With the poor economy and 100’s of thousand of people losing their jobs car repossession is unfortunately an all too common occurance these days. Simply stated it is the removal of a car due to non payment on an auto loan. The ramifications of having your car repossessed can effect your personal and business life not to mention your credit.
When a car is repossessed, the person in this situation credit will be drastically affected in a negative way. A car repo causes your credit score to drop significantly and it also makes being approved for credit in the future extremely difficult. Of course without the means of personal transportation, getting to work for most people becomes a challenge.
Profiting From Repossessed Vehicles
Repo cars for sale can provide the atmosphere for a great deal of money to be saved, for example, imagine being able to buy a 2008 Chevy Tahoe for $9,000 at auction. At the time of this writing that would be an absolute steal considering that same vehicle if purchased at a car dealership would cost over $20,000 according to Autotrader.com
The main down side with repo car sales is that there are no Carfax reports to view before you buy, or warranty of any kind. It is safe to say that the core reason to buy repo cars is for the opportunity of buying at incredible low prices.
Finding Your Vehicle
Most people who find out about the repo car auctions discover them through distributed information from networks they belong to. These networks are normally found online, and most networks charge a fee for membership. The typical fee can range from a one time payment of $100 to $250 while others offer monthly membership fees ranging from $29/month to $89/month.
Having said that and with the power of the internet and some diligence you can locate repo car auctions in most areas through sites like autotrader.com, autolink.com and others.
Larger metropolitan areas will provide you with a larger selection of repo auctions, for example I live in Toronto, Canada and have the choice of severeal auctions I can attend each year. They are normally held at the same location and same time of year.
If you’re going to attend a car auction you need to be prepared, the best advice I can give is to take a certified mechanic who can at least give the car you’re interested in some basic inspection before you bid. Auto auctions are the same as any type of auction, make sure you keep your emotions in check, set a maximum bid for yourself and stick to it, auctioneers are masters at creating a buzz and it’s easy to get caught up in it.
Repo car sales continue to rise due to people losing their automobiles because of non payment of their loans. So car repossessions will forever equal opportunity. The prices of the cars may be great but remember there is no financing available, so normally the winning bidder must pay a deposit immediately after winning.
Once the deposit is made, the winning bidder may have 24 to 48 hours to pay the remaining balance by either cash, cashier’s check, money order or a credit card. One thing is very clear when it comes to a car repos, purchasing a vehicle this way has its pros and cons, but for the people who can afford to pay a lump sum payment, the pros out weigh the cons by a landslide.
