Sometimes when people want to buy a good pre-owned car for a low price they go to government-sponsored automobile auctions. Because the government is not allowed to make a profit on the cars it auctions off, there are plenty of opportunities for people to find incredible deals at government car auctions.

Most of the cars sold at government auctions have been seized from people who for one reason or another were unable to make payments on their cars. These cars are then repossessed by the lending institutions or banks that provided the automobile loans that were used to buy the cars in the first place. Other automobiles that are sold at government auctions come from people who failed to pay their income tax or other taxes and do not have the cash to pay the government what is owed. The government then liquidates part of the tax cheat's estate and takes possession of items such as cars. A third way cars come to government auctions is if they belong to a criminal and are taken by the government as a result of a criminal procedure. Sometimes the automobiles sold at government-sponsored car auctions are old fleet cars that were used by the various branches of government.

With the exception of the government fleet cars, it is often difficult to ascertain information regarding the history or a car being sold at a government auction. Often, there is no way a person can find out who owned the car before it was seized, why the car was seized and is now in the hands of the government, and what the maintenance record on the car is. While it may be possible to do a background check based on a car's vehicle identification number (VIN), it is often difficult to get a really good picture of the condition of a car that is sold at government automobile auction.

In the days and weeks leading up to some government-sponsored car auctions, customers are allowed to examine the cars, trucks, SUVs and automobiles that will be sold at the auction. However, other government-sponsored automobile auctions where seized and repossessed vehicles are sold do not let people examine the cars closely before they are sold.

Car dealerships often send representatives to government auctions in order to buy pre-owned cars at low prices. These auto dealerships will then usually sell the cars they buy at car auctions for prices much higher than those they paid for the vehicles.

Like all auctions, customers at government-sponsored automobile auctions must place bids on how much they are willing to pay for the car on the auction block. Whoever makes the highest bid for a car sold at a car auction gets the car. While it is next to impossible to get an automobile loan for the exact amount one pays for a car at a government-sponsored vehicle auction, it is possible to get a loan for a specified amount before one heads off to the auction.

It is not unusual for high-end and luxury cars to be sold at government-sponsored car auctions, although most of the cars sold are the normal trucks, cars and SUVs one sees everyday on the road.