300. Buyer’s fees vary by the price paid, currently $215 for a $1000 purchase. You’ll also need a $60 buyer’s card that’s good for one year of access. That way, if your Civic expires in hour 19 of the next LeMons, you can always stop back to buy a replacement. Pre-auction inspections are allowed, and as a bonus, Mason Dixon offers temporary license plates on site so you can drive your new purchase home. Or at least partway home.
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The Marshals’ Motors
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If you’re not worried about karma, the U.S. Marshals might have your next ride. They specialize in selling various assets seized from the bad guys, many of whom—not altogether surprisingly—have expensive, if often garish taste in automobiles.
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The Marshals use brokers such as Skipco (www.skipcoautoauction.com) of Canal Fulton, Ohio, to peddle their misbegotten wares; these brokers list descriptions and photos of the goods online and handle the auctions. The good news is that there are no fees to register, attend, inspect, or buy vehicles served up by the Marshals. All you need to play is to register and provide a refundable $200 deposit. You also have to show up, because the auctions aren’t available online. And be prepared to cough up the cash within 72 hours of the sale, because the feds are not interested in financing your purchase.
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Like Mason Dixon, Skipco lists recent sales on its website, including a 2012 Porsche Cayenne S with 30,000 miles that went for $43,500—about $4000 under what KBB says a dealer would charge. If that sounds like a deal, Skipco tells us they hold Marshal’s auctions quarterly. If you can’t wait that long, they also hold public auctions of other used vehicles every week.
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The GSA Could Make Your Day
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If you like your government vehicles a little less flashy, the General Services Administration (autoauctions.gsa.gov) is your Uncle Sam’s used-car agent of choice. That’s where you’ll find the 2008 Chevrolet Impala of your dreams or, more likely, a dozen of them. The GSA buys vehicles in bulk, and leases them to various government agencies. Once their leases are up, the GSA sells them, to the tune of about 35,000 cars and trucks a year. The good news is that the vehicles are regularly maintained, and unlike Marshal sale, vehicles come with a squeaky clean history of being piloted by upstanding bureaucrats and civil servants. The bad news is that G-persons are not known for rocking particularly interesting rides, so expect to find a lot of nondescript sedans in unexciting colors—not that there’s anything wrong with that. Like the Marshals, the GSA lets private auction companies around the country handle sales. Similarly, there are no fees required to register, bid or attend, and you’re welcome to inspect vehicles ahead of time. Unlike the Marshals, the GSA takes credit and debit cards, and even a personal check as long as your bank guarantees it. And they conduct both live and internet auctions. With so many vehicles to dispose of, auctions are happening all the time. Just enter your zip code on their search bar to find one near you.
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Sales and the City
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If you live in a metropolitan area large enough to maintain and liquidate their own fleets of police, fire, and administrative vehicles, municipal auctions are another way to go. One example is New York’s Department of Citywide Services, which is sort of like the GSA of NYC. They hold weekly online auctions through a partnership with Property Room (www.propertyroom.com), a private auction house.
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Whether it’s a used police car or building inspector’s Toyota Prius you’re after, the city can hook you up. Like the GSA, the city doesn’t go for particularly interesting cars, but at least there are plenty of Priuses and Ford Escorts to choose from. Some are more fried than others, at least if the photos are any indication. The city runs some interesting stuff, and includes fire engines in its auctions.
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Vehicles can be inspected ahead of time, an exercise worth doing and sure to confirm just how unfriendly these mean streets can be to vehicles. Property Room requires advance registration to bid, which is free but you have to include credit card or Paypal information. Other than that, there are no fees.
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Make sure that you thoroughly understand what you’re getting into ahead of time, lest you find yourself screaming expletives into your phone.
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A recent perusal of offerings included a Ford Explorer with 180,000 miles, priced at $950 with five minutes to go. We were more interested in the 2001 Seagrave ladder truck, even without ladders, hoses, ropes, or various other firefighting bits. With 108,000 miles, it was a no sale at $750.
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So, auction fans, the bottom line is that yes, there are some bargains available, if you have the time, patience, and resources to spend. And only if you are diligent about putting all three to work sifting through the often complicated and confusing rules and terms of sale. Just make sure that you thoroughly understand what you’re getting into ahead of time. Otherwise, you might end up buying a future fish house, and find yourself wandering around an empty parking lot, screaming expletives into your cell phone.—Jim Travers
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