Repossessed Cars

It’s a common myth that repossessed cars should not be touched because they are in bad condition or someone has neglected the car. Most repossessed cars are in very good condition, some being only months old. I know I’d rather buy a car that didnt get washed too often than one which had been in a collision with a lampost or the back end of a Honda Civic. Many cars sold at low prices today are accident damaged or worse. These vehicles are often not roadworthy and not worth your hard earned money.

A person who has their car repossessed could be me or you, a normal person with a normal job whose circumstances suddenly change for the worse.Things were good at work, the wife was happy and buying a BMW made perfect sense. Repayments were higher than he wanted them to be ideally but they were still affordable, why not, he deserved to live a little. Fast forward 12 months and the recession has begun. The company is making some cutbacks…mortgage repayments, kids to feed, suddenly those affordable monthlies are looking a lot more unaffordable. A few missed payments later and the nice 325i he was driving is now a repossessed car.

So in that plausible scenario who can say that the car will be a pile of junk or that it will be neglected? All types of car have good and bad, being able to identify which are the good ones are key. Where can you take this knowledge and put it into practice? Where can someone get their hands on a repossessed car?

Car auctions are the best location to buy repossessed cars. After a lender has repossessed a vehicle they look to try and recover their losses as quickly as possible. Putting it through a local car auction will be a quick way to get some of the loan back before chasing the borrower for the remainder of the loan – Hence the knockdown price. Buying a repossessed car can be a great way of picking up a great car at a much lower price than the one you could have thought.

Read our guide on buying repossessed cars and make sure you follow our top tips below:
1) Look for quiet auctions – less people less rivals to bid against.
2) Go on a weekday – auctions held on weekdays are usually less busy than the weekends.
3) Wait for bad weather – rain, cold, snow and sleet are all a good deterrent to other prospective buyers.
4) Inspect the vehicles carefully before the auction starts – take a mechanic with you if possible. Looks can be deceiving, make sure you know what to look for. Check bodywork, and engine thoroughly, edges, corners, frame and interior.
5) Remember there fees to be paid to the auction, make sure you factor this into the price. Find out the payment method for the auction before bidding.
6) Dont exceed your maximum bid. Remember there are always more auctions and more cars so don’t be drawn into the trap of paying more for a car than it’s worth.
7) Dont be drawn into bidding wars.

Check our guide for buying repossessed cars at auction

View the video below of a repossessed car auction in the US. The fast pace of the auctioneer gives you an idea of how easy it is to end up paying extra and get carried away with bidding. If there was ever a need for a repossessed cars rapper then I think this is the man. Make sure you don’t fall into the trap.