Can I back out of an online car auction

[anonymous-user]

I made a last minute bid on a car I had been watching on a car auction site.

It was a bid and decision made that I regret.

The fees c charged by the site for me winning the auction total £600.00 and these have been automatically debited from my account.

I was aware of this and aware of the fees and do not dispute that.

Taking out any moral responsibilities and the idea of making my bed and lying in it...Do I have a right to back out of the obligation to purchase the vehicle and also to receive the £600.00 back?

I know people who do this are sts and cause a lot of frustration and annoyance to a seller - I've had it done to me and know how it feels.

That said I've made a mistake by not reading the advert properly and assuming said car was an automatic ( I thought they all were) and infact its a manual

I know and accept I'm in the wrong here but Ive ballsed up through rushing in and now I want to know if I can get out of it

Many thanks

[M4cruiser]

It sounds like you already set out the pros and cons.

So you know the answer.

Out if interest, how much was the bid?

[mattyprice4004]

Well for a kick off you can kiss goodbye to the £600 - you won so you pay the fees.

Better hope the seller is in a good mood for the rest!

[Alucidnation]

I must be missing something, but being charged for buying a car in an auction??


I always thought it was the seller that paid any fees.

[V8fan]

I presume it was an online auction with one of the large auction houses, Silverstone, Bonhams, Historics etc. They charge commission to buyers and sellers, as well as the listing fee. For a £5k sale (guesstimate if the fees are £600), they will make 15% or more adding the fees together.

There will be a long list of terms and conditions with the auction and there may be an article about 'financial hardship.' There must be previous incidents of bidders going bust between bidding and paying up, whether it be a few thousand, £100k or more. It's probably worth contacting the auction house, but as above, I'd suggest the fees deducted will be lost. Whether they pursue legally for the balance is another thing.

This is the reason many ask for a deposit up front before you even bid when, in these current circumstances, they are only having online bidding. Brightwells for example, wanted a £2500 deposit to even bid yesterday.

Edited by V8fan on Friday 29th May 07:35

[Monkeylegend]

Alucidnation said:

I must be missing something, but being charged for buying a car in an auction??


I always thought it was the seller that paid any fees.

This thread is a good reason why they would charge a buyers fee.

[BertBert]

What do the terms of the auction house say?

[phumy]

Collecting Cars auction charge a flat 6% for buyers so i imagine it could have been a £10k buy on the hammer

[Fatball]

Unless it was BCA and it was a 1k hammer price

[jaja4421]

Short of putting a gun to your head, no-one can force you to hand over any more money, but you do leave yourself open to what seems to me to be a very clear case of breach of contract.

Without knowing the terms and conditions you agreed to when making your bid I would expect the basic position to be that the seller/auction house can legally pursue you for the sale price and potentially additional costs. How likely this is will depend on lots of factors.

Even in a best case scenario where your pleading is accepted, if the seller does re-sell the car you could have a liability if the car sells at a lower price, again plus costs.

[GC8]

V8fan said:

I presume it was an online auction with one of the large auction houses, Silverstone, Bonhams, Historics etc. They charge commission to buyers and sellers, as well as the listing fee. For a £5k sale (guesstimate if the fees are £600), they will make 15% or more adding the fees together.

There will be a long list of terms and conditions with the auction and there may be an article about 'financial hardship.' There must be previous incidents of bidders going bust between bidding and paying up, whether it be a few thousand, £100k or more. It's probably worth contacting the auction house, but as above, I'd suggest the fees deducted will be lost. Whether they pursue legally for the balance is another thing.

This is the reason many ask for a deposit up front before you even bid when, in these current circumstances, they are only having online bidding. Brightwells for example, wanted a £2500 deposit to even bid yesterday.

Edited by V8fan on Friday 29th May 07:35

I was looking at something that you cant bid on yet and they wanted a £5,000 deposit.

[anonymous-user]

After thinking Id decided to go forward and buy. However....

After receiving the sellers details and googling them it turns out the listing as a private sale was infact a trader car, currently being advertised across various platforms and has been for sale for months.

They were just posing as a private seller to get rid.

Ive been in touch with the auction company who were great and have refunded me and voided the sale.

That said it still leaves me with a lesson to learn and a lucky escape for my haste.

I made a stupid decision and I'll make sure I read things properly priior to jumping in last minute!

[Pegscratch]

Sounds like someone is smiling on you. Lucky escape indeed.

[anonymous-user]

What was the car? We might get shafted with a traders car?

[xjay1337]

lord trumpton said:

After thinking Id decided to go forward and buy. However....

After receiving the sellers details and googling them it turns out the listing as a private sale was infact a trader car, currently being advertised across various platforms and has been for sale for months.

They were just posing as a private seller to get rid.

Ive been in touch with the auction company who were great and have refunded me and voided the sale.

That said it still leaves me with a lesson to learn and a lucky escape for my haste.

I made a stupid decision and I'll make sure I read things properly priior to jumping in last minute!

Cheeky s! (the seller, not you!).

[Chris32345]

Alucidnation said:

I must be missing something, but being charged for buying a car in an auction??


I always thought it was the seller that paid any fees.

You are thinking of eBay style
Many action houses charge both buyers fee's and sellers fees

[A1VDY]

Why would a car dealers car flag up worries?
Currently I have three cars on site with V5's in my name as the y were traded in with lost V5's. If I was of that mind I could take one car home at a time and sell as a private sale. We don't work that way though and all are sold as trade cars..

[xjay1337]

A1VDY said:

Why would a car dealers car flag up worries?
Currently I have three cars on site with V5's in my name as the y were traded in with lost V5's. If I was of that mind I could take one car home at a time and sell as a private sale. We don't work that way though and all are sold as trade cars..

Because if it's a trade sale but actually trying to be sold as a private seller.... usually collectable cars are worth more from established long term owners than from random dealers.

[gazza285]

Five minutes of my life gone.

[V8fan]

GC8 said:

I was looking at something that you cant bid on yet and they wanted a £5,000 deposit.

I must have misread it, the £2500 may be the cash limit, although you can't attend in person at the moment anyway. Brightwells want £1k for their 'normal' auctions on a Tuesday, online only at the moment. I may have confused it with CCA or H+H...

Their insistence on12% plus VAT buyers premium is not good, only went up early this year. Others have reduced theirs due to less overheads, last online CCA was 8% although the next one on 27th June is 10% plus VAT (so 12% really....)