Q: What kind of cars can I get?
A: More than 15,000 cars a week are sold at local dealer only auctions each week. We specialize in buying late model, low mileage, off lease vehicles. These cars are sold by the financing divisions of the major automobile manufacturers (ex: Toyota Motor Credit, BMW Motor Credit, Nissan Motor Credit etc). We deal with cars, trucks and SUVs all the time,  mobile homes and even boats sometimes.

Q: What are the advantages of buying through you?
A: Our prices are dealers only auction prices. We charge a flat fee over
costs, we are helpful and low pressure. Our advice is not colored by making more money on one car than another since we only charge a flat fee over costs. Finally, we are very straight, especially for this industry and a large portion of our business comes from people who have previously bought vehicles from us.

Q: Where do you buy your vehicles?
A: Primarily at dealers only auctions,the same place where the big Ford, Chevy, Toyota, Lexus, Infiniti, Mitsubishi, etc dealers buy their cars. We stand shoulder to shoulder with them buying the same cars with the same quality and the same warrantees and guarantees.

Q: How is the quality of your vehicles?
Most of the vehicles we buy are less than 3 years old, usually 2 to 3 years off lease low mileage excellent conditioned clean titled vehicles. Many have some portion of the original factory warrantees left on them or seller guarantees on the engine, drive train, frame and title. Most are in “Front Line Ready “ condition.

Q: Why are your prices so low?
Because our overhead costs are minimal. Major dealerships have huge costs, rent on a large lot and building, and flooring costs on cars. Their biggest cost may well be depreciation of their stock of vehicles as their inventory ages. They have scores and scores of employees, salesmen, sales managers, etc who need to be paid and that pay comes out of people like you. We work one on one, and have no such people and hence charge only one flat fee and keep the costs low to customers like you.

Q: What kind of warranty do you give?
Most of the cars we buy come with a manufacture’s warranty.  These warranties are good usually for 36,000 miles on cars and trucks and may go up to 60,000 miles on luxury vehicles. These warranties are put forth by the manufacturer of the vehicles such as Ford, GM, Toyota, etc. They essentially cover the vehicle bumper to bumper and are scrupulously serviced by the manufacturer. Factory Warranties will take care of problems from a blown engine to a broken door handle knob. Detroit, Tokyo or Berlin guarantees the vehicle, not the auction, not the seller and not us. This is as safe as you can get. You automatically take over the remainder of the existing warranty on cars you buy.

Q: How many of your customers have had problems with the cars they purchased in the last few years?
A: Four in the last 4 years and all were settled successfully.

Q. What is your typical customer like?
A: Most of our customers are professionals with more than one degree. We sell an equal amount of vehicles to males and females. They are attorneys, physicians, engineers (lots of engineers, usually picky ones), dean of schools, graduate students and lots of independent business people. We also sell reliable but less expensive cars to single moms on budgets with kids, retired school teachers, young girls/boys getting their first vehicle, kids of previous customers and guys just trying to keep costs down.

Q: What are typical costs in buying a car with you?
A: Here is a list of probable expenses which the customer will be financially responsible for. You would pay these anyhow no matter whom you bought the vehicle from, dealer or private party.
Vehicle base price: The cost of the vehicle for which we got the car at auction
Auction buyer fee: tacked on by the auction to cover their costs and
paid by all buyers, in the order of $150-350 depending on car price.
Taxes: In California this depends on the county, usually between 7.75 %
in Orange County, to 8.25% in Los Angeles County. Out-of-state buyers pay
their own state taxes and licensing.
Licensing and Registration: Whatever the due DMV fees are, from a minimum of $30 for a simple transfer on a vehicle with time left on the sticker, to a full term registration cost approaching 3% of vehicle price thanks to our friends in Sacramento. Higher costs if there are penalties.
Smog: A full-blown-go-over-everything-look at the vehicle includes a test drive by our mechanic, a frame damage check, a safety check, a smog and
whatever other evaluations need to be done costs $150.
Transportation fee:  $100 to transport from the auction to our mechanic
Document fee: SD Auto charges $55 to do all the paperwork involved in registration and transfer of the vehicle. You don’t go to DMV, we go and
we take care of ALL the problems
SD Auto Enterprise fees:
$1000 for a vehicle priced below $15,000
$1100 for a vehicle priced between $15,001 and $20,000
$1200 for a vehicle priced between $20,001 and $25,000
$1300 for a vehicle priced between $25,001 and $30,000
$1400 for a vehicle priced between $30,001 and $35,000
$1500 for a vehicle priced between $35,001 and $40,000
And an additional $100 for each $5,000 over $45,000
The bottom line is that the customer agrees to pay for all the costs for the vehicle and our fees.The list above is typically what is encountered. Total cost is typically estimated as the cost for the vehicle plus about 11% for others not including our fees. The real bottom line is that you will save about $3000 over buying at a commercial lot.
SD Auto Enterprise customarily receives a 20% down payment before it agrees to buy a vehicle for a customer. If a vehicle is not purchased, 100% of this down payment is returned. If the vehicle is purchased, 100% of this down is used for the associated costs of the purchase. The down payment is not refundable if the purchaser does not want the agreed upon purchased vehicle or is not able to complete all the financial and legal elements of the transaction in a timely manner.

Q:  Can I preview the vehicles or am I buying blind?
A: The auctions are dealers only. Inspection sheets and photos may be available before the sale. Talk to us for more details. The morning of the sale the cars are open with the keys in them. We thoroughly inspect your vehicle picks and call you before the sale begins.

Q:  What is the typical procedure of how things work with you?
A: The process is real simple. We can do everything over email. Here is how it works:

• You tell us what kind of cars you like: make, model, color preferences, engine type, anything you like to have on car and budget
• We send you comparables from previous auctions to give you an idea of what kind of cars you can get for the preferences you have. We also send you a list of upcoming inventory you can peruse and decide up on.
• You look at the list and shortlist the vehicles.
• We send you more details on those cars including photos and pre-sale inspection reports
• You check the carfax for the interested cars
• You and us agree up on the cars to go after
• You authorize us to buy the cars and quote a “not-to-exceed price” and cut us a check for 20% of that amount as deposit
• We go to auction and get the car for you
• You get us the rest of money
• We register and release the title to you

It is simple and straightforward.

Q:  Great! I think I am ready to deal with you. How can we start?
A: Again, its simple. Send us an email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with you preferences or call us at 858-603-7561. We will be glad to hear from you.?