More Car Auction Tips

Okay, in the last post we talked about what to look for in a pre auction inspection including running a car history report and looking up the book value of the car. A car history report will usually show if the vehicle was ever junked, salvaged, flooded or had a fire and shows a yearly mileage report to help avoid odometer fraud.

Here are some other things to look for that may bring down the blue book value of a car that you can only tell by inspecting the car:

Uneven tire wear on all the tires may indicate bad alignment or possibly from an unreported wreck.

Not only should you check the VIN # on a Carfax report but you should also check that all the VIN #'s on the doors, hood, trunk, dashboard match. If they do not match, the car could have been wrecked or stolen.

Some people use a rebuilt title as a selling point but it usually drops the value of the car by 30%.

Some cars are sold at auctions with no title present for you to take, also called "title in transit" cars, with the promise that the title will be sent to you. My advice is to avoid a car with any title problems, because there are too many people in the world looking to rip you off.