You can find police impounded cars for sale through various sources, but almost all vehicles are sold through live or online car auctions. There are a number of online membership services that provide you access to these auctions, but not all of them provide a good service.

When I was looking for a cheap car for sale (Subaru Outback), one that was fairly new (1-3 year old), I didn't know where to go exactly, and that's how I started researching sources that would allow me to get access to these secretly "hidden" car auctions.

Although there are about a dozen online services claiming to provide access to a large number of live auto auctions and have great car listing search features, only a few deliver this promise... I learned the hard way.

Recently I found this site reviewing memberships sites giving access to auctions on impounded cars for sale. It's http://impoundedcarsforsale.org.

This organization seems to have spent time reviewing a handful of sites, and rated them according to relevant criteria, like auction coverage, prices, auction guidance...etc. It is worth to check this site out first before committing to any service, as you will know which one corresponds to your needs.

You also get additional how-to info and tips on what to do and what to watch out for to maximize your savings, when you sign-up to their free auction course.

Finally, I also liked the information I found on wikipedia about impounded car auctions: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impounded_vehicle_auction

I would love to get your feedback if you found the site useful. If I find more info on other sources I will update this hub.

Good luck!

Jenny

 Many of the cars for sale at police impound auctions end up there 'cause parking tickets or speeding tickets will not have been paid and the car has been seized to cover those moneys owed. In other occurrences, these seized cars are taken in either by the bank or the police 'cause their owners have failed to honor their mortgage dues or not settled their taxes with the government.

In a nutshell, to reduce storing and maintenance costs, police or government agencies are letting impounded cars be put up for sale at vehicle auctions with incredibly low starting bids. This inventory has to clear fast, so  the majority of items do not have any reserve or minimum price. Hence bidding can start as low as $100 on even like-new cars.