Government Auto Auction

Every month, the United States seizes thousands of vehicles and sells them at a government auto auction. These vehicles are seized through several agencies including the IRS, DEA, FBI and local and state police departments. In the end, these agencies have a lot of confiscated, lost or abandoned property that must be sold to the highest bidder.

The purpose of the government auto auction is two-fold. First, they want to empty out their property rooms which, in the case of some state and federal agencies, may be the size of a warehouse. Second, they want to turn this unclaimed or forfeited property into cash. This cash usually goes back into the agency's budget, but it is sometimes earmarked for the particular government's "general fund". No matter where the money ends up, government auto auctions are usually a big money raiser for larger departments.

How does the government end up with this merchandise?

Forfeited property is generally the result of drug arrests, tax evasion or some other form of criminal activity where it was determined that it should be seized. While it is common for this to happen, the government agencies do not want to be a storage unit.

Many people make $1000’s of dollars every year by attending a government auto auction and turning around and selling what they have bought. Others go to these public auctions to find a personal vehicle to keep. Whatever the case is, there are literally thousand of vehicles auctioned off every year to the public.

So how does someone find a government auto auction?

The most reliable source we have found for buying seized property from the government is Gov-Auctions.org. Here is a recent review of Gov-Auctions with some customer feedback.