British Car Auctions

Consumers_Revenge_2

Has anyone used these before

http://www.british-car-auctions.co.uk/

I know they are all around the country, but I am wondering if you can get a good deal here, or are they too risky to buy from.

Possibly looking at something like these that have appeared on there, could I get something like below for a good price:

09 plate AUDI A3 CABRIOLET 1.9 TDI 105 SPORT, 2 Doors, Convertible, Diesel, Manual Transmission, , Margin

or
VOLVO C70 C/C 2.4 SPORT

2 Doors, Convertible, Petrol, Manual Transmission, Black, VAT Qualifying

• 08 Plate
• Registration date19/06/2008
• Mileage19611 Warranted
• Colour Black
• Log bookPresent

Equipment

SH - LS @10K 07/09 2 STAMPS, Spare Key, Keyless Drive, Air Conditioning, Alloy Wheels, Leather Trim, RTI Navigation System

haveibeendone

I have bought two cars from BCA Preston and I believe that I got good cars for a fair, not cheap, price. The car descriptions are normally very accurate and the cars come from good sources such as main dealers and motability. I have not noticed private sellers off loading dodgy cars and I will almost certainly buy my next car from there.

Don,t forget the buyers premium which will add about 10% (???) to the hammer price. The cars you mention will not be cheap. Deposit on fall of hammer and then very little time to pay the balance (maybe 24 hours) but cars are normally collected on the same day. Debit cards are accepted. Sales catalogues on line.

Main draw back is the lack of support once purchased but I think that BCA is a better bet than most garages.

Exemplar

IMHO the Audi will probably gor for between 1.5 - 2K over book.

AdrianHi

I did an IT contract with BCA a while back, Europes largest vehicle auctioner with sites on the continent too.
A car that age is most likely ex-lease, cars get pre-auction checks and remedial work done if required by BCA so should be in fit for sale condition.
You'll have to make your own mind up about whether the price is good or not but I would consider buying at auction next time around.

ukjoel

Cars are sold as seen so your level of protection is no more than a private sale really.

What is good is they do ensure the cars are legally owned by those selling them and no outstanding finance.

Remember they are untaxed so cant be driven away so add cost of tax and transport onto price as well as auction fee of 6-10% of hammer price.

My experience is there are savings to be had but what looks like a car that is £1500 cheaper than the local used car dealer sticker price has to be looked at as follows.

Dealer will probably knock off £300 from sticker price.
Dealer wont cost you £100 transport to get it to your door.
Auction house will hit you for £400 buyers fee.
Auction house only have one key - a copy will be £100.
Auction house wont warranty the car for 3 months.
Auction house wont allow test drive

So add all those up and the £1500 saving is now £600 for a car you havent had a chance to sit in let alone drive.

Still money to be saved and when I need to change cars I will likely go that route again but savings need to be looked at in a sensible manner taking into account all the above.

nullogik

ukjoel wrote: »

ocal used car dealer sticker price has to be looked at as follows.

Dealer will probably knock off £300 from sticker price.
Dealer wont cost you £100 transport to get it to your door.
Auction house will hit you for £400 buyers fee.
Auction house only have one key - a copy will be £100.
Auction house wont warranty the car for 3 months.
Auction house wont allow test drive

Add to that list:

V5 document processing fee - £25
Paper catalogue on the day - £4
Payment method fee: Debit Cards Free, Credit Card and payment by cash is 2% of sale price

Frankly, I'm wouldn't be surprised if they charged you for the air that you inhaled during your stay there.

Be sure to check the buyers fee first before bidding. IMO the fees they charge are ridiculous. For instance the fee for a £1000 car is, wait for it, £240! Yes, nearly 25% of the sold price last time I was there (several months back).

AdrianHi

Probably not the right channel through which to sell a £1000 car because of course the costs of putting a car through the system are the same regardless of the cars value.
A business like BCA has value in the market because it has the capacity to sell on the large volumes of cars coming out of the leasing market. That's car usually around 24 to 36 months old though ex-rental stock may be much younger.
Might not be "value" from the private buyers point of view in all cases though