How Not to Get Scammed When Buying a Car
Last edit: June 14 2026 • 130 view
The most important thing when buying a car isn’t getting the cheapest price. It’s buying a good car.
We often hear from new customers who were scammed somewhere else before and are now afraid of buying at auction. And honestly, that’s understandable. Yes, you can buy a car very cheaply, but if you end up with a bad vehicle, it wasn’t really a good deal. So let’s talk about how to buy smart, avoid getting scammed, and end up with a vehicle you’ll actually be happy with.
Everyone knows they should check the vehicle history before placing a bid. For example, you might see a vehicle at auction and think it looks repairable if you can buy it at the good price.
Then you run the VIN through VIN.Doctor and see this:
You’d probably walk away from the deal, right? Honestly, that’s the easy part. Spending five minutes and a few bucks on a history report can save you a lot of headaches later. But what if the vehicle has no bad history? What if everything looks fine? How can you be more confident that you’re buying a good vehicle?
Just follow these simple rules.
Seller. This is one of the easiest things you can do. Just look at the seller information on the lot page. To make things easier, we color-code seller types.
If seller information isn’t available, that doesn’t automatically mean it’s a red flag. It simply means we don’t have reliable info about that seller. As a general rule, we recommend being more careful with sellers marked in red.
Pricing analysis. Our pricing analysis shows important information such as Bid to Win, Retail Price, Sale Status, and Seller Reserve.
Use this info to improve your chances of winning the vehicle at the right price. If you know the seller reserve, you can make a much smarter bidding decision. Most auction websites don’t provide this type of analysis because they want you to place as many bids as possible. We look at it differently. We want you to buy the good vehicle and have a good experience.
A happy customer is the best customer.
Title type. Everyone wants a clean title vehicle. But believe it or not, that’s not always the best choice. A clean title vehicle can easily cost 25-30% more than a similar vehicle with a salvage title. More importantly, clean title vehicles often have minor or no damage. Ask yourself a simple question: why is a vehicle with no damage being sold at auction? Of course, there are legitimate reasons. Some vehicles are donated, repossessed, or sold by banks and finance companies.
But if a vehicle has no visible damage and the seller is marked yellow or red, it may be worth taking a closer look. Sometimes sellers are simply trying to get rid of a vehicle that may have underlying issues. That’s not always the case, of course. But in many situations, a salvage title vehicle is actually the more honest option. You know what happened to it, you can often buy it for less, and you’re less likely to run into surprises later.
Full cost. We believe everything should be simple and transparent. Every lot page includes a price calculator. Just enter your bid amount and you’ll immediately see the estimated total cost. No extra fees. No surprise charges. No guessing.
The calculator shows auction fees, total vehicle cost, and even estimated shipping costs to your location.
Why is this important? Because the vehicle price is only part of the equation. For example, you might buy a vehicle for $1,000, but if it needs to be shipped 2,000 miles, transportation could cost more than the vehicle itself. We don’t want you to overpay, which is why we show these costs before you bid.
Follow these simple rules and you’ll do more than just find a good deal. You’ll buy a vehicle you’ll actually be happy with. And if you’re happy with your purchase, we’ll be happy knowing we helped.
