Car purchased at auction, almost set alight!

benham3160

hellofreebies wrote: »

.....so you lot are saying if this woman or her child was injured are killed, the auction house would have no questions to ask? as for people selling on bent cars etc without disclosing the facts, how do you lot sleep at night...like they say what goes around will come back around.

Nothing to disclose, if you throw a twenty year old Escort into a "bangers and knackers" auction, with 168,000 on the clock, no back seats and a coat hanger for an aerial people do have to expect these things.

Auctions are places where you "pay your money - take your chance" the idea is really you're a motor-trader or pretty clued up as to how these things work. You are free to inspect the cars before auction, and very rarely are they sold without any guarentee? Ever seen the sticker "Mileage is unverified and is for indication only?" A lot of the time dealers are just blanking out clock mileage, too much come back if it turns out it's not kosher.

DO NOT BUY FROM AN AUCTION IF YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE RISKS. If you want an assured, legit car, buy from a bricks and motar dealer. Same risks are a private sale, especially if you go on a knackers disposal day.

As said, people watch "wheeler dealers" and the ilk and assume they can become Arthur Daily. Unfortunately, this is far from the truth. I "know my onions" so to speak, but I'd be very wary about buying from certain auctions. I can fix cars, but Hell I hate buying and selling for myself! I won't go with people to buy cars, I'm not prepared to "rubber stamp" anything, been bitten too many times myself!

Most of the cars that end up in auctions as "cheapies" are unwanted trade-ins. They get dumped in a compound, then rounded up once a month and taken to auction. Dealers aren't going to bother playing with an eight year old Fiesta to see if the rear bushes are worn before it goes to auction. I've traded in cars without a dealer even bothering to give them a cursory glance. It goes to auction, they get a few quid back, job done....

Regards,
Andy

Inactive

hellofreebies wrote: »

.....so you lot are saying if this woman or her child was injured are killed, the auction house would have no questions to ask? as for people selling on bent cars etc without disclosing the facts, how do you lot sleep at night...like they say what goes around will come back around.

Lesson, if you don't understand how car auctions work, keep away.

Many cars are in an auction simply because they have some fault/s.

The buyer is expected to understand that and be prepared to repair them to a roadworthy and usable condition.

benham3160

Inactive wrote: »

Lesson, if you don't understand how car auctions work, keep away.

Many cars are in an auction simply because they have some fault/s.

The buyer is expected to understand that and be prepared to repair them to a roadworthy and usable condition.

Thank you, some sense in this thread!

I wouldn't say "auctions are dodgy places to buy a car" but I would say "An auction is a place to buy a dodgy car."

Let's be honest, most people trade in due to an impending MOT.......

Next week on MSE.... Somebody finds a bargain on CoPart... and it breaks down on the way home....

Regards,
Andy

haveibeendone

Copied from CAB Advice Guide

You bought the vehicle at a live auction

If you buy a vehicle at a live auction, where an auctioneer is present and you attend in person, you may have very limited rights.

You should check the terms and conditions of business of the auction, for example in the catalogue or on notices on display.

If they state that your rights under the Sale of Goods Act are excluded, you are buying the vehicle as seen and it is your responsibility to check the car before you bid for it.

If you buy the vehicle and something turns out to be wrong with it, there may be very little you can do.

Some auctions will offer insurance against the vehicle turning out to be stolen and some may offer you a cooling off period (although this may often be very short - a matter of a few hours).

If the auction is a member of the trade association, they may be able to help you sort out a complaint through their conciliation scheme. You can contact the trade association, the Retail Motor Industry Federation on 01788 538317, or online at.

If the vehicle was bought at an auction and you want to make a complaint you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau.

andygb

hellofreebies wrote: »

.....so you lot are saying if this woman or her child was injured are killed, the auction house would have no questions to ask? as for people selling on bent cars etc without disclosing the facts, how do you lot sleep at night...like they say what goes around will come back around.

Why should the auction house have to answer any questions or accept any liability for the state of the vehicle? The auction house is merely a link between buyer and seller, just like E Bay. All vehicles at an auction are "sold as seen", though you may be lucky to find one with - FSH, spare wheel (;)), more than one key, current tax disc (only when all the planets are in alignment ).
There are various types of car which go through auction - ex fleet (the best buys IMO), part exchanges from various garages (could be a good buy), privately entered vehicles with or without faults (could be risky).
I bought my car from auction in 2004 - ex BT fleet Mondeo (2000 X reg), 27K miles, FSH, scruffy interior, for the sum of £2300.:)
Still going strong today with over 100K on the clock.
With auction cars, you take a chance, and the auction house will always point this out at the start of the auction and in all their literature.

ENGINE_CENTRE

If it is, most likely the engine is worn out, crankcase pressure will force oil out of every orifice including the turbo, which is also probably kaput. Probably cheaper to buy a used engine and get that fitted, rather than selling it as it is, if you add the engine repair cost in to a total owner ship time for the car (normally 3 years) then it probably will work out financially ok in the long run

nmonline

Always amazes me how people want to avoid paying dealer money, yet still expect the after sales service! If you want to buy a car in auction, you need to be prepared to accept the risk that goes with it.

vaio

citroen17 wrote: »

.......I bought a car at auction about a month ago. It was sold as seen, which was fine and I had a mechanic look at it for me before I bought it. All seemed fine. On the way home we started to notice a buring smell. Took the car into the garage and it has a major oil leek and they have been trying to get the bottom of it for over a fortnight now.........

The auction said "sold as seen", your mechanic said it was fine. Seems to me any rights/claim you have is against the mechanic.

Is the mechanic from the garage that's spent two weeks failing to find the reason for a major oil leak?

Hammyman

citroen17 wrote: »

Oil was spraying up under the bonnet and onto the electrics.

And? Oil is a very effective insulator and is so good that the old ignition coils which ran at thousands of volts used oil in them to insulate the primary and secondary windings and provide cooling.

In short, the only thing that would happen with oil getting onto electrics is that they'd become covered in oil. Thats it. No fires, no drama.

Hammyman

citroen17 wrote: »

Hi Andy - no dealers bidding on the car at all. In hindsight I'd guess they knew something I didn't.

Which is exactly why I get sick of clueless Joe Public who go to auctions, buy a pup then whinge about it. Happens at my IT auctions I go to as well - some pillock will pay well over the odds then complain it doesn't have any manuals, recovery discs or driver disc.