Advice please

Jet

I visited a car auction yesterday for the first time after being persuaded that going to a dealer is only for people who need finance (which I don't).

After keeping a close eye on the particular make and model I want to buy, I've worked out that I could save around £1,000 on forecourt prices. I've decided that I would only buy an ex lease car or fleet car and would buy a warranty privately (around £220) for my peace of mind.

I noticed that a lot of the cars were around the 3 year old mark and didn't have an MOT, so I would have to ensure that immediately after buying the car, I would book an MOT and drive it to the MOT centre from the auction. This is hassle but I suppose, it's worth it bearing in mind the savings that can be made.

Having spoken to my friends and family, they seem to think I'm mad considering buying at an auction but surely it's no different from buying from a dealer who could disappear the day after I buy the car? I'm a single parent and money is tight so I really can't afford to "lose" this money.

I'd really like to hear your thoughts.

Also, the other thing to consider is the hassle of selling my current car privately rather than part exchanging it. I have no idea how to value it - it's too old to be in Parkers and I can't find any for sale to compare with. It's a 12 year old Peugoet 306. Am I right to think it's not worth advertising in the auto trader or exchange and mart and just advertise it locally and hopefully (if it's cheap enough) it will sell.

Looking forward to your feedback.

vansboy

You were right to visit an auction & leaving your £$£$£ at home - safest way.

& looking at fleet cars, MAKEW SURE they are DIRECT from the fleet, not some traders tarted up, vehicle - you'll either be giving him a profit, or buying his trouble.

Most Manheim & BCA sites are geared up very well for private customers & have booklets freely available for you, on how to buy.

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk has loads hints on what to do also. Clik the AuctionView link on the site & for a few £$£ you'll be able to search BCA stocks & entries countrywide.

You can get an experienced auction buyer to do the chasing around for you & actually bid & buy for you, without attending the sales. he'll have a keener eye than you, too.

& you're old car is ideal for ebay - rather than waste £$£ on Autotrader type ads.

VB

tomstickland

Selling a car privately is no big deal as long as you follow basic common sense:

-price it sensibly, based on the Parkers price guide (they do an old model guide in newsagents), also look on Autotrader website to see what similar cars are going for.
-clean it, first impressions make a big difference
-be honest about it
- I think you can place free ads on Tradeit, Findit and Adtrader.

Buying at an auction can be a smart move, but there is always a risk associated with doing so. Personally I prefer to buy privately.

Murtle

Is that £1000 savings on the new price of a car? If so, see what else the forecourt would put in ie insurance etc and see if the cost comes anywhere near on that basis?

Are you good with cars? only a lot of auctions are buy as seen and you don't always get a lot of time to 'see' the car as you may like to.

Good luck though

Jet

Murtle wrote:

Is that £1000 savings on the new price of a car?

No, I'm looking at 3 year old cars.

highguyuk

For your Peugeot 306, I would become a member of https://www.pug306.net which is a Peugeot 306 owners club.

Very friendly, ask a question and they will be able to answer. There is also a For Sale section when you have reached 50 posts so you can advertise your car!

shelly

Jet wrote:

I visited a car auction yesterday for the first time after being persuaded that going to a dealer is only for people who need finance (which I don't).

Going to a dealer will cost you more than buying privately but dealers aren't for people who just need finance. They will try to get you to take finance but you just refuse.

Jet wrote:

Having spoken to my friends and family, they seem to think I'm mad considering buying at an auction but surely it's no different from buying from a dealer who could disappear the day after I buy the car? I'm a single parent and money is tight so I really can't afford to "lose" this money.

If you can't afford to lose money than I'd steer clear of auctions. Auctions are more or less sold as seen, soon as you drive it away then they don't want to know if it goes wrong. With most dealers and small garages you usually get 30-90 days basic warranty.



HTH

seanparkin

Going to a dealer will cost you more than buying privately but dealers aren't for people who just need finance. They will try to get you to take finance but you just refuse.

True, but if you do try this make sure you settle on a price before telling him you're paying cash. This will give you better negotiating potential.

Remember that most dealers inflate their price purposefully expecting a bit of bartering. Most could be comfortably knocked down 10%

burbs_2

Where do you think dealers get the majority of their cars from? Im a dealer and myself or my staff spend half our life at auctions across the country.

Auctions are not as bad as some people make out. People who dont know too much about cars seem to be scared of them in some way. There are the odd few cars which are a dud but if you take your time and research as you seem to have done you shouldnt go wrong. If you can take someone along with you to have a look as well.

Dependent on what auction it is you do have a cooling off period. Ones i go to do 2 hours, others do 4 and others dont do any at all. Basically if they do a cooling off period get the car to a mechanic and have it checked out pronto.

As vansboy has said make your way over to honestjohn as most people on there know everything there is to know.

Exemplar

When at an auction leave emotion at the front door, too many people (Read retail punters) Will pay well over the odds to get that car without an MOT as it looks good!

Ask someone to go with you to help reign you in, take a copy of Parkers, and then burn it!

Stand next to a trader, make small talk, offer to buy them a 'drink' to help you out.

Go to 2-3 auctions and be aware of what the going rate is, then go for it, but always always stick to your budget. If you do not get that car there will be another along next week that's better!

Alex

Jet

Thanks for all the advice guys.

Having looked into this some more, it seems that most cars won't come with a V5. So that will mean that I won't be able to tax the car until I receive the V5.

So, I'll be buying a car with possibly no MOT, I was planning on getting it MOT'd directly from leaving the auction as I believe you are allowed to drive a car with no MOT on the road only if you are driving it to the MOT centre. But I also won't be able to tax it for a week or so. It is possible for me to store it off road, but obviously I will need to drive it on the road to get it to the place where I want to store it! I was going to get it insured before I drove it away from the auction.

So, legally speaking how do I stand driving a car with no MOT and no tax from the auction on the road? Would my insurance be void? How do I stand and what do others do?