Every month thousands of vehicles are seized by government law enforcement agencies, banks and loan companies in foreclosure actions. These vehicles are too costly to store and so they are sent to be auctioned. It is possible to pick some of these vehicles up at auction for a fraction of their true value.

When vehicles are seized, the sale proceeds are used to recover funds for the various agencies and finance houses. There is no point in these vehicles sitting in storage for prolonged periods, as this would cost more money, and the vehicle would continue to depreciate in value. The objective is to auction the car as quickly as possible to retrieve some return of money from them.

The good news for you is that these auctions are open to the public, so anyone can bid on and buy a car at fantastic prices. Auctions on these vehicles have been known to start as low as $100. But not everyone is aware that these auctions are even taking place, and only a select few switched on bidders were picking up these bargains.

Government auctions don't tend to be widely advertised, so it can be difficult to find out when they are running. Sometimes small adverts for these auctions will appear in the newspapers, but you would need to keep a close watch on the newspapers every day or you might miss them. It is because there is no widespread advertising of these auctions that bargains are possible on cars. There can also be other assets auctioned at the same time, including seized houses and property, so it can be very beneficial to know when these auctions are taking place.

Even though it might be possible to bag a bargain, you should always do proper research before attending. It can be very easy to get caught up in bidding fever, especially if there is a particular type of car that you really want. You need to make sure that in the heat of bidding that you don't actually end up paying more than the car is worth. You should therefore always carry out research on the value of a vehicle before the auction and set yourself a top price you are prepared to pay. No matter what happens at the actual auction, don't go over this price. Be patient as another similar vehicle may turn up at another auction soon.

Finding out when and where these auctions take place can be a lot of work. Seized assets including cars and property might turn up at an auction in a different town, or even different state than where they were seized. There are many government departments each holding their own auctions. On top of this there are many different banks and loan companies who will also hold their own auctions at different times. Sometimes auctions are also held 'on-site'. This is where items may be auctioned by a liquidated company, but the items are too large to ship to the auction house. For these auctions, the auctioneer goes to the company and conducts the auction at their premises.

If you are serious about trying to get a bargain on your next car purchase, or even buy a property at below market value as an investor, it would be well worth your while to join an online site that collates all this information for you. It may cost $40 or $50 to join a site like this, but it will save you a lot of time trying to hunt down these auctions, and the bargain you might secure will be worth much more than the membership fee. Just think about the amount of research a site like this would save you.