Car Auction Bargains

monkeymonkeyrarara

Hi, I'm considering buying a new car and am considering going to my local auction. I'm looking for a focus/golf, or similar hatchback and was wondering if anyone has had any success or horror stories?

Thanks

Kilty_2

Well I know the faulty Astra I purchased a couple of weeks ago and returned to the dealer is being sold at a large motor auction in Glasgow - so be careful.

I do know people who have bought several cars from auction without major horror stories though - one tip I was given is to go to one or two auctions to get a feel for pricing, what sells, etc without the intention ot the means to buy.

Inactive

Take someone with you that knows how they work, I have seen a lot of " private punters " taken for a ride at car auctions.

Apples2

Buying form an auction is always going to be a gamble, that's the nature of the beast (and why you can get it much cheaper than from a dealer).

The BCA Auction near me promotes when they are pushing through ex lease cars, they advertise the company who are supplying the cars.
Some of them have lots of info.

In the windows are full breakdowns of all services, and all work completed prior to sending to auction (replacement bumpers etc).

Bear in mind though, you can pick up a car advertised on a forecourt for £8k, for £6k (for example).
It may need £1,000 worth of repairs, but even so, you have still saved £1,000 on the forecourt price.

If you are not prepared to take this kind of gamble, then go to the dealers with all the warranty protection they offer.


I offloaded a great looking Laguna some years ago. It looked great, but the big end had gone, great for driving slowly into the auction house, but I pitty the buyer when he tried to drive up the hill on his way home!! ha ha!!

neilmcl

The last two cars I've purchased was via a BCA auction. Both were just over a year old, so plenty of manufacturer warranty to fall back on, low mileage ex-fleet cars. In fact the last, a BMW 3 series, was owned by BMW themselves and was in tip-top condition. I paid just under trade-in prices for both incl. commision so saved quite a bit in the end. I probably wouldn't buy a car over 3 years old and without warranty though.

My top tips.

• Go a few times beforehand to get a feel for the whole process. Take a pen and note down sale prices of cars you'd be interested in.
• Do your research before going and decide what you're going to pay and stick to it. If you don't get the car this time there's always next week.
• Don't turn up with a copy of Parkers, don't make it obvious your a private buyer, remember this is the trades bread and butter your getting involved in.
• Sign up to BCA Auctionview so you can search for specific cars coming up in auction.
• Don't get carried away and enjoy the day out.

Bowling_4_Gold

You can usually pick up a real bargain from your local auction house, rather than BCA (e.g. a 4 year old Zafira, leather interior, 1.8 petrol, 30,000 miles went for £4000 at my local this morning but have seen older models going for around £1000-£1500) Start talking to people there and you will find you have a wealth of information at your fingertips - these people have usually been doing this for 10 years+ and have experienced everything, so having a chat with them while viewing is always good - I've found it always helps.

Try starting the motor up before the auction - listen for any knocks/banging noises and have a look under the bonnet. See if you have any mates in the motor industry and ask if they'll come along with you. Also, try and stick to motors coming from places like liquidators/the insolvency service. These have normally just come out of a working environment and should be in better mechanical order (normally) than from private sellers.

mark5

If you do get in to a bidding war with someone make sure they exist, some of the smaller car auctions bounce prices off the wall when someones bidding but the price is well short of the reserve.

ohyeahitssorcy

Been a long time since going to an auction but some motors have a test drive included to allow you to test drive it before you have to pay for it as someone else said go to a few auctions and see how things go there oh and the daytime ones are better than the evening ones imo but that depends how much dosh you have to spend

emmell

mark5 wrote: »

If you do get in to a bidding war with someone make sure they exist, some of the smaller car auctions bounce prices off the wall when someones bidding but the price is well short of the reserve.

There is no point in taking bids from one person if it's miles off reserve, the auctioneer will trot a bidder to try to get within moving distance of a reserve.
For example if a car is reserved at £2000 they would probably not ring a bid less than £1600 (unless the auctioneer thinks the car is grossly over valued).
What is important to know is, if the car does not sell going through the auction you can enquire in the office what the reserve is and still make a bid with no competition, if the car has been through a few times and got nowhere near reserve you can sometimes pick up a bargain.
ML.

chevettedriver

Forgive my ignorance, but one poster mentions that "even including commission it was cheaper...."

Does the buyer pay commission as well as the seller? Is that a percentage of the price?

Thanks

mrscb

The buyer also pays a premium which is normally dependant on the price of the car(should be on display at the auction),also beware of the fees depending on how you pay...debit card,credit card,cash.