Buying from an auction

Pete.g

Hi I'm looking to buy a car from an auction. I've been to one or two before but never bought while on my own. I've looking for a diesel medium sized car with up to 60k on it, and have around 5k to spend. I recall on some cars words such as "warrentied" amongst others that I can't remember now what does warrentied mean? Also what other terms should I look for? A mate of mine ended up having to apply for a log book as it never came with the car he bought, is this a problem? also how would I know that it didnt have a log book before I start bidding?

Thanks,

Pete.

vansboy

https://www.honestjohn.co.uk clik in there & you'll have loads hints tips.

Best advice is to spend a few days, as days sout/dry runs - LEAVE YOUR £$£$£ AT HOME - just go & look.

Briefly, sold WITHOUT WARRANTY = no comebacks - WITH WARRANTY = you'll, in theory have chance to try the car, after buying it, but in practice, not so easy to do - think of insurance/no road tax limitations. Also the mileage will be warranted to be correct.

Buy ONLY from 'branded' sections, within the sales, they'll be big leasing companies/fleets, selling as genuine a car as you'll find!!


Take care - auctions can be addictive!!

VB

rdwarr

We've had a few buys from auctions in the past. Some good, some bad.
Good:
In 1982 I bought a 1979 Citroen CX (average mileage) for £900. Lasted five years.
In 1998 I bought a 1992 Mitsubishi Sigma Estate (135,000 miles) for £3000. Went well past 200,000.
Bad
In 1986 I bought a 1978 Cortina 2.3 Ghia for £800. It only had second gear!

Watch the buyers premiums now. Some places are over £100 for non-trade customers.

And there's eBay. I bought a 1989 Jag XJS V12 (54,000 miles with history) a couple of weeks back for £2000. A few niggles but £500 spent will see me with a profit (I hope!). And my daughter's 1991 Clio (in really good nick) was just £400.

Quinny_2

Bought my current car,a Peugeot 406 HDi,99 on a V,with 72k on the clock,at auction for £2150.

Went to France in it a week or so later for 12 nights,after giving it a full service,and it returned about 55mpg.

However,it wasn't without it's problems.

It needed 5 tyres,and while on holiday,the rear link bars needed replacing at a cost of 320 euros.I knew they were suspect before going over there,but thought they might last until I got home.Alas,it wasn't to be.I wouldn't care,but you can buy the parts quite cheaply in this country,and they are not difficult to fit,but when you need to have them done,your at the mercy of the local garage.

I have also had the timing belt and water pump replaced since coming home,at a cost of £180,so all in all,it's cost me a few quid,but it is without doubt,probably the best car I've ever owned.

Would I buy another?

Most certainly yes.

Ken.

Ted_Hutchinson

Motability Operations
1000 cars nationwide this week view the programme to find your nearest centre

and Manheim Additional Ex-Motability Stock Sales at Washington, Manchester and Middlesbrough

I've bought at Manheim and been to a couple of BCA Motability Auctions. Most cars at Motability sales are lower mileage than commercially leased vehicle sales. You will also find a higher percentage of automatics.
Although both BCA and Manheim have premium rate phone lines for finding out sales lists. I've just phoned the local branch the afternoon before the sale and asked. " have you got any automatic peugeot/vw's listed tomorrow?" and they have always been willing to say without the need for me to pay for the catalogue or the info.

Expect to pay around PARKERS Part Exchange or Private Poor price and then the extra £100 or so Buyers premium. BCA prices for delivery aren't too bad. I'm over 40 miles away from my nearest BCA so returning to collect it myself would be a pain as you nead to insure and tax it before it can leave the premises but they would deliver it for about £50.

carl310166

First,i must say i have never been to an auction.

But i have spoken to a guy who used to "dabble" in auctions on the side,he reckons they are not worth going to anymore,perhaps he just means our local one ??

I was told there are too many amateur buyers out there with their families in tow,they get carried away and bump the prices up,and the dealers love it.

If you watched Fifth Gear earlier in the week,you would have seen Jason Plato having trouble buying a motor at a decent price,he then bought a Puma which turned out to be not such a bargain. Even Mike Brewer (ex car dealer now tv presenter) has been caught out.

In my humble opinion,weighing up the cost (not cheap) to the risk (1 hour to find faults) it's deffinately not worth it,BUT i would be very happy to be corrected on this.

Perhaps if you are buying a banger there with a long MOT,and you don't mind if a few things don't work,maybe it's o.k

I have always thought to myself,why are these seemingly nice cars at an auction? apart from the fleet cars,surely all the others are problem cars that can't be sold normally,i could be wrong though ?????

wazza

i always tell friends to visit a car auction when buying a car. Advice them to think of what type of car they want and the spec. Browse through auto trader etc and get a feel of how much their choice is going for on the market. then see how much they are fetching at auctions.

advice them to go for only ex company cars which tend to be fully serviced and in good condition. Also to ignore older cars because of unkown hidden problems. with warranted cars you have 1 hour after sale to check the car out. different auctions have different rules. they will let u drive the car if you have already paid in full.

always take a friend and at least visit it a few times to understand how the system works. get a handbook from reception desk which states all the rules of the house.

finally DONT let your heart rule your heart. There are plenty of other cars to chose from if you are after a popular fleet make.

also use debit card, dont carry cash. with cheques you will have to wait for it to clear.

unfortunately there are less bargins to be had at auctions due to a growing number of private buyers bidding over what the car is worth.

a guide, if you like a car and have a competition with someone bidding for it, see if he has a black book. if he has then he is a dealer and when he backs out then the car has reached his limit. if its a private buyer he will just continue on.

some guys i know buy ex company cars, take it home, clean it up and put it on auto trader to make profit. these cars are normally high mileage and with no road tax.
happy hunting

bordercars

as said have a few dry runs, if what you want goes elsewhere don't impulse buy any other, i like to start bidding late and above all don't get AUCTION FEVER set you price and do not exceed it

Ted_Hutchinson

wazza wrote:

some guys i know buy ex company cars, take it home, clean it up and put it on auto trader to make profit. these cars are normally high mileage and with no road tax.
happy hunting

While I was at Manheim the sale before Motability had some VERY VERY VERY high mileage cars that were being sold. The mileages were so high that I couldn't believe that anyone could drive that far in such a short time. Anyway despite the extremely high mileages these cars were fetching relatively high prices. The only way they could be sold is if they were subsequently clocked and resold privately or by some backstreet flyby night operator.

As bordercars says if you do decide to go to auction then pay a practice visit first because the auctions I've been to the bidding is very fast and you need your wits about you or you will either get carried away or be left out of the bidding.