American car auction sales are booming! Today, you can find new and used vehicles. Many people prefer to purchase a new vehicle from a car auction because they believe they’re saving money.

Before you attend a car auction, do some research on the vehicles you’re interested in. Find out what the blue book value is on the vehicle and make that your starting point. Look at all of the features and even look up consumer reports.

Most auctions operate Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Dealers are given a private auction date on one of those days. The public can attend as well, just not on the same day. Often, the cars are lined up outside of the facility and you can look them over more closely before they go before the auctioneer.

Here are some suggestions:
- Do your research before going.
- Get there early so you can look over the car in the parking lot.
- Check for smoke out of the exhaust and oil leaking.

Once they start moving through the line, your time will be limited. As people are bidding, others are looking at the engine, and for body dents. The entire process takes no more than 5 minutes and the highest bidder always wins.

Buying a vehicle at a car auction does not mean you’ll have a car in good condition. There are many risks to purchasing a car this way. You are not allowed to take the car for a ride before you pay for it, so the ride home is when you find out if there is an underline problem.

Despite this, car auctions are still popular. Some people sell vehicles on the side that they get from the auction and make a few bucks, while others are more serious and obtain a dealer's license to sell them from a lot. It is definitely a sale that “buyers should beware of”.