Cars bought at auction cheaper in North?

secret_tramp

I am thinking of buying my next car at auction (British Car Auctions) and I read somewhere once that cars can be bought a lot cheaper the further north you travel. (I am based in London.)

Not sure if that is a myth or not? Can anyone confirm before I book rail tickets etc. Incidentally the auction I have in mind to attand is in Brighouse near Halifax.

Many thanks.

rodenal

It's going to depend on the auction, what dealers are around it and what type of car you are looking at, but in general you will pay less outside of London.

colino

There are always plenty from down south at the car auctions in Glasgow but I think with the added costs of transportation and time, the difference has long ago ceased being worthwhile. Added to the poorer road and weather conditions here and I'm sure theres no real bargain in it.

vaio

As above I expect it varies on type of car etc.

As a teenager in the ’70s I used to earn extra beer money moving cars & transit vans between S Wales & a dodgy looking car sales place in Roman Road, E London for a local car dealer. Some weeks I’d be taking them to London, other weeks I’d fetching them from London.

If I’d paid more attention I might have understood the logic (or not) but he used to give me train fare and petrol money and at the time I was more interested in keeping the train fare in my pocket by hitching rather than catching a train and seeing how little petrol I could leave in the vehicles when I dropped them off.

Completely OT I know but I remember petrol being 70p a gallon so £5 would get me from S Wales to East London & if I could get away with only putting £4 or even £4.50 in then it was extra money in my pocket

harveybobbles

It's a complete myth. Most dealers now have an online account so they can sit in their home or office and bid for the cars 300 miles away.

As for booking train ticket - make sure its a return ticket, unless you go with cleared funds and insurance.

secret_tramp

The budget would be about 6-8k for a 4 year old Audi. The prices in the Blackbushe auction (near Camberley) for what I'm after were a bit on the high side and I did see something I liked at Brighouse next week but it is a bit of a gamble as to whether I buy a cheap return ticket now and go for it or not.

I would have cleared funds, but if I am unsuccessful I would prefer not to have to pay fortunes on the day for a ticket home if you know what I mean, hence paying for a return ticket in advance even if ultimately I don't use it.

Any car dealers have a view on this?

harveybobbles

Go to a few more auctions and get a better feel for it all. don't forget the huuuuuuuuuuuuuge buyers fees that the poor private people get hit with! Plus I think they charge you £25 to send the V5 off!

I buy our cars from BCA Manchester, Preston, Derby, Birmingham, Blackbushe, Enfield, Glasgow and never step foot out of the office door.

s_b

harveybobbles wrote: »

Go to a few more auctions and get a better feel for it all. don't forget the huuuuuuuuuuuuuge buyers fees that the poor private people get hit with! Plus I think they charge you £25 to send the V5 off!

I buy our cars from BCA Manchester, Preston, Derby, Birmingham, Blackbushe, Enfield, Glasgow and never step foot out of the office door.

all very well boasdting you buy from the screen ,i do the same
but
you lose contact with the real world and end up believing what the bible tells you rather than you telling the bible
to the OP
go to scottish motor auctions leeds rather than that stuff faced brighouse
there used to be a buyer go there ,a little short arsed clever smarm box who used to buy for a main dealer
still regret not snotting him one

property.advert

harveybobbles wrote: »

... don't forget the huuuuuuuuuuuuuge buyers fees that the poor private people get hit with!.....

What are these please ?

rodenal

They vary by auction house, but usually there is a detailed breakdown on their website. If the car is bought for around 7k for example, the actual fee you'll end up paying will be anywhere from 7.3 and up auction house dependent!

bigjl

My mate that used to drive down from Sunderland everyweek to work in London then go home after his three long shifts bought a few cars up North and sold them down South for a nice mark up.

However this was six years ago and i think you may have to visit the smaller auctions to see that phenomenum now.

The big firms like BCA will just move stock around to the areas that give the best return for that car.

I think my mate used to use Scottish Motor Auction but can't be more specific sorry.