The United States Government impounds and seizes vehicles that are used in the commission of a crime such as drug dealing, and also vehicles that are bought with the proceeds of a crime.
Several times a year, the government sells off the cars to the public, just to get rid of them.
The government has no investment in the vehicles, and does not expect to get a lot out of them.
These sales are called impounded car auctions.
There are many branches of the government that conduct these sales, from federal agencies, to local police departments.
The sales happen in all fifty states, so the government does not have to transport the vehicles to one place to sell them, they are sold at or around the lot they are stored in.
A benefit of this is that you can find impound auctions in your local area.
When you go to a sale, you have an opportunity to inspect the vehicles before the auction, to check for any problems that may cause the vehicle to be unsafe or unreliable.
If you are not mechanically inclined, you should bring someone who is, to check out the vehicle for you.
When the bidding starts, it starts low.
The winning bidder takes the car home, regardless of how low his bid is.
Most cars sell for a couple of thousand less then what they are worth, but some sell for a lot less than that.
Police impound car auctions are a great place to get a nice, safe, reliable car for a price that you can afford.