BBid Like A Dealer and Buy at Dealers’ Prices

You will never want to buy a car another way!  We can provide you with proxy access to dealers-only auctions where all used car dealers acquire their inventory.  As authorized dealers, we have access to over 15,000 cars each week—cars that you cannot normally access, except from dealers’ lots with marked-up prices.  Now, you can bid on the car you want for the amount you’d like to pay, and reap the substantial money-saving benefits of auction-style purchasing. 

We know that most auctions can be scary, but at a dealers-only auction, in accordance with a full disclosure policy requirement, the auctioneer must announce any adverse conditions known about the vehicles.  For example, if a car was in a flood, an accident, or has mechanical problems, that must be disclosed prior to the start of bidding, or the buyer has the right to arbitrate for their money back.  You have protection against unknowingly buying a “lemon.”  By offering you a chance to bid at a dealers-only auction, we are passing along very substantial savings per car, usually in the thousands of dollars for a typical vehicle.  Cars at these restricted-access auctions generally range from fire/flood/accident-damaged cars which sell for around $100, up to high-performance beauties like $200,000+ Aston Martins or other exotic cars, depending on the location and type of auction.  So, if you are looking for a specific car with mileage limitations, interior/exterior color combinations, option requirements, or any other specification, we can find that car for you.  We will also provide you with a one-year warranty on that car, to help alleviate your fears about bidding on an auction car.  [Many of the newer cars still have an existing factory warranty, and some even come with “Free maintenance” for the remainder of the factory warranty.]  For PA buyers, you can have us perform the State Inspection and Emissions testing, or you can have your own service station take care of that requirement.  And that’s not all.  For certain buyers, we can even provide financing for your new car.  If desired, we will also provide you with wholesale and retail prices and, when available, the price of a similar vehicle currently listed for sale on someone else’s lot.

The featured cars on our list are not the only cars that you have an opportunity to buy, but they are cars that were scrutinized and hand picked by our staff.  Each of these featured cars comes with a condition report that gives complete information about the car. Typically, we feature late-model cars with existing factory warranties with fewer than 50,000 miles.  All featured cars have pictures.  If you are interested in a car that isn’t on our featured car list, just fill out our GetMyNewCar form and we’ll begin work on finding that car immediately.

Why are these cars being sold at auction?  The reason these cars are at the auction range from: the vehicle is off-lease, it was a trade-in and the dealer accepting the trade doesn’t sell that make or model, a dealer is rotating his inventory, it was repossessed, or many other reasons.  Nearly every car you see on a car lot went through an auction at some point in its existence.

Can I inspect the car before I bid?  Because it is a restricted dealers-only auction, end-users are not permitted on the auction premises, so you cannot personally inspect the cars before the sale.

Are the cars clean?  The cars are usually “detailed” by the seller/auction house before the sale, so you will be getting a clean car.  Our bidders closely scrutinize the car before and during the auction to assure that you get a clean car with above-average condition.

Can I request a non-smokers car?  Absolutely.  We can usually tell right away whether the previous owner was a smoker, either from the smell or the existence of burn holes.    Although that aspect is usually hard to tell from the available condition reports, some have that information provided.  Usually, a smoker’s car sells for less than a non-smoker’s car.

Can I get any make or model that was ever made?  Model T Fords are hard to get!  The auctions usually have 15-year-old cars and newer.  However, at exotic sales there are occasions where older models and collectors’ cars are sent through.  We usually know about a week ahead of time.

Can I come to the auction with your buyers?  The dealers-only auction is restricted to dealers. It is not open to the public. Unless you have a dealers ID, you can’t get past the front door.

What kind of guarantee do I get that I don’t get a car that has previous problems? All the cars sold at auction have to have full disclosure.  Meaning, if there is anything wrong with the car, it must be disclosed.  Even something as minor as there is only one key must be disclosed by the auctioneer.  All conditions are announced when the car is listed for sale a week or so before an auction.

How do I pay for it?  We only accept certified funds, just like if you were buying a car on a typical car lot.  We can also provide financing, without adding a service fee to the package.

Is there a deposit necessary?  We require a 10% deposit.  The deposit will be used as partial payment for the vehicle, or it will be returned to you if we don’t win the bid at the dealers-only auction. The deposit will not be returned if we won the car and you cannot/refuse to pay the remaining 90% of your bid. 

How soon after the sale do I get my car?  Typically within two days, but some things that could delay delivery are:  if you want us to perform the PA state inspection and emissions tests, or if the title isn’t present at the auction, or if you want your car shipped to you, or you delay payment of the remaining 90% of the car balance.

What if I need the car inspected in PA?  If you want us to do the PA Inspection and Emissions tests, we do that at our service center.  You can, however, have it done wherever you like. As soon as the title is passed to you, it is your car.

What if I want the car inspected outside of PA?  Cars that need inspection outside of PA have to be done by you, the buyer.  We are not certified/authorized to perform other State inspections.

Does the warranty cover everything?  Our warranties cover all major components except normal “wear items” like windshield wipers, brake pads, bulbs, tires, etc.

Is the warranty good everywhere?  The warranty is good throughout the United States, and it stays with the car, regardless of where you are or who you sell it to, if you decide to do that.

How can you offer to sell these cars in this manner?  You get to pick what you want, not what we guess you might want.  This minimizes our involvement and handling, and allows us to pass on considerable savings to you.  Your bid price will cover our costs.  Because thousands of cars go through the auction every week, you should be able to find the car you are looking for with relative ease at thousands below the retail price.

Am I guaranteed to get the car for the price I bid?   No.  At the auction, thousands of dealers attend, so your best bid through us may not be the best bid at the auction.  We would like you to win the bid at the auction, but we will not raise your bid without authorization.  Prior to the actual auction, if you would like guidance on how much to bid, we will provide you with the average price for that make/model from previous auctions.  The more information you have, the more likely it is that you will make a good decision.  We will offer as much guidance as you would like.

What if I want a different car than you have on your featured car list?  We, as dealers, have access to every make and model you see on the road today.  You can request from us any make/model you are interested in.  If we can find a car (or cars) that meet your specifications, we will gladly supply you with all condition reports we have access to for those cars as well.  Since this is the most effective and efficient way to purchase a car in your behalf, we want you to have as much information as possible.

Can I trade in my car as a down payment?  Yes, we can accept your car as a down payment; however, we will probably end up selling your car at a public auction, so we can generally only offer minimal wholesale or true (not inflated) trade-in value for your car.  You could probably get a higher price selling it on your own.  We’ll tell you what we can legitimately offer, and then you can decide.

When do I have to make a decision to buy the car I bid on?  When you send your 10% deposit to us and give us permission to act on your behalf at the auction, you are making a commitment to buy.  There are likely many others on our website who are hoping to win the same car, so out of a sense of fairness to them, once we accept your deposit, we tell all other bidders that we can no longer accept bids for that car.

Do I have to pick-up the car or can it be delivered?  You can either pick-up your car, or we will have it delivered.  Obviously, to get the best deal possible, we try to cut the costs as much as possible.  Any arrangement can be made for the delivery of the car.

How are taxes and tags handled?  You are responsible for taxes and tags.  In Pennsylvania, they must be taken care of  before we transfer the title.  In other states, you must pay them in order to register the car in that state.

Will the same car be available next week?  Possibly.  Not every car is sold at the auction, since the seller may not accept the highest bid as sufficient.  The seller may “re-run” the car the following week, may try a different auction, or may put it back on his lot.  There is no telling where the car is going.  Similar cars may be available, but not necessarily the same car.

When is the actual dealers-only auction?  Nationally, auctions are held on a weekly basis, Monday through Friday except holidays. To simplify matters, we offer vehicles only for the Thursday and Friday auctions (that’s about 15,000 cars a week).  That’s a lot of cars.

When will I know if I won the car at the dealers-only auction?  If you win the bid at the auction, ThatsMyNewCar.com will notify you the day of the auction, either through a phone call from the auction site or our in-house staff will email you with the good news.

Are other people bidding on the cars at the same time I am?  On our website, there are many people looking to bid on the cars.  If your bid is the highest bid we receive, we will let you know that we need your 10% deposit; upon receipt, we then take your bid to the auction to compete in your behalf against hundreds of other dealers.

Why don’t I automatically get the car if I was the highest bidder on your website?  Unlike on eBay, we don’t own the cars.  We are merely acting as your proxy to bid against other dealers at the auction.  This is your opportunity to save thousands of dollars on a car, and you control how much you are willing to spend.

Can I finance the car through your company?  If you have good credit, we may be able to help finance your new car.  We would need 20% deposit instead of 10% and an application before we bid at the dealers-only auction.

Can I bid on more than 1 car at a time?  You can bid on as many cars as you would like, as long as you are able to provide the required 10% down for each vehicle you “win” the bidding for.

I will be looking for a car in a few months, can I place an order for a certain car to be bought later?  You can track the makes/models you are interested in and request the list of sold cars of that type.  We will follow up with you until you are ready to purchase your new car, but we do not take orders to be filled months ahead of time.

What is my best chance of getting the car I want at the price I want?  By being prepared and being realistic.  Know what similar cars are selling for, know what you can afford to pay, and bid only as high as you are willing to go.  Ask for our help on pricing, or go to someone else you have faith in.  Establish what the car is worth TO YOU.

How many dealers are at these auctions?  There are thousands of dealers at any given auction.

How many dealers will be bidding against my bid?  We have no way of knowing if there are going to be any competing bids, or dozens of competing bids.  It depends on the popularity of that car at that time, and how high the bid is.  Each dealer wants to be able to make money on the resale.

How close to the “wholesale” price are the cars sold at?  It varies.  Sometimes the prices are higher, sometimes the prices are lower, and sometimes they sell for the exact wholesale price.  It all depends on the popularity and condition of the car, and what the seller is willing to accept.

What if I don’t want the car after I won the bid?  After we receive your 10% deposit and win the car at the dealer’s auction, you must buy the car, or you forfeit the 10% deposit.  We don’t buy on speculation--we buy only what you want.

Do you represent more than one person on the same car at the auction?  No.  We only represent one person per car at the auction.

Why do I need to give you a deposit before the auction?   The reason we need a 10% deposit is to assure us that you want the car that we are purchasing on your behalf.  If you “change your mind” after-the-fact, then we own a car you wanted, but we may not have another buyer for that car.

Do I get my deposit back if I don’t win at the auction?  Your deposit will be returned to you if our bid on your behalf isn’t the winning bid at the auction, unless you want to use that deposit for another bid on another car.

Can I get a referral fee for referring others to you who buy a car?  We will give you 5% toward your next car purchase or $100 for each person who purchases a car through our service.

Where can I get my new car serviced after the sale?  It’s your car, you can get it serviced anywhere you would like.