Trying to secure low mileage cheap used cars in Spokane, WA can sometimes seem like a difficult task. There are a number of regional characteristics that end up causing a large number of low mileage used cars to be sent to either Seattle or Portland. While Spokane is the third-largest city in the Pacific Northwest, it is one of the few large cities that are inland, rather than bordering the ocean. As a result, many cars get sent to the coast in order to make transportation, through shipping, much easier. Here’s a close look at the easiest way to secure low mileage cheap used cars in Spokane, WA and how to give yourself the best chances of success.
Over the past several years, it has become much more common knowledge that the best way to get cheap used cars is through auto auctions. There are several different types of auctions held in the Spokane area on a regular basis. The first is government auctions. These auctions tend to have fleet vehicles as well as cars which have been impounded by the police. Since Spokane is also the County seat, the fleet vehicles included in these auctions could be either from the city or county fleets. The benefit of government auctions is that there is a good chance that the used car was well maintained. At the same time, a majority of these cars will have higher mileage, although they will normally be mostly highway miles.
Another common type of auction is referred to as a general public auction. These auctions can get used cars from a variety of sources. In most cases, they will include fleet vehicles for local businesses, repossessed vehicles, and used cars that were towed but never picked up by the owner. Depending on the auction, you could also find salvage vehicles as well.
One thing that surprises a lot of people is that there are very few auction houses that deal specifically with used cars considering the size of Spokane, WA. In fact, there are only three major auction houses in the city. The first is DAA Northwest. Unfortunately, it is only a dealer’s auction house which means that in order for you to attend you must have a dealer’s license. The second is Silver Collector Car Auctions, which primarily it only deals with vintage cars. As a result, you will not find any low mileage cheap used cars at these auctions. The final is the Insurance Auto Auctions. This auction house deals solely with vehicles which have been totaled by the insurance company. As a result, a majority of these vehicles will have salvage titles and some type of repairs may be needed. At the same time, you may not want to overlook this auction house because used cars can be totaled for a variety of reasons aside from accidents. For example, weather damage, especially hail, can cause significant cosmetic damage which is expensive to fix, however it will not affect the actual drivability of the vehicle.
As a result, if you are looking for secure low mileage cheap used cars in Spokane, WA then your best bet is an online auto auction website. These websites will not only partner with auction houses the solely focus on automobiles, but also auction houses that are more generalized. In the area, many auction houses will also do estate sales and surplus auctions, however whenever they have vehicles for sale they will list them on these third-party auto auction websites.
To give you an idea of what to expect, here’s a quick look at a few recent online auction results for cars sold in Spokane, WA. If you are interested in the truck, then a recent result which may interest you is a 2008 Toyota Tacoma which had less than 30,000 miles on it. While it’s needed an estimated $11,000 worth of repairs, the winning bidder paid less than $2000, which is still much less than the local market value of $19,000. If you want an SUV, then there was a 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe with 14,000 miles. While it needed $10,000 worth of repairs, the winning bidder only paid $3500. These expenses combined are much lower than the market value of the vehicle which is nearly $24,000. a final example was a repossessed 2010 Chevrolet Camaro. It had only 4000 miles on it and sold for $7500.
As you can see, when you know where to look finding a secure low mileage used car in Spokane, WA is an achievable task. Utilizing online auto auction websites, you could not only save a lot of money but still bring home a reliable used car. The key is making sure you use a reputable online used car website to ensure that you receive accurate, real-time listings. Many of these websites will even allow you to place proxy bids before the auction begins so you don’t have to attend in person. In some cases, you will even be able to place bids live during the auction by following a streaming video feed as the auction takes place.
