Vehicles being offered at car auctions can greatly vary from week to week. Some auction houses provide an online inventory list of vehicles available. The Newport Mesa Auto Auction offered motorcycles, wrecked cars and luxury cars. The wrecked cars were often bought by junk yard to sell for parts.

There are regular people at the auctions that purchase the vehicles and flip them. Flipping means to purchase a vehicle below wholesale cost, and quickly resell the vehicle for profit. For example, the gentleman that purchased the 1988 Honda Accord for $540 said that he plans on selling the Honda for at least $1000. He noted that if the car has transmission problems or any other issues, he’s still confident that he could still sell it and get his money back.

One of the auction house employees told me that 90% of the weekly visitors to the auction are the same group of people that buy the cars and sell them for profit. One interesting example he told me about was a family that would purchase anywhere from 6-12 vehicles at a time. Once they are done paying for the vehicles, the whole family will drive all of the vehicles down to Mexico the same day and resell it at their dealership across the border. If one of the vehicles breaks down or doesn’t run, they will tow it behind another vehicle that was also purchased at the auction. This particular family will do this at least 2 times a month.

Whether your going to a car auction to buy a daily driver or to make money, there are some things to keep in mind; bring cash, wear clothes that you will get dirty in and closed toe shoes, bring a friend, do your research on the Kelly Blue Book value of the vehicle you want, inspect the car thoroughly for possible engine problems, body damage and other mechanical issues. Last but not least, bid smart. Don’t get caught up in the bidding wars, set your spending limits and stick with it. Remember; don’t bid on a car that is more than the Kelly Blue Book values, other than that, have fun!