How A Live Auto Auction Works

Please note you do not have an automatic right to "back out" of a vehicle purchase. Therefore, inspect the vehicles closely during preview! The vehicles sold at our auctions range from late-model luxury cars in good condition to "fixer-uppers" for mechanics that like a challenge. If you don't know cars inside and out, bring someone with you who does. If you want to test drive a vehicle, go to the key counter, present your driver's license, and ask for the keys.

We want all our potential customers to understand we care about you and want you to have a great experience. Part of this sentiment involves some information that will be obvious to the majority of you, but still important information before you bid. This is a consignment Auction and we do not release the seller’s information due to privacy policy. As stated on our Homepage cars have reserve prices that are usually between 30-60% off the Kelly Blue Book Retail Price. If you choose to bid online or coming person and not take advantage of testing cars before Auction on our property, BUYER BEWARE! This is a Auction not a Dealership with near perfect cars. We do not guarantee or describe our cars to have or not have check engine lights or any other lights on, we do not guarantee cars will pass inspection. It is very possible that check engine lights can be on or come on when driving a car home. OUR AUCTION DOES NOT RESET CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS. However, people who own the cars prior to arriving at the Auction may do this. Regardless it's important to understand that just because a check engine light is on or comes on that does not mean that the motor or transmission does not need to be replaced. HENCE EVEN IF THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON IT IS STILL CONSIDERED A GREEN LIGHT CAR. If you choose to NOT drive your car within the time frame to Arbitrate the car for 50-100 miles after you have paid in full and have it diagnosed by a licensed mechanic BUYER BEWARE!

Our primary concern is that the motor or transmission does not need to be completely replaced. Auctions are not for everyone. You need to take this into consideration and understand cars range from poor to great. Coming in person is a key component to assisting you in knowing the difference from one car to another. Relying on Online pictures and our descriptions is not a realistic way to expect a very good car. However, coming in person and testing a car before hand is. We guarantee that the Motor & Transmission is in good working order & will not need to be completely replaced so long as you report it properly within the time to arbitrate a car which is for 24 hours after purchase. We want to be clear and upfront please call if you have questions regarding this policy.

Only at Interstate Auto Auction will you save thousands of dollars when, "Buying Like the Dealers Do". Although this is an incredible opportunity, "Buying Like the Dealers Do" may not necessarily be for all of us. This is because some persons do not contend with the inherent responsibility that comes with buying a wholesale priced vehicle at Auction. These Green Light vehicles run and drive are a good platform to build upon, but they will need additional care to become amazing daily drivers. In other words these Green Light vehicles are not in perfect condition needing just a couple hundred dollars worth of fixes. Simply put, thinking you are buying a perfect vehicle is not a realistic approach to have. However, what is realistic is that if you take the time to research the vehicles you want, discover the retail prices at dealerships and create a budget for potential fixes you will understand better how much money you will save off the dealership price before you bid. Even better is if you know how to turn a wrench and are mechanically savvy you can save yourself even more money by cutting out the labor costs. In either scenario you are in a great position to save thousands and have a reliable vehicle that will hopefully last you years to come. This can further be helped by you researching the vehicle history, understanding what the average cost is to fix Auction vehicles (listed below) and most importantly by coming in person and test driving the vehicles before hand. Please note that the Auction does not input any of the price values manually as this is a service that Kelly Blue Book Generates automatically and is posted by a Kelly Blue Book Service Company Machine we use to scan the VIN's directly off the cars and onto the website. It's all computer generated and is both fantastic and really helps you see what a cars potential value can be. Kelly Blue Book provides you with the Value of the Car on a Retail Dealership in Excellent Condition for the Price. When you look at this price please understand that you need to fix the cars up to have them worth this value, but they all have this potential and it is wonderful to know just how much they could potentially be worth in advance. Also please understand that sometime Kelly Blue Book Prices can be off and not accurate at times depending on a number of circumstances, such as our zip code, time of the year or recent press and news coming out about a car. So we always recommend doing your own Kelly Blue Book price estimates to be best informed as well as view how much a comparable car is being sold for at other websites, such as Craigslist, Autotrader and Cars.com for example.Many of our customers who have done this almost always are winners and if you follow these suggestions you will give yourself the best chance to have a positive experience. This is the ultimate goal for all of us.

If this is your first time buying a car at Auction please pause and imagine yourself buying like a Dealer. The excitement of bidding in the crowd combined with lower prices than anywhere else saving you thousands off the retail price. Of course after you purchase a vehicle it will be time to fix some items; so it's best to have some money set aside for the fixes. Yes, it is possible that you could get lucky and win a vehicle at Auction that is near perfect without having to put any money into it except maybe a couple hundred dollars. We have learned this over the years when returning customers have come back to share their personal experiences with us. However, it is always best no matter how great a vehicle seems to be that you understand these vehicles usually need fixes that average $300 - $1,000 plus for general sedans (such as like Honda's, Dodge, Ford's, Chevy, Kia, Hyundai, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Scion Toyota ect). In addition to this fixes usually expect to be double that average which is $600 to $2,000 plus of general sedans when you win any Truck, Vans, CUV, SUV or high end luxury vehicles (Acura, Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Lexus, Lincoln, Infiniti, Jaguar, Mercedes, Saab, Volkswagen, Volvo ect). Land Rover is the highest in repairs that averages $1,800 over $3,000. This is due mainly to cost of parts and the time of labor. For example, four new ties on a Honda Civic may only cost only $400, but on a Ford F-150 four new tires will be $800. Another example, is if a check engine light comes on and the vehicle has something common such as a evap code. If you have a Chevy sedan this should be a simple fix that will only will $50-$100. However, if you have a Mercedes with the same evap code will be a more intricate fix that is $300-$500. So it is important to take into consideration what kind of vehicle you are purchasing for fixes before you bid. Regardless, if you utilize this average range above and understand this is normal when buying Green Light Cars you can plan ahead.

Although we guarantee the motor and transmission does not need to be replaced their are a wide varity of items that are not covered by this. So please come in person if you can prior to bidding and never rely 100% on the pics and a description as the end all be all when buying a used car at Auction. You need to understand their is always a risk when you are purchasing a car online that you will not be able to see in person and asking us to describe everything is not part of what we do nor is it included in the Green Light guarantee. Vehicles interiors and exteriors can range from excellent to poor and may have damage that is not noted in the description. We try our best, but this is very important for Online customers to understand that interiors and exteriors of cars vary from good to bad. It all depends on who owned the car before you. Interiors can have damage done that the picture will not show such as pet hair, odors, smoke residue, stains, water stains, rips, tears and even as extreme as a seat missing. Exteriors can have cracked windshields, bad patch up jobs, body rot and rust anywhere on the car, worn down tire tread anything is possible. Of course do not forget about the components as well it's possible to have broken door locks, bad batteries, power windows or sunroofs that do not work, windshield wipers that are broken or do not work, radios missing, center consoles missing or broken, heat or ac that does not work spare tire or tire jack missing, and so on as anything and everything is possible. In addition as stated in our how much does it cost to fix the cars portion of the website where we mention check engine lights being on these cars you would also consider that the air bag light, abs light and any other lights can be on as well. So if you are concerned about any of these issues as well as others the best advice is to come in person and inspect the cars yourself as these are not guaranteed under the Green Light. Meaning all these components are your responsibility to fix after purchasing the car. If you choose not to come in person and you are buying a car online BUYER BEWARE! As this is a Auction not a Dealership.

With this information you can even save more money when you come and test drive in person prior to bidding. When you test drive on our 11 Acer site you can learn so much more about the vehicle by seeing it in person. This will help you choose the price you should bid and since we have vehicles for everyone's budget you will be best prepared for virtually any scenario that comes your way.

It's safe to say that customers who follow these suggestions have a great advantage. This is the key to what a dealer does to be successful. You research, buy low, fix the cars issues and save thousands of dollars in the process. This is your chance to turn the tables on the car dealers and stop paying those high retail prices. You can save thousands doing it yourself or pay thousands more and have a dealer do it for you. It's your money, it's your choice.

Bidding

This is the fun part! Each vehicle will be driven through the building. The auctioneer will announce the lot number and describe the vehicle, announcing everything we know about it, whether good or bad. Then the bidding starts.

This process goes very quickly and can be confusing the first time. Read the following description and watch as a few vehicles are sold to get a feel for how it works.

The auctioneer will suggest a starting price: "Who'll give me one thousand dollars to start?" If nobody wants to start at that price, the auctioneer will lower the amount until someone bids. To bid, simply raise your hand and display your bidder number. A "bid catcher" will point to you and shout, "YES, sir!" The auctioneer will start asking for higher bids: "I have eight hundred dollars, do I hear nine hundred?" If someone wants to bid $4,000, he will raise his bidder number, the bid catcher will point to him and shout, "YES, sir!" If you raise the bid, the bid catcher will point to you and the other person will be out. The process continues until nobody wants to bid any higher: "I have four thousand nine hundred dollars, who'll give me five thousand? Going once, twice, third and final call: SOLD! For four thousand nine hundred dollars to bidder number 268." A clerk will write down the winning amount and the buyer number. If yours is the winning bid, the vehicle is now YOURS! At this point, please go to the office immediately to make a deposit.

Payment

When you are done bidding for the day, go to the office and present your bidder number to the cashier. You may pay right then with Visa, MasterCard, Cash, or certified funds in. A $300 deposit is required for each vehicle at the time of your successful high bid. The balance is due by the business day follwoing the Auction 5:00 PM.

All our cars come with a "Green Light" guarantee unless otherwise noted in the description. If you are new to Auto Auctions it is important you understand that Auctions typically sell cars, "AS IS" red light with no guarantee. Hence the vast majority of Auto Auctions out there will not offer you any kind of Guarantee at all. As a result having any kind of guarantee at an Auction is fantastic for you and even better is that Interstate Auto Auction offers a Green Light Guarantee that the Motor & Transmission is in good working order & will not need to be completely replaced. It's important to note that if a car needs any fixes on it that do not involve a motor or transmission that needs to be replaced it is you responsibility to fix the issues as we will deem the car Green Light. For more Information about our Lighting System Please Click HERE.

Yes, and if a Light is not displayed at the Auction as you drive the car Check Engine Lights can come on. Check engine lights can range from meaning the car needs to have very minor fixes such as a gas cap tightened or that the car has the wrong grade of gasoline in it. For example, you cannot put Regular Grade Gasoline in a BMW that requires Premium Gasoline, this will result in a check engine light and is common when cars are traded in and brought to Auctions. Check engine lights can be on for other minor fixes as well such as evap leaks, 02 sensors or Cylinder Misfires. Check Engine Lights can also be on for more moderate costs such as Cylinder Miss or Cam related Variables in the motor that need to be fixed, but do not require a replacement. OUR AUCTION DOES NOT RESET CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS and we have no control over the previous owners actions. We do our best to scan cars to see if any codes are viewable to make sure they are not codes that mean the motor or transmission needs to be completely replaced. It is your responsibility to have your car diagnosed within the arbitration time period to avoid any circumstances that would mean the car need a motor or transmission replacement. We recommend to drive your car 50-100 miles within the arbitration period in order to cycle the cars computers for best results. We get into detail of this subject on many pages on our site including this page below in an effort to help those who may try to ignore obvious responsibilities that come with purchasing a used car at an Auction have the opportunity to read this on many pages on our site before bidding.

Check Out

After you have paid in full for your purchase, you will be given the keys and directed to your vehicle. All vehicles must be removed from the premises by 3:00PM Friday.

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How A Live Auto Auction Works

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Bidding

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