Your Business Fleet: Tips and Tricks for Buying at Auctions

You need another fleet car, so you decide you’re going to go to a car auction. After all, why should you pay the inflated dealer price? Hold your horses. In your quest to save money, you’re going to find yourself running up against a brick wall. Why? Because, while requirements \vary from state to state, every state has regulations barring anyone but car dealers from going to wholesale auctions.

First, you need a dealer’s license to even bid, and to get a dealer’s license you need to be a business whose primary purpose is to sell vehicles. You also need the proper proof of insurance, you need to pass a DMV test, and you must have properly zoned locations for auto sales. It’s a lot of hoops to jump through – all to protect dealers from being undercut by “regular folks” like you.

How To Secure A Dealer

If you need a trucking fleet, but don’t want to go through a dealer, you’re out of luck. You have to. However, you might be able to negotiate a deal with a dealer to sell you a fleet of vehicles at a discounted rate. If you have a relationship with a dealer already, ask him if he’s open to the idea of picking up a fleet of vehicles for you at the next auction. If you know you’ll buy, it’s guaranteed business for the dealer.

Explain the situation. Odds are the dealer will work with you – especially if you’re buying more than one vehicle. Bulk purchases also allow you more negotiation power than single vehicle purchases. That means a bigger discount off the dealer’s resale price.

Your other alternative is to approach a fleet company like Eckhaus Fleet. These companies work like dealers in that they go to auctions and buy up vehicles. Unlike a lot of dealers, though, they’re able to buy cars before an auction even starts, get ridiculous discounts on vehicles, and have buying power that most dealers can’t match.

Sure, they charge a fee, but it’s usually less than what a dealer charges. Just negotiate a good fee with them, and call it a day.

How Auctions Work

If you manage to get a “man on the inside” to go to an auction for you, you won’t have to worry about going with them. It’s getting harder and harder to get into auctions if you don’t have a license. Trust the dealer or fleet company you hired to do a good job.

Auctions differ by state and even by individual auctions. Familiarize yourself with the fee schedules for all auctions “you” participate in, check into all available services that come with the vehicle (i.e. washing, reconditioning, and transport), understand the auctions arbitration policy (important if there’s a dispute about the price or deliverability of the vehicle), and understand the payment process. Finally, make sure you understand how you will get the title to your new vehicles.

Some auctions are held online, so your dealer won’t be traveling anywhere. Simulcast auctions are live videocast auctions where your dealer can see the auction from their computer screen and make bids on the vehicles as they go through the block. The other auction type is more of an “eBay style” auction where vehicles are posted to sites like OVE.com. The car has a “buy it now” price and a starting bid.

Getting Rid Of Your Vehicle

Fortunately, getting rid of your fleet vehicles (hey, every car dies eventually) is pretty easy. If it’s still technically drivable, auctions are happy to sell the vehicle for you. All you need is a valid Federal Tax ID. Transactions are wholesale prices though, so don’t expect to get much for your used vehicles when you’re done with them.