You can buy a real dream vehicle at American car auctions, but you can also purchase one huge nightmare of a lemon monster. These tips will steer you in the right direction by saving you time, money and embarrassment explaining why you spent so much money on a heap of junk.

1. Biggest tip: Get to the car auction early. You have got to pick out the cars you are interested in and inspect the cars thoroughly. If you don't want to have a sour lemony taste in your mouth later, run a vehicle history report! Have someone standing by that you can call on your cell and run a Carfax report.

2. Bring your Kelly Blue Book and do not pay over the blue book price, there will be folks that have no clue, they will run up the bid price because they have no idea what the auto is worth. Let them have it.

3. Find out what the buyers premium is for that particular American auto auction and remember to factor that into the equation, it is typically 5% to 10% of the winning bid. Most first time car auction buyers are not aware of the buyers premium.

4. Don't forget to bring a vehicle inspection check off list with you. It is so easy to forget some crucial inspections. Forgetting to check the AC can mean a very costly repair. This is key, as you will be buying from the car auction AS IS!

5. Do the VIN tags match? Mismatched VIN tags, doors, trunk, hood, and dashboard should all match. Mismatched VIN tags usually means the car or vehicle has been wrecked or stolen.

6. Deduct 30% if your vehicle history report shows that the auto has a rebuilt title.

7. Check the odometer against your vehicle history report. An alternate method is to look at the brake pedals and see if the wear is congruent with the odometer. If the brake pedals look excessively worn compared to what the odometer reads, the odometer may have been tampered with.

8. Deduct for excessive mileage. The US Department of Transportation reports that the average car is driven 13,500 miles per year. A good rule of thumb is to deduct 15 cents per mile over that average.

9. Learn the American car auction process, go to the auctions a few times and just observe and ask questions. This will prevent you from making costly mistakes on your first live auction.

10. Follow your gut instinct! If a car, truck, or boat does not feel right, don't buy it. You will be right more times than not.

If you follow these 10 guidelines as well as performing a thorough vehicle inspection, you can get some real bargains at American car auctions. Whether you are buying for yourself or to retail on the market remember to never fall in love. There will always be another car at another auto auction. This is the most powerful attitude and stance you can take as well as the best prevention against telling your honey that you just bought a lemon!