Picture yourself relaxing at home in front of your computer, scoping out photos of thousands of cars - one of which has a good probability of being your next car. That's because you're going to buy it at public car auctions. Many people who can't afford to buy cars from dealers or used car lots, can pick up pretty good bargains at public car auctions. However, in order to make sure you car remains a bargain - bring a mechanic friend with you to the auction! Once you buy that car it's yours, so you'll want to make sure, as far as possible, that everything is in working order.

All cars purchased at public car auctions must be paid in full - so bring cash with you, or a credit card. You'll also need to bring your driver's license with you - because once you buy that car you're going to need to fill out forms for title and registration - everything's just like buying a car from a dealer, you can't drive it off the lot until it's legally in your name, and you've got insurance for it.

So you're going to be spending some time at the end of the auction filling out paper work - be prepared for that and don't sweat it. What do you do if you don't have a mechanic friend? Well, be very aware of where these cars are coming from - you might want to be a bit wary of cars from Louisiana or Mississippi, states where water damage from hurricanes and floods have taken their toll from quite a few cars that are now on the market for the unsuspecting buyer!

That's one reason why you might want to restrict your buying to government car auctions - there's usually less wear-and-tear on pre-owned vehicles from the government's fleet - but then, they'll also go for higher prices.