Charles Welch is a dying breed.
His feet scraped slightly against the gravel and he shivered from the mixture of rain and snow that fell as he spoke.
“I’ve been coming here for more than 20 years,” he said. “I mostly come to see if there are any old muscle cars, but each year it gets harder to find anything good. Now you have to get in with the [car] dealers if you really want something.”
In the distance, the auction began and a crowd moved to gather around the first vehicles to be bid on.
Welch did not seem to notice. Spending most of his career working in an auto body shop, and having attended more vehicle auctions then he can remember, he had already decided on the car he would be bidding on. He referred to it as “a genuine power car.”
“It’s a gamble. You might get a car that works perfect, or it might not run at all,” he said. “It’s part of the fun.”
There can be little doubt that there are numerous bargains to be found at vehicle auctions, with many selling for less than $1000. Who actually benefits from these sales, however, is much harder to tell.
“I would say about 35 percent of the cars at auctions can be driven off the lot,” Welch said.
For those searching for a new vehicle, such low figures do not bode well. After adding in the cost of towing the vehicle and getting it repaired, it often ends up being a much more expensive investment then previously thought.
This is “buyer-beware” at its finest.
Still, there is a positive side to buying a vehicle at government auctions.
“There’s a car down the aisle that has a whole bunch of stuff in it,” Welch said. “I don’t even want the car, I just want the stuff. Sometimes these auctions are about looking for treasure.”
Once a month, the Vehicle Audit Unit of Prince Georges County’s Department of Environmental Resources holds a vehicle auction at its location in Upper Marlboro.
Last Friday, the auction was held at its 9:30 a.m. regular starting time, and approximately 100 people braved the weather to find a bargain from over 400 vehicles.
“I look forward to this every month,” Welch said. “More and more places are moving their auctions online. If you don’t have a computer, you’re out.”
Welch admitted to trying the online auctions, but gave up after finding them too impersonal.
“I’ve been to several auctions,” said Brian Walton, of Upper Marlboro. “I usually look around for myself or friends. There are always a few cars I find interesting.”
Although most who attended were regulars, a few were newcomers to the auction scene.
“This is my first auction,” said James McCall. “I drive down this road every day, and I saw the sign for the auction. I figured I could use a new truck.”
For Welch, though, the auctions are a way to make money. If he can purchase a car cheap enough, it can either be fixed up and resold at a higher price, or gutted for parts.