any thoughts on car auctions?

[cutesee]

my car stops working when it fancies and i'm wanting a newer car(more reliable too).my quibble is, do i go to a car auctions and buy a car, taking in to consideration i know nothing about a car, but would get a car that'd be potentialy better for less money or go to a garage. I've been told that with the auctiions you get 48 hours to go got an MOT and if its not up to scratch it can be taken back. I want to spend all in all 1000-2000. Any advice would be good

[mookiandco]

My OH has bought a few cars from auctions and we though we may have just been lucky we've never had any problems. My last car was bought for £50.00. We Spent nothing on it because there was nothing wrong with it, used it for 2 years and sold it for £1500 a couple of months ago.

If you are any where near, these aucions are usually good:
http://www.universalsalvage.co.uk/

For 1000-2000 you'd probably get something that only needs minor work if any.

[TheImportanceOfBeingIdle]

I wouldn't suggest going alone. Take someone who knows a bit about cars. You don't want to go pay a grand for a car only to find out that it's a lemon.

[ictmad]

car auctions are good if u take a mechanic/or someone who knows about car,s usually fleet cars and traDE INS but bought a few cars from auctions and got good dels with no problems

[OK Sauce]

I've been told that with the auctiions you get 48 hours to go got an MOT and if its not up to scratch it can be taken back.

I've bought several cars fom British Car Auctions and they can be sold in various 'states'. These are normally

'Sold as seen' - where you have absolutely NO comeback whatsoever.

'No major mechanical faults' - where you have until one hour after the end of the auction ON THE DAY to report any faults that you find that are covered in the limited warrantee

'Warranted/Non warranted mileage' The odometer reading is/isn't confirmed.

I can't say about other auctions but this is what I've found at BCA. Before buying at an auction I would definately check it out a few times to see how it works. Find out from the auction house what their policies are.

[mrtg0525]

You'll also have to do a bit of research as to which cars sell easily through the trade and potentially avoid those (as they'll attract lots of bids from traders).

IMHO the best cars to go for are main dealer part exchanges. If someone can afford to buy from a main dealer, they're usually flush enough to look after a car...

[N9eav]

My family has purchased several cars from auctions, we have won some and lost some.
You never can tell even with a mechanic with you, so you take a risk.
My brother bought a V reg Nissan, fantastic car, low mileage, FSH, looked like new. But the auto gearbox was faulty, could'nt tell until he drove above 40mph on the way home. Re-sold it through the auction to another sucker.

It can be good to go a few times running and see whats going through.
The best deals we have got are ones that have been named as coming from major dealerships, rather than personal sellers. I got a H reg golf a few years ago, £500. Used it for 6 months and sold it for £600.
My dad got a nice Honda Civic last week N reg FSH, £500 fab car for the money.
You may get a better deal and leass chance of a crap car in the bigger auctions away from rural areas. These are where the main dealers and lease companies sell their cars. They are usually pretty good all round

[gazhawkins]

I buy my vehicles at car auctions. The main plus is that you can buy the vehicles at trade price, or perhaps a little above as you may have to outbid the dealers.

Generally, you get more protection than you would with a private ad. sale. Most auctions indemnify you against fraud, hire purchase or major mechanical issues, though there is usually a charge for this.

It pays to take somebody mechanically minded with you, otherwise you'll end up with a car like the one sold by N9eav's Brother, or worse still, an ex-taxi.

[movilogo]

I heard that in auctions, you can't test drive cars. Is it true?

[blue_haddock]

Moral of the sotry is pretty much if you don't know what your doing then don't bother - yes there is a chance you can save some money but you'll more than likely end up losing money.

if you can find a mechanic or someone with a good mechanical knowledge then take them along but otherwise your asking for trouble.

[frank potter]

We buy our cars at the car auctions.

At the auctions I go to there are usually quite a few Motability cars and similar that are low mileage and still covered by manufacturer’s warranty. It is fairly low risk buying such vehicles.

I would personally avoid many of the older vehicles as I would regard these to be risky.

Most of the buyers at auctions are dealers who subsequently put the same vehicles on their forecourts at significantly increased prices.

[Ted_Hutchinson]

I've used BCA Motability sales (http://www.british-car-auctions.co.uk/Default.aspx?page=453)
and
Manheim Select vendor Motability (http://www.manheim.co.uk/find_buy/calendar/) and found it a fairly easy process. Like Frank my last was still in Warrenty so when I did have a problem (trivial light on Auto box kept flashing) the local Peugeot garage fixed it free. Saved me a packet and meant when I sold it I could afford to take a bit of hit as clearly if you buy at less than bottom book and sell/part exchange for trade in price you've only lost the minimum depreciation. Whereas if you buy at Dealer Retail and sell at bottom book or trade in price you've lost a lot more.

Get a good idea of what you want and what you expect to pay by studying Parker's (http://www.parkers.co.uk/) and keep your eye on
Sponsored Link
eBay Motors UK (http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=L&ai=BTaF61KTcRdvOO6i6-QKpze2gCP3txxf5pfS5AoTgzgiQTggAEAEYATgBUJyT2fX-_____wFguwaYAedzmAHyhgGYAbiSBpgBvpIGmAGMkwaqASBHR0 lDK0dHSUM6MjAwNi01MCtHR0lDOmVuK0dHSUM6TsgBAakCUu6C LWRhwD7IAvG_9QE&ggladgrp=313824997&gglcreat=571443397&q=http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-35650-5910-0/2%3Fmpre%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fmotors.ebay.co.uk%25 2F%26keyword%3Debay%2520motors&usg=__kAoQjfxbrU3w5fJyq9mwUYrq8zY=) as that will give you an idea of the going rate for what you are after.

I've bought a couple for my daughter as well and both her cars one was written off and the other stolen were paid out by the insurance company and she was paid by the insurance company more than I had actually paid at auction so although she had the hassle it didn't actually mean she'd lost cash.

The point Frank makes about most being customers being dealers shouldn't put you off. They don't seem to mind the odd private person there. What did bother me when watching the bidding on some very high mileage vehicles in the end of lease sale prior to the Motability one was the extremely high mileages on some very newish cars. I've been round a few car display showrooms/forecourts and never seen mileages such as those on second hand cars. Those dealers buying cars with those really high mileages must be clocking them or they'd never sell them at a reasonable price.