An impound sale is a sale that is the result of items that have been confiscated (impounded) by the Government. Impounded goods, including cars, tend to be of lesser quality than cars that have been repossessed.
There are good reasons for this. Firstly most impounded cars are confiscated by the police for example for non payment of fines and often by the courts for non payment of bail conditions. Often the value of the goods confiscated is less than the cost of the fine so the previous owners would rather have the car impounded as satisfaction of the debt. Since a loan company repossession or a seizure due to bankruptcy is purely related to the non-payment of debt - the person can no longer keep up payments so there is a much wider spectrum and choice in condition and age.
This is one of the main reasons why impound auctions are often less well attended than pure 'repossession' or 'seizure' auctions. What many people don't realize is that 'competition' from other bidders is often less than that for a more inclusive auction which means that on the good quality vehicles that do come up they often sell at a large discount.
How do I get a Bargain Here?
There are three main steps to getting a great bargain - but it involves work!
#1 Do some market research!
Choose the type of car that you are looking for, find out how much it is in the classified ads, check the Blue Book and also look and be aware of the prices being asked on the car lots. In other words get to know the 'non-auction' range. This will give you a greater sense of the value of the car you are bidding on at the auction.
#2 See the car?
If a car has been impounded it's likely that it may not have a history, it may have been abused by it's previous owner when they were aware of that the car was going to confiscated so it really is vital that you 'inspect' the car. If possible get someone to come with you at the auction if you don't know a lot about cars and what to look for - it may even be worth your while to pay a local mechanic to check over the car, especially if it's something like a BMW or Lexus.
This is especially vital as most auctions open up for 1 hour prior to bidding commencing so if you're going to see more than one car you have to be early and check out the condition.
A useful tip, especially if you see the car you want, is to look at other cars 'near' your target and see if there is much interest from other potential bidders. A car that's left alone is often unlikely to be hotly bid for!
#3 Bid sensibly.
Choose a budget and stick to it. Remember you want a bargain, you want to leave the auction with a smile on your face knowing you've save a heap of money - so don't blow your budget. Be patient - a good bargain will come but always remember - it has to be at the right price.
Where do I find an impound sale?
Every State holds a series of impound sales. Public bodies, once property has been seized, are required to sell the property to the Public. To comply with the law the sale must be seen to be 'open and fair' this means that impound sales are carried out as public auctions and these must be advertised.
You will find auctions through the internet but what I have found out is by the time these auctions are indexed by the search engines they have often passed and this makes searching this way time consuming and sometimes effective.
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