BCA Auction

[CarlT]

ruff'n'smov said:

It's all quite simple.
The Main Dealer will make money on.
Finance
Extended warranty
Servicing
And other products
So they can afford to 'lose' on retail price of car.

I could be completely wrong

They won't make a loss on selling used cars, they are more profitable than new cars normally.

[Muncher]

MX7 said:

I'm not sure if it's true or not, but Ford make more money via finance than they do by manufacturing cars.

I don't think that the auctions are worth it anymore. By the time I've spent the best part of the day at an auction, I could have viewed four or five local cars.

I am on secondment at Ford Credit bank at the moment and that is true, FCB made around £500m is year but the motor company is not yet in profit and won't be until 2015.

[RDG3000]

As I suspected, buying price is irrelevant, finance is where they make the money, thanks I thought this might be the case and it's nice to know.

[GWC]

May be that they are doing what BMW and Mercedes do when they have big sales at auction - giving cash back to franchised dealers who purchase over a certain number of cars per quarter. BMW and Merc it can be up to £2,000 a car and certainly explains the high prices.

[Searider]

I would imagine that used prices for cars of 3-5 years are pretty strong because no one was buying new cars 2008-2012.

No new cars - no used cars. Now we're coming out of recession people want used cars - demand very much outstripping supply.

[Upatdawn]

MX7 said:

I'm not sure if it's true or not, but Ford make more money via finance than they do by manufacturing cars.

I don't think that the auctions are worth it anymore. By the time I've spent the best part of the day at an auction, I could have viewed four or five local cars.

TBH you could buy cheaper with an advert in the paper....

"We pay 10% more than WEBUYANYCAR.COM with no admin fees either"

[CarlT]

RDG3000 said:

As I suspected, buying price is irrelevant, finance is where they make the money, thanks I thought this might be the case and it's nice to know.

Not on used cars!

[RDG3000]

Yes, used cars, go to trade centre Wales and tell me the don't finance used cars, try and buy with cash and see what obstacles you encounter.

"I'll give 10% more than webuyanycar sounds like a novel idea"..and there's only one way to find out!

My cars 7 years old and Warranty direct still offer me extended warranty to buy, so you can get finance and warranty easily on a 7 year old car with 128k miles on, no doubt a service package is also available!

[RDG3000]

Cash back up to 2k.....no wonder they can afford to go over the top, seems the whole system is rigged.....now there's a suprise!

[markmullen]

RDG3000 said:

Cash back up to 2k.....no wonder they can afford to go over the top, seems the whole system is rigged.....now there's a suprise!

Or alternatively it is geared up for people who bring the auction house the most money, not the private billy clutching his Parkers.

Every business works the same, you look after your biggest customers.

[confused_buyer]

It is not the auction houses which do this, this happens on the manufacturer sales which are run by the manufacturers. BMW is another culprit. Most of the manufacturer sales are a waste of time for anyone other than franchised dealers.

[TwistingMyMelon]

ruff'n'smov said:

It's all quite simple.
The Main Dealer will make money on.
Finance
Extended warranty
Servicing
And other products
So they can afford to 'lose' on retail price of car.

I could be completely wrong

I was thinking this and also whilst some cars might be cheaper on AT, the dealer will need to buy 10+ at a time and therefore buying individual cars to sell on in bulk from AT isnt viable

I think the dealer money is in Finance, Lifeshine (or whatever it is called) and extended warranty's, the cars are just there to get the punter in

[confused_buyer]

Incidentally, the big auction news at the moment is as of this week Manheim are no longer accepting cash payments with BCA to no doubt follow very soon.

There will be a lot of weeping and a wailing from certain types of "dealers!" and some private buyers.

[mini me]

Muncher said:

I am on secondment at Ford Credit bank at the moment and that is true, FCB made around £500m is year but the motor company is not yet in profit and won't be until 2015.

Oi!

One Ford , One team and all that!

[markmullen]

TwistingMyMelon said:

I think the dealer money is in Finance, Lifeshine (or whatever it is called) and extended warranty's, the cars are just there to get the punter in

It's been said several times before, not on used cars, the extras are the icing on the cake but a used car should bring some decent margin.

[RDG3000]

So basically don't bother with the auctions!!

I called into Available Car in Cannock two weeks ago and they wouldn't move an inch on price, even though I pointed out that the front end had had a respray aswell as the door which to be fair on a 13k car needed to be better quality. And it didn't even come with 12 months MOT! I offered them 12K and they wouldn't budge on price BUT did try and get me to buy scotchguard ( 12 quid in Tesco and you can do it yourself they wanted £199.99) and lifeshine and a good few hundred quid!! I left there feeling disapointed as if you can't move on price then the girl handing out the car list's as you walk in might as well take the cash too, no point in having a salesman if you can't haggle !!!!

[markmullen]

How was their car priced in comparison to others?

Or are you just haggling for the sake of haggling? A lot of supermarkets make sure they're the cheapest around, there is no point in discounting beyond that, no point in buying unprofitable business.

[CarlT]

RDG3000 said:

Yes, used cars, go to trade centre Wales and tell me the don't finance used cars, try and buy with cash and see what obstacles you encounter.

"I'll give 10% more than webuyanycar sounds like a novel idea"..and there's only one way to find out!

My cars 7 years old and Warranty direct still offer me extended warranty to buy, so you can get finance and warranty easily on a 7 year old car with 128k miles on, no doubt a service package is also available!

I didn't say they don't finance used cars, I pointed out that a good dealer will make money on the car as well as the finance. If they don't make money on used cars, they won't be around for long!!!,

[Escy]

RDG3000 said:

So basically don't bother with the auctions!!

I called into Available Car in Cannock two weeks ago and they wouldn't move an inch on price, even though I pointed out that the front end had had a respray aswell as the door which to be fair on a 13k car needed to be better quality. And it didn't even come with 12 months MOT! I offered them 12K and they wouldn't budge on price BUT did try and get me to buy scotchguard ( 12 quid in Tesco and you can do it yourself they wanted £199.99) and lifeshine and a good few hundred quid!! I left there feeling disapointed as if you can't move on price then the girl handing out the car list's as you walk in might as well take the cash too, no point in having a salesman if you can't haggle !!!!

You've been to the auctions, maybe they paid over the odds and don't have any room to move?

[jimi]

The main auction houses are indeed manufacturer focused, why wouldnt they be as that's where they get the volume.

I would suggest the OP visit a local auction site rather than a national group, that should see a better opportunity for a cheap car.