When the police confiscate property a majority of these items need to be sold as quickly as possible to prevent any extra use of storage. Storage tends to cost the government money and therefore it is more beneficial for them to sell these items at dirt cheap amounts below the market rate to still come out even. When income is generated at these police impound car auctions, the profits are given back to the government agency that was running the auction in the first place, in this case, the police. This extra income helps fund police projects and other miscellaneous expenses.
When police seize cars from criminals and other law breaks, the cars can be in a variety of conditions depending on who they got it confiscated it from. Police can find cars abandoned by their owners and put them in a police impound auction. Police are also able to obtain surplus vehicles. So the chances of having a brand new vehicle to a complete junk truck greatly depends on your luck. Cars of all models can come through police impound auctions. Luxury vehicles have been known to roll in and other older models that can be used as spare parts. Damaged cars due to police chases are also known to end up at these auctions.
You can check through your government agencies listing to see who is holding an auction and where. Each agency is likely to post any upcoming events in the local newspaper, but will only post it through one main local newspaper and not to several. City, county, sheriff, state and federal law enforcement hold vehicle auctions all the time, so you are unlike to miss out some good deals. Not all of them are on different days and you might even realize that some of the auctions are placed during the same day as another police department. This is because they typically do not know when each other department is hosting an auction. Those who hold vehicle auctions are independent from each government agency.
You can always investigate which agencies are running auctions by yourself, but if you want to cut that time in half then it might be worth considering an auction membership website so that all the auctions in your state are compiled for you. This can greatly save you a lot of trouble looking for the best deals. However, if you only plan to attend one or two of these and find the right car, then it might simply be better for your to do the leg work yourself.
When you are at an auction, it can greatly depend on the who is holding the auction and how flexable they are. Some will let you come close to the car and check out the quality in details, with others, you might not be so lucky. You will more than likely not be able to go on a test drive with this car, so you can consider buying a 100% working car a hit or miss.
