Has anyone on /o/ tried their hand at a car auction, police auction, etc?
I've watched and visited them before. Don't get your hopes up on getting anything Toyota or Honda at a decent price, The African immigrants and east Indians are all over them. They're the place to be if you want a CVPI or Taurus. That's where the methheads on craigslist get them from before jacking the price up to $4k and re-selling them.
In general, car dealers dump the used cars they don't want onto those things. It's basically the bargain bin and most of what you'll be looking through is going to be crap.