Off-line car auctions are great places to buy cheap cars. Particularly nowadays, with a great number of people unfortunately being unable to make their auto-loan payments, repossessed car auctions or even a government car auction can become very popular. Now, if you're new to all this, here's a good way to find great deals:

1- Look for as many auctions as possible in your area or within your state. If you can find auctions with just a few attendees, your chances of getting a great deal obviously improve.

2- Go to a few auctions beforehand. Study the rules; see how to check the condition, history and title of a car, and who the key players are in your area ( they'll be mainly car dealers ).

3- Study what these dealers do and follow their lead. These are mostly professionals with tons of experience. Furthermore, you'll see that car dealers usually set an aprox. price for a certain model and year and they don't go beyond that. The good thing is that, since you're buying a vehicle for yourself, you can go a little higher on your bids and still have a great deal.

4- Know how much you can spend considering all costs, and never go beyond that.