PUBLIC SURPLUS PRESCOTT VALLEY, CITY OF PAYSON, AUCTIONS, AUCTION SITE, ARIZONA, AZ PRESCOTT VALLEY - CITY OF PAYSON BUYER BEWARE AUCTION VEHICLES ON PUBLIC SURPLUS Provo, Utah

BUYERS BEWARE WHEN USING PUBLIC SURPLUS AS YOUR AUTO AUCTION SITE.  I have been a buyer/ user on this site for over 2 years. There are some cities/ agencies that use very detailed wording on their sales. Then there are some that do not here in the sate of Arizona. Recently I won a car from PrescottValley. The car was listed as in good running condition. After a 2 hour drive, I got to the window and was told the person in charge was not in and I would have to come back the next day. Then another person was able to help me out. I paid and was shown to my vehicle. First I had to get it jumped. Then I made it half way down the street and it completely died right in the turn lane of a busy traffic lane. So I got out of the car, put on the flashers and walked to the nearest Auto store which was 1 mile away. I bought a brand new battery and carried it back. When I got back there was the officer who had jumped my car and another officer there who told me I had to move my vehicle. I looked and him and said "yeah I know, that's what this battery is for". His response," I need you off this road, so I'll push you across the street. Keep in mind that the car I bought was a Police Crown Victoria with Police decals (impressions) on it. I told him I would have the new battery installed within 2 minutes. He then looked at my motor and said, what's that hole? I looked and noticed it was a missing an engine oil cover. I installed the battery and went on my way. I then suddenly noticed I could not roll down the windows. So now I knew that not only was the battery bad the alternator was bad as well. As soon as I got up to 40pmh I noticed it did not kick into 3rd gear (drive), then it just free spinned and had no acceleration which meant 4th gear was out as well (over drive). So I had to drive 40mph from Prescott to Phoenix with no A/C and no windows rolled down for the next 80 miles. At 60 miles the battery finally gave out and I had to pull over and buy another one and buy a new alternator. New alternator price $175, new battery $110. So I get into Phoenix and drove it to an auto shop who confirmed it was a bad transmission. Cost to repair $600 to rebuild, or I buy a used one for $400-700 and then labor another $450. Bottom line is this car should have never been sold as a good running car. STAY AWAY FROM PRESCOTTVALLEY AUTOMOBILE AUCTIONS! Also the City of Prescott is just as bad. The police and staff are run by volunteers. Before driving out and take the 2 hour trip I called in and asked if it was OK to pick up my vehicle. The ad said by appointment only, so I called in and they said yes to come in. When I got to the window, same situation, the lady told me the guy who ran the car auctions was not in, and they couldn't call him so they didn't have any information about my car. But they were gladly happy to take my money. This was at a different building. You see you walk in to the place to pick up your car, they tell you to go pay for it at this location, then you come back with the paid receipt and then they tell you sorry we can't help you because we know nothing about your purchase. I even had a detective come out and introduced himself as Dt.xxxx and that he was sorry for the confusion and know one there could help me. I walked out and some other officer said he might know where my car was. So I followed him to 2 different locations. First one was a bone yard. The second one we found the car. But the keys weren't inside so he said "well we found your car but have no keys. Guess you'll have to come back tomorrow and get them". Then he though of something and told me to wait a minute. He went around some barn and came back with a few set of keys. We went though all of them and one of them worked. I was actually happy for an event that wasn't even my fault, yet I was happy I didn't EVER HAVE TO COME BACK TO THIS PLACE!  Even to this day if you ask questions about their current auto auctions you will get rude responses. I say STAY AWAY FROM THE CITY OF PRESCOTT. I wrote to PrescottValley and got no response. I got a response from Public Surplus and they told me to always read the fine print. Gee, should the fine print really matter if the seller is listing something that is not accurate? No. They can write whatever they want and the bottom line is if you win, you buy, you pay, you own. No if's ands or butts about it. Be careful when you buy from these city auctions. Learn from my experience. I would not be on here, but I want others to know about my experience. Thank you