11:07 AM PDT on Friday, June 11, 2004

By ELISA HAHN / KING 5 News

WOODINVILLE, Wash. - Without warning the Woodinville auto auction has shut down, leaving some customers in the lurch.

KING The company's Web name and URL is for sale.

You may have seen the TV commercials for 1-800-BID-A-CAR. Every Saturday, they auctioned off cars in Woodinville. You could sell you car on short notice or buy a car at a cheap price.

But customers said that last month the cars, money and business disappeared. For John Criswell, it's a tough sight to see - the auto auction lot in Woodinville is about as empty as his wallet. About a month ago Criswell brought his car in to auction off, with a minimum sell price of $4,500.

“They told me to come back Wednesday…to collect the money,” he said. “I came back Wednesday morning and they told me: “I'm sorry, the person who writes the checks won't be back until Friday.”

Criswell came back that Friday to find the gates locked. A scribbled sign says the auction lot is temporarily closed. But log on to its Web site and it says the domain name is for sale.

Jim Baker, who rents office space on the same lot, said he saw the Woodinville public auto auction clear out about a month ago.

“I just came in one day and they said, ‘I'm sorry we're stopping.’”.

Suzanne Vance bought a car from the public auto auction, but never got the title.

“This week I went to get the tabs renewed, and found out the title car isn't in our name,” she said.

Both police and the Department of Licensing said there's not much they can do as buying and selling cars is considered a civil matter.

The owner of the auction lot could not be reached for comment. But a salesperson told KING 5 News that the owner is a decent person who got into financial trouble and plans to file for bankruptcy.

The Department of Licensing is offering to help customers at least get the titles to their cars. It said the public auto auction was licensed and bonded but surrendered its license on May 17.