Where Can You Buy An Impounded Car?

What are impounded cars?

All year round, drivers are caught breaking or violating a traffic rule or found unfit to drive away. In these cases, traffic police have the right to impound or “boot” the vehicle. These impounded cars are usually released to the owners when they pay the impound fee at a later date.

Some of these owners are unwilling or unable to pay the fee. As a result, the car comes into police custody and is impounded in a lot. Since there is limited space in the lot, the cars are often auctioned off at a cheap price.

The auctioning happens after some time has passed with no signs of the owner coming back to claim their vehicle. There are essentially two places one can buy an impounded car; at a live or from an online auction.

An impounded car parked wrong in a public parking lot.

Live Auctions

You can learn about a live auction from your local police station. You can call the police department to find out if there an upcoming event in your region. Make a note and then show up.

There are several key points to remember when buying an impounded car at a live auction:

Arrive Early. This is crucial for making sure you get enough time to inspect the vehicles beforehand. You can also get your bidding number sooner and look around while waiting for the auction to start.
Also, make sure you have the whole day set aside for the auction as these events tend to take up the entire day.
The auction is like any other, so hold your number high so the auctioneer can see it.
If you win the bid, proceed to fulfill the protocols as soon as possible.
Make sure you arrange someone to drive your existing car home while you drive the one you won.

Online Auctions

Now, in this day and age of digital technology, online auctions are not unheard of. There are many auctioneers that hold online events where you can inspect a car online through pictures and read the details before bidding on it.

Even though you don’t physically see the car before you buy it, the process is much more convenient. This is so because unlike live auctions, you are not geographically bound to just one area.

Also, you won’t have to take a day off work and spend at the lot. You can sit at home and bid on the cars you would like to purchase.

You can check with the local police department about the cars they are offloading.
Find a trustworthy online auction site. Register and make sure to provide all required details before you start looking for an ongoing online auction and bid on a car.
Be careful about refreshing and checking the page frequently to see if you’ve been outbid or not.
Pay for the vehicle as per the website’s preferred method of payment.

Once the payment is through, you will have to proceed to determine whether you want to fetch the car yourself or have it delivered at your doorstep. Keep in mind that getting the car delivered will have additional charges.

Another important reminder is to be vigilant about reading the details about whichever car you are planning to bid on. Look closely at each picture available and read whatever details are available.

Buying an Impounded Car

While buying an impounded car can result in you receiving a great deal, it can have some issues. For instance, you can’t conduct a thorough inspection on-site or online. You have to purchase the car before handing it off to a mechanic for a closer look.

Also, you may have to tow the car back home. In some cases, depending on the reason for the impoundment, you have to get the keys made yourself. This is why you can’t drive the car away.

Lastly, the amount of paperwork required after the purchase is finalized can vary from vehicle to vehicle. If the car had criminal ties, it might be harder to figure the details. Other than that, there shouldn’t be any issues if the car’s history is clean.

Here at RideSafely, we undertake multiple safety measures taken to ensure authenticity. It allows us to conduct auctions on all kinds of vehicles, including impounded cars. We have a large selection of vehicles that ranges from compact cars to trucks, SUVs and even some sports cars.

The services don’t end there as they offer transportation services so you can get your vehicle shipped domestically or internationally. You can contact us at +1-215-289-0300 for more details.