Buying at auction

vtecblack

Hello,

I'm tired of facing forecourt prices, so for our next car I am looking to buy at auction. I have a British Car Auctions 'AuctionView' account and this is very useful in tracking down the sort of car I'm looking for. But the problem I have is that the BCA auctions offer cars that are just a bit too new/expensive for what we need.

I have tried local garages to see what trade-in / part-ex vehicles they have, but they all have established trade buyers and won't sell to the public.

Does anyone know of an auction house or a trade buyer/seller that sells mainly '01/'02 cars, i.e. slightly older than ex-fleet. My budget [at auction] is £4k and I need an medium/large automatic estate with cruise control, air conditioning and three 3-point belts in the rear.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

James.

vtecblack

PS - so far, I have considered: VW Passat, Saab 9-5, Subaru Legacy (the Passat is the current top choice). Also, I want a petrol version as I'm considering going LPG.

PPS - I'm also looking for a highish mileage VW Golf 2.8 V6 4motion, again forecourt prices too high, BCA auctions to new/expensive.

tomstickland

I considered auction myself a few years back. The thing that put me off was that the trade can afford to make a mistake whereas a private buyer probably can't. If you're tired of forecourt prices then consider buying privately via autotrader.co.uk

vtecblack

will do, thanks.

James.

vansboy

The best thing to do, is stick with Auctionview - & increase your budget (easier said than done, I guess), that way, you'll be second owner, by buying from expired lease contract, sources.

You'll be able to keep up the maintainence, as it should be done & have a longer lasting vehicle. It's usually when cars get into second & third &... owners, where cost cutting 'savings' on service & repairs, take place.

If you get the not so well looked after example, a year or 2 older, but with potential big £$£$, it won't have been so worthwhile.

Depending on where you are, some smaller, independent auctions, still exist, so might have more opportunity, in their sales.

VB

Wig

And if you buy auction make sure you know what the service interval requirements are and ask the rostrum what the service book says, how many stamps it has. Some of these cars are not fully serviced (probably quite a few of them actually). Best thing to do is phone day before and try to get someone to look at the paperwork for you on the phone.

wazza

when someone asks me i always tell then to go for ex-company cars at auctions. chances are they are regularly serviced. always advice against 2nd owner cars, part exchange and older cars. you dont know what faults they are hiding

Rjohnmatt

You are exactly right with BCA auctions,most of them are overpriced simply because thats the auction house which is the most well known among the general public who will bid and push the prices up.

One trick is to try and go to places where the traders turn up and to go on weekdays,never on a weekend.Believe me its worthwhile travelling even 4 hours to a more distant site provided you spend the whole day there looking at upto 3-4 auctions on the day.
Also look for ex lease cars with a complete service history,they would usually have had the best tyres etc fitted, of a high spec and would have been maintained well.
Also the months of Dec/Jan are the best times since demand is low.
The largest auction site in Europe is in East Anglia(Frating,Manheim car auctions), thats where I bought my car from in Dec,was well worth it because I got a very high spec car for about 3000 pounds off the traders price!!
ie 4700+250 instead of 8100!

vtecblack

thanks Rjohnmatt

does Mainheim have an equivalent of BCA's AuctionView, hidden somewhere? The search function on their website seems pretty basic compared to BCA's.

vansboy

The Manheim search facility is there, but you need to be an account customer, to use it.

https://www.woma.co.uk is still independent & you can check their stocks, free of charge.

VB