Manheim Car Auctions

motorman99

I may be wrong but I think WBAC actually own Cinch and not Cazoo.

either way I don’t think the buy it unseen model really works. 

Grey_Critic

Cinch is BCA - was talking with our Grandson tonight (he works for BCA and there is no longer any viewings in person.

Traders buy cars and if collecting in person get no further than reception where they pay for the vehicle(s) collect documentatiion and the car is brought to them.

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motorman99 said:

I may be wrong but I think WBAC actually own Cinch and not Cazoo.

either way I don’t think the buy it unseen model really works. 

My mistake, they both begin with the same letter

WBAC BCA and Cinch are all owned by Constellation.

Cazoo had (have?) a deal with BCA to dispose of their part exchanges.

[Deleted User]

Coming off lease and PCP those cars are often sold again at retail because they will have a full service history and often be in the warranty period. Might have another lease or PCP in fact.

Some get exported too, but not so much in the UK because we are RHD and most of the world is LHD.

Basically anything good will be skimmed off long before it gets to auction. Auction is for cars that are a big risk. Sometimes the risk is just that they are old and major parts are nearing typical end of life, other times it's because they have a known fault.

WBAC may claim to give the best prices, but if your car is actually a good buy then you can likely get better elsewhere.

It's a big gamble, basically. Dealers can better absorb the risk, but still bid low because of it.

chrisw

Manheim are the we buy your car agents for the Autotrader branded service. They offered me 2k more than WBAC on a £10k car so I would think their auction prices reflect that.

sheslookinhot

[Deleted User] said:

The usual advice if you have an out of warranty car with an expensive fault is get it working long enough for WBAC or similar to buy it and throw it in an auction.

These days I'd assume any car sold at auction probably has major problems, or the owner probably wouldn't be selling it that way.

That’s nonsense. Many reasons cars are auctioned, including end of lease, stock change, cash flow, dealership liquidation etc.

[Deleted User]

sheslookinhot said:

[Deleted User] said:

The usual advice if you have an out of warranty car with an expensive fault is get it working long enough for WBAC or similar to buy it and throw it in an auction.

These days I'd assume any car sold at auction probably has major problems, or the owner probably wouldn't be selling it that way.

That’s nonsense. Many reasons cars are auctioned, including end of lease, stock change, cash flow, dealership liquidation etc.

It does happen, but only if someone is losing money they could have made on it. They could get more in a number of ways, not least because given the opportunity to inspect the car the risk is greatly decreased.

Grey_Critic

Do WBAC  or auctions not require you to disclose any known faults?

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Grey_Critic said:

Do WBAC  or auctions not require you to disclose any known faults?

WBAC require you to disclose all matters which a prudent purchaser would want to know about, such as physical defects in the Car (e.g. if it has any material mechanical problems or damage); and can seek damages if you omitted something, and they can prove it, but naughty people extinguish the fault lights on their way to the appointment and go all wide eyed and innocent when confronted "It wasn't on when I sold it/ it didn't blow clouds of smoke/cut out when hot/refuse to start without eazi-start yesterday!"

Auctions only require that you don't tell any lies that can be found out (misrepresentation) e.g. 1 previous owner and there are 21. They are trade only/closed to the public, so you have no consumer rights if you manage to buy a car from one.

If you assume that an auction car has serious faults, and is only there because it is impossible to sell through more profitable channels, then you can never be disappointed, and may even be pleasantly surprised.