The sun beats down on the Israel Police auction yard near Nir Zvi. There's hardly any shade, and if you're looking for a breath of fresh air, there’s air conditioning in the offices at the far end of the yard. But this doesn’t seem to bother the customers wandering between the vehicles. This isn’t exactly a regular car sale fair with well-dressed salespeople wooing the clientele; it’s something more in the opposite direction – a used car sale through auction. And the people walking around here aren’t exactly the customers looking for their next family car. In fact, from a general impression walking around the yard, observing, and a bit of impolite eavesdropping on conversations, it's more akin to fishing in the sea than selecting a fish fillet in a supermarket. We’ll return to the fishing analogy later.
The yard we’re in is the new site where the police recently moved all vehicle sale operations for decommissioned service vehicles and seized vehicles. As mentioned, the sale is by auction – these are the vehicles, there’s a comprehensive list of maintenance history, a fairly general inspection report, you can examine the exterior, and from there it’s mostly a bidding process by the buyers.
The range here includes motorcycles and scooters, some after accidents, some in not bad condition at all. Basic cars like Toyota Yaris, vehicles used by officials like Hyundai i25, various patrol vehicles, SUVs like Mitsubishi Pajero and Toyota Land Cruiser, pickups, and vans. But not just drivable vehicles, there's also a long list of severely damaged patrol cars, those defined as total losses, meant to be sold to car dealers for dismantling only. With some, it’s not even clear what’s left to dismantle.
In addition, at the back of the yard, there are also vehicles that definitely didn’t serve the police but rather those they were supposed to chase – these are vehicles up for sale after being seized from traffic offenders, some of which, as you’ll see, are quite intriguing.
“All police vehicles, both operational and assigned, are maintained according to manufacturer instructions and on time,” says Zafrir Moise, former head of the police’s external garage inspection unit, probably the most authoritative source to talk about what these cars go through during their service period.
This is despite the image that sometimes forms of vehicles that come from fleet services, government fleets, and especially the police. This doesn’t mean the cars around me are in showroom condition; the reality in which operational vehicles work, at least, imposes tough service conditions on them.
For example, a 2018 Toyota Hilux with 457,000 kilometers, a 2017 Citroën Jumpy with 320,000 kilometers that overall survived well, accompanied by a 45-page vehicle log ending with a happy ending of an overheating engine issue resolved by replacing a torn coolant reservoir gasket.
There’s also a half-million-kilometer Skoda Superb, and we’re not sure if that sounds more or less than 500,000 kilometers. But another thing to remember is that it’s not necessarily the mileage but the engine hours, as a city patrol vehicle might not cover the same distances as a traffic patrol car in the Arava, but it can certainly experience long days of continuous engine operation.
“If a vehicle exceeded its maintenance schedule, the person responsible for the vehicle receives a note,” adds Zafrir. “Some operational vehicles are serviced even more frequently than the manufacturer’s recommendations. For example, instead of servicing every 15,000 kilometers, they do it every 10,000 or every 7,500 kilometers, depending on the model.”
What about accident history? It’s detailed in the vehicle’s inspection form but in a very general way, in the typical vague wording of such reports. “Complex accidents involving damage to radars or other safety systems are usually repaired in importers' garages. Other accidents are repaired in importers' garages or authorized garages,” with the repair shop's name noted in the vehicle log.
How to approach such a vehicle, what to check, and how – that’s a topic deserving of its own article, and it will come. But for now, we went to mainly check what’s offered here and whether there are any opportunities.
There’s really no way to confirm or dismiss conspiracy theories about price coordination among car dealers who participate in these auctions, but it’s worth mentioning that a car dealer who moves dozens of units per year at such auctions likely has the means and ability to do “realignments” at prices that a private individual would find hard to match.
This means the dealer is working on a fishing net method, and even if he catches a few cars requiring relatively high investment, the overall profit from the sale offsets that. On the other hand, the individual buyer looking for the best specimen will have no choice but to pay a relatively high price for a well-maintained car or one with favorable data.
“There are many dealers who come to the auctions and offer quite high prices. Especially for popular vehicles, so it’s hard to get those at bottom prices in the auction,” says Moise. And indeed, looking at previous auctions, this is the emerging trend. The list price of a Skoda Superb, considered a desirable model from the 2020 model year with a 2.0-liter 190 hp version, is NIS 114,200. After adjusting for mileage (343,750 kilometers) and ownership, its list price stood at NIS 62,810, and its closing price at auction – NIS 49,100.
Sound attractive? A look at the vehicle log reveals that in its last six months of service, it had gearbox problems, air conditioner issues, torn upholstery, oil leaks, front bumper damage, and a few other minor faults.
Another sought-after car, a 2018 Toyota Yaris Hybrid with 231,700 kilometers, had a list price of NIS 59,000, and its adjusted price was NIS 38,697. It sold for NIS 31,440.
Here too, the car wasn’t in showroom condition, with oil leaks between the engine and gearbox, piston wear, a cooling system that needs cleaning or repair, a catalytic converter in unclear condition, gearbox wear, and not enough space left to list all the body damage marks. Is this a bargain? It’s doubtful such a purchase is attractive to a private buyer.
But what’s happening in the seized vehicle section? In the last auction, a 2018 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, a model also sought after in the civilian market, was sold for NIS 216,200. Again, on the face of it, this is tens of thousands of shekels below the market price for the model, which is north of NIS 250,000. But here it’s a “Wrangler in a sack” – no information on the mileage, mechanical condition, registration not current, and even no key...
In another part of the yard, standing out in bright red is a 2017 Ferrari 488. It’s already a veteran resident of the yard and has gone through one or two auctions without a buyer. It’s also a seized vehicle, with an unknown condition, but you don’t have to be a fan of the creations from Maranello to feel a pinch in your heart over its less-than-ideal state after standing in the sun for so long. You’re welcome to save it from there, just keep in mind that such a car is valued at NIS 1.2 million, but you should also prepare a substantial amount to bring it back to top condition, which it certainly needs.
This year, it’s been joined by a sister from the same house – the 812 Superfast in gray. She’s three years younger, but her value is similar, and her external condition is certainly better. What dwarfs her is the monstrous Hummer EV standing next to her, the new status symbol for people with money and no environmental awareness. It’s only a 2023 model, but its owner has already parted ways with it. Similar vehicles are going for around NIS 500,000.