Auctions are a customary way for used cars to get to the marketplace.  Many are private affairs, limited only to licensed dealers.  Still, if you’re intrigued by the idea of hitting a public car auction, in hopes of finding a great value on a pre-owned car, the good news is that there are several to choose from in nearly every part of the country.  The bad news is that they can be difficult to locate.

Many public car auctions do little advertising.  They tend to rely on regular customers, word-of-mouth and small newspaper ads to spread the word.  While some auctions do have websites that are search engine friendly, they tend to be in the minority.  Web Searches for specific auctions can be a slow process, because it’s an industry with numerous small, geographically diverse businesses.  Instead, it pays to invest the time to look for auction databases.  It’s a good idea to subscribe to more than one, to increase your odds of finding all the auctions nearest you.  Try to find those with zip code searches and additional resource information, to narrow your search most efficiently.