Q: What are the top sources for inventory at a car auction?
A: Finance and Off lease vehicles comprise the top inventory source at a car auction.
Below is a table listing the various car inventory sources by seller at a dealer auction.
| Vehicle Inventory Sources at Auction | ||
| 1 | Captive Finance / Off Lease | 31.86% |
| 2 | Dealer Consigned / Trade-In | 21.62% |
| 3 | Wholesale Units / Repo | 14.42% |
| 4 | Non-captive Finance / Off Lease | 13.16% |
| 5 | Fleet / Demo Vehicles | 8.55% |
| 6 | Manufacturer / Corporate | 5.30% |
| 7 | Retired Rental Cars | 4.84% |
| 8 | Other | 0.24% |
- Captive Finance / Off Lease
These are vehicles sold by a finance or leasing company, example BMW Finance, Honda Car Finance and GMAC - Dealer Consigned / Trade-In
These are vehicles taken on trade at the dealership level. Dealers don’t retail most trades; they often dispose of them at auction. - Wholesale Unite / Repo
These are vehicles repossessed from a buyer who failed to make his monthly payment. Independent companies are in the repo business as most large financial institutions sell accounts to vehicle recovery outfits. - Non-Captive Finance / Off Lease
Many banks or credit unions now offer car leases. These are often at a higher rate and on specialty vehicles. - Fleet or Demo Vehicles
These are vehicles that were part of a private company’s company fleet, Uber fleet for example, or, cars operated by a dealer as loaner or manager demo. - Manufacturer or Corporate
Many car manufacturers offer their executives a company car, these are normally late model cars and usually sold after 1 or 2 years of service. - Retired Rental Cars
These are cars that were operated as a daily rental vehicle at airports or for collision replacement. Most car rental car companies, however, offer a closed sale to affiliated car dealerships, for example, Enterprise rent a car sells retired rentals to Enterprise Car sales.
