US and Foreign
Automotive
Parts and
Accessories
|
|
| |
 |
 |
|
Purchasing a vehicle or looking for car parts?
An automobile (or motor car) is a wheeled passenger vehicle that carries its own motor. Most definitions of the term specify that automobiles are designed to run primarily on roads, to have seating for one to seven people, typically have four wheels and be constructed principally for the transport of people rather than goods. However, the term is far from precise.
As of 2002, there were 590 million passenger cars worldwide (roughly one car for every eleven people), of which 140 million were in the U.S. (roughly one car for every two people).
Millions of vehicles are sold at dealer auto auctions every year. These auctions are restricted for the general public and only licensed dealers can participate. Prices of vehicles sold at dealer auctions tend to be lower than those advertised on any dealer.s lot. Sellers forgo a potentially higher sticker price to take their inventory to a dealer auction where it will be auctioned off for thousands less than retail for a number of reasons.
Maintaining aging inventory costs dealers both money and reputation. However, old or otherwise unattractive inventory accounts for a miniscule portion of the cars sold at auctions. The large part of vehicles sold at dealer auctions is comprised of off-lease returns, replaced rental fleets, company cars, repossessed vehicles and trade-ins.
Trade-in: dealer inventory that is aging or does not meet their profile (e.g., an old Toyota Avalon that was traded in for a new CLK350 Cabriolet at a Mercedes-Benz franchised dealership). Traded-in cars may have useful extras and sometimes even after market modifications. The overall condition of such vehicles varies greatly. Some may be considerably older and out of warranty.
Among these types of vehicles there are a number of quality cars ready to market. Late models with remaining factory warranty are not uncommon. The law requires listing dealers to disclose bigger mechanical problems, which may void the manufacturer.s warranty and classify the vehicle as junk, salvage, lemon/consumer buy-back, etc. There are special auctions for these types of vehicles (salvage, rebuilt or junk vehicles), sold mostly by insurance companies. Other types of auctions specialize in the sale of police or government cars; some of those actually allow public access.
Pricing: Regardless of their source, vehicles are sent to auction with the main purpose to be sold quickly and hassle-free, and this usually happens at prices that dealers can easily recoup with a small profit from a resale. Contrary to popular belief, cars seldom sell for unreasonably low prices at the dealer auctions. This may happen if there are not enough interested bidders or if the vehicle is exceptionally unattractive and should not be taken for granted. Many sellers put reserve prices on their stock specifically to prevent this from happening. The reserve price is not disclosed publicly and a .winning. auction bid is only considered a sale if the reserve price is met. Sellers have the option to re-list vehicles that did not sell at a particular auction.
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
| |
Copyright ©2003 ShopSLMS.com
|
|
|
|
