A salvage car auction may be also advertised as insurance car auction. What you should know is that a salvage car auction has absolutely nothing to do with the normal auctions – public, government or wholesale.

Salvage car auction venues offer Cars that have been collected and rebuilt by the insurance companies in some cases, while in order they are sold in their damaged condition. Normally you can reach a price with 20% to 50% cheaper than the regular price of the car you are looking for. In some cases, the Cars being sold at salvage car auction places might have just a minor problem but in most of the cases, these Cars have suffered a serious damage.

The main problem with Cars being sold at a salvage car auction is that these Cars are usually damaged to an extend that a regular car buyer cannot properly asses. That is why it is strongly recommended that only experienced professionals buy from these auctions. If you are not one, than get somebody along with you when going to bid on a salvage car auction. On the other hand, if you are looking for a car just because of the spare parts than you should not care that much. Just check if the parts you are interested in are in order and of course be careful with the price you will have to pay. As you may guess, there is no need to pay a price closer to the regular price of the spare parts you are buying the car for.

For the same reason described above is a must that you perform a proper check of the car you want to purchase and second – to check the vehicle history report. A car might look in good condition but it might has been seriously rebuild or repaired in a way that will cause you troubles later. Even after you have repaired the car, you should ask for a complete check by a car company to ensure that all in your car is in complete order.

The rest of the usually checks that are done when buying a car are still a must – you should read carefully all the paperwork involved, check the VIN numbers and the car history.

Be prepared for the inconveniences that you might experience later in case you have bough a rebuilt car from a salvage car auction. The fact that a car has been rebuilt stays in its record. Cars that have been rebuilt are not favorite to insurance companies or banks. In addition, even if the car you are purchasing is still under the manufacturers warranty period, this warranty might be voided in case the car has been rebuilt. So never, rely on the fact that “the car is still in the warranty period…”

Finally, this is what we would advise the regular car hunters – try another car auction and leave the salvaged car auction venues to the professionals. It is worth neither the hassle nor the risk buying from a salvaged car auction just to save a minor amount of money.

Local car auction venues are usually smaller than the national ones. They are also restricted to the area where they are held.

A local car auction might be a great place to find a great car bargain. Sometimes the number of the Cars advertised there is not that huge but on the other hand this doesn’t mean your future car is not there. In addition, if you are looking for something specific there might be no competition at all.

Another serious advantage is that there might be a smaller amount of people visiting a local car auction. This means that the competition will be smaller and you might be abelt to buy a car at a great price.

To get an idea where and when local car auction events are held, just check the local newspapers. There should be detailed information listed. Some specialized vehicle newspapers and magazines might even publish the list vehicles that will be auctioned so you can see if there is point in going at the local car auction or not.

In any case, it is good if you can bring a mechanic with you so that he can check the car before you bid for it. You should also check the car’s history and documents. Performing this check will save you many possible troubles. Imagine that you buy a car that is on Police records as stolen or a car that has a rebuilt title and you cannot insure it later. A car history check might cost a minor fee but it is worthed.

Another important thing is to check the current market value of the car style you want to purchase. This will give you an idea how much you have to bid. Sometimes the bidding may go crazy and you may end up paying for something that should have cost less. Don’t be scared to step out of bidding if the price becomes too high. There will be other suitable car deals waiting.