"My minivan sold for how much?" My client asked, flashing a look of delight, surprise and slight disbelief. We politely reassured her that, yes, her para-transit minivan was sold at the previous week's Manheim Auto Auction for twice the sale price we anticipated. The minivan was originally acquired for $40,000, and the Mannheim Auction's "Condition Report" came back with some minor maintenance issues. This put our expectations at somewhere between $6,000 and $8,000. At the end of the day, Caritas received an e-mail from Manheim stating that the proposed highest bid was $14,600. Our client gladly accepted the offer.
I tell that story because it demonstrates the potential benefits of not only selling your car at an auction, but coordinating with a Fleet Management Company in the disposition process. Working with a company like Caritas Vehicle Services benefits your Community by providing you with access to the proper channels of sale for used vehicles, as well as accurate, real-time data for evaluating a vehicle's net worth. Finally, our Fleet Management Experts have decades of experience selling cars at auto auctions. Only on the rarest occasion will we sell to a used car dealer, so this experience serves us--and you--well!
But how does an auction work?
Manheim Auctions is the largest national auto auction. A sizable, live crowd shows up to auctions that happen every week in nearly every region of the U.S. In addition, each auction is live-video-streamed on the internet to reach used car dealers from across the country, who make their bids online.
Before you can sell at an auction, you need to acquire a dealer's license. Caritas Vehicle Services is a licensed car dealer in the U.S. & Canada, and has participated in these auctions since the company was founded. First, we set a floor price for the bidding, and the first bid is usually $1,000 or more over this set price. Once the auction closes, the Auctioneer e-mails Caritas with the highest bid of the week. If it does not meat the goals that we have established with your Community, we will simple deny the offer and re-enter the vehicle in the next week's auction.
Caritas has experienced over time that utilizing national auction network results in higher sale prices (20% - 50%) and higher net returns to the Community. This makes sense when you consider that auctions bring together multiple buyers who engage in a Bidding process versus the trade-in process which asks one party what he or she is willing to pay.
Here are a few important requirements of the re-marketing process:
» Have a Dealer's License (which Caritas does).
» Have experience at auto auctions.
» Have accurate, real-time data for evaluating the vehicle's condition
» Obtained via most recent maintenance reports and Manheim's "Condition Report", which is provided to Caritas prior to setting a floor price.
» Representing the vehicle as an individual asset. This ensures you get every dollar that the car is worth.
» Acquiring and selling vehicles as separate transactions.
Overall, our main goal is to maximize your vehicle's best value. It is a job much easier to do at a national auto auction than on Criagslist or putting a "For Sale" sign in the window and leaving your car by the side of a highway.
For more information on the re-marketing process, Contact Caritas Here! Otherwise, stay tuned for more blog articles on how we like to save you money!
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Always peace, love & happiness, and have a great rest of your week!
