Car Bargains At Auctions From The City Of New York
In the somewhat odd and spooky neighborhood of Red Hook, in Brooklyn there are regular car auctions held, which please many and torture others. People who owe as little as $200 to the city for parking tickets have their care impounded, and have a limited time to get it back. They have to pay the back tickets plus an additional fine and storage fee. If they dont it goes out on the auction block. The Sheriffs department auctions off over 10,000 cars. Other cars are seized from drunk and even overly aggressive drivers. With bidding starting at $50, bargains are to be had. This seems to be a regular event with buyers buying and reselling the cars. You have to buy them first, and then hope that the motor will start. At least theres a gritty sense of truth in advertising there. No Carfax reports to reassure you that it was always a car in good shape. Theres no used car dealer to tell you stories about the little old lady who never even drove down the highway, and just drove around the neighborhood to go shopping and she her grandkids. In this auction, what you see is what you get.
Another unique feature of the New York Auction is they dont seem to take the time to clean the vehicle, neither the outside, nor the inside and the truck. One buyer complained about an ashtray full of marijuana roaches. This is enough weed to get me busted the young female buyer complained. Other items found recently in the trunks of auctioned off cars were a pair of leather boots, and some hot stereo equipment. The one complaint of the young man, who bought the vehicles, was that the boots in it were the wrong size. These cars are usually towed off the streets of NY, so anything is possible. One buyer was overjoyed to be able to drive off in a vintage 1994 Toyota Celica that he bought for only $350. I thought I would need a tow truck to get it out of the lot. I had another $1,000 saved up to repair the thing, but I guess it doesnt need it. A bunch of manned and ready tow trucks stand outside of the auction, ready to tow any winners car to its destination, its new home. While bargains are available for only hundreds of dollars, some of the regulars have pockets of cash, ready to make bids as high as $20,000 for late model luxury items. |