I went to an IRS auction today for a 2001 Boxster. This isn't like a regular auto auction, the Boxster was the only item being auctioned off. The car was in good shape and only had about ~10k miles. The car was towed in as the they are not allowed to drive it for liability reasons. However, they did run the car a few feet back and forth in the parking lot to show that it worked. The car needed to be jumpered as well.
I knew I wasn't going to have a chance at buying it, because there was about 50 bidders present. Given the risk of buying a car without a PPI or even test driving it, I figured the most I would bid would be $16k-- about $1k less than the trade in value.
Well, to my surprise the car sold for $25,500. This is well above the retail price. I guess some people just got caught up in the hype of the auction.
Here's the link --if its still active.
2001 Porsche Boxter; VIN WP0CA29841U620634;
irs link