Buying a car from BCA
Discussion
Does anyone buy their cars from BCA or other auctions?
My dads mate is a dealer (car, not drugs) and I asked him to bid on a car at the Enfield auction today.
It was a 51 plate Focus Ghia with leather seats, alloys etc, 51k verified mileage and grade 2 so was in good condition. Guide price for a clean one was £1,200 and it ended up going for £1750! Apparently there is a shortage of good condition cars at the moment so prices are rocketing for decent condition, low mileage cars. According to him, a couple of months ago the same car would have gone for £1,400 max. Good news is there are loads of part exchanges coming in due to the new 62 plates.
My understanding is that dealers buy small cars like the Focus from these auctions, spend a few quid sorting out the small bits and sell them on for a few hundred quid extra. Would rather buy from the source, even though I can't go back if anything goes wrong mechanically and you don't get a chance to test drive the car, still seems like a better idea than buying from a dealer or privately. Choice is massively restricted as my dads mate only goes to the Enfield one and I think there are around 300 cars a day, so finding a decent one within my budget (£1,500 before the £150 indemnity and £100 drink for my dads mate) is proving to be difficult.
Other option is to buy a £700 banger if nothing comes up and hope it lasts me a few months until I find something decent but would rather fork out for a fairly decent car and keep it for longer.
Is there anyone in the trade that goes to these auctions and can tell me what sort of cars are going for around £1500? Guide prices seem to be really inconsistent so would be good to hear it from someone that knows.
My dads mate is a dealer (car, not drugs) and I asked him to bid on a car at the Enfield auction today.
It was a 51 plate Focus Ghia with leather seats, alloys etc, 51k verified mileage and grade 2 so was in good condition. Guide price for a clean one was £1,200 and it ended up going for £1750! Apparently there is a shortage of good condition cars at the moment so prices are rocketing for decent condition, low mileage cars. According to him, a couple of months ago the same car would have gone for £1,400 max. Good news is there are loads of part exchanges coming in due to the new 62 plates.
My understanding is that dealers buy small cars like the Focus from these auctions, spend a few quid sorting out the small bits and sell them on for a few hundred quid extra. Would rather buy from the source, even though I can't go back if anything goes wrong mechanically and you don't get a chance to test drive the car, still seems like a better idea than buying from a dealer or privately. Choice is massively restricted as my dads mate only goes to the Enfield one and I think there are around 300 cars a day, so finding a decent one within my budget (£1,500 before the £150 indemnity and £100 drink for my dads mate) is proving to be difficult.
Other option is to buy a £700 banger if nothing comes up and hope it lasts me a few months until I find something decent but would rather fork out for a fairly decent car and keep it for longer.
Is there anyone in the trade that goes to these auctions and can tell me what sort of cars are going for around £1500? Guide prices seem to be really inconsistent so would be good to hear it from someone that knows.
Do you know who the vendor of the Focus is? What dealer group?
It is true that there's a shortage of cheaper end, clean genuine cars. Many dealers I know who normally specialise in the prestige stuff are now keeping hold of such part exchanges and retailing the good ones. And so it begs the question why they've sent this particular 11 year old Focus to BCA.
I stopped buying the 'banger territory' cars from auction a while back because I thought it was a false economy and there literally was no money in them. You are forced to pay way, way over the odds for older hatchbacks that appear clean; most dealers want them for stock as anything presentable under £2,000 retail is easy to move on. Alas as you point out, once you've done the necessary fettling that an 11 year old car will inevitably need - there will be couple of hundred pounds in them, less a punter's negotiation (m.o.t ad taxing etc) and less the tax man's cut.
In my opinion a private buying a perceived 'cheapy' from auction makes no sense at all, it is in fact quite the contrary of good 'bangernomics'. Once you've fought off the relentless trade bids, given way beyond what you thought it was worth, paid BCA's extortionate indemnity, fuelled it and endured the journey home to the tune of rumbling wheel bearings and knocking drop links (at best!) you'll most certainly have paid beyond retail price for a car that is far from retail condition. Best bet is to trawl Auto Trader and source you're desired cheapy from a private seller (in fact avoid trade adverts altogether for the really cheap stuff). There you have the opportunity to crawl all over the car taking as much time as you like, test drive it, and then scrutinize and bargain hard with the seller!
It is true that there's a shortage of cheaper end, clean genuine cars. Many dealers I know who normally specialise in the prestige stuff are now keeping hold of such part exchanges and retailing the good ones. And so it begs the question why they've sent this particular 11 year old Focus to BCA.
I stopped buying the 'banger territory' cars from auction a while back because I thought it was a false economy and there literally was no money in them. You are forced to pay way, way over the odds for older hatchbacks that appear clean; most dealers want them for stock as anything presentable under £2,000 retail is easy to move on. Alas as you point out, once you've done the necessary fettling that an 11 year old car will inevitably need - there will be couple of hundred pounds in them, less a punter's negotiation (m.o.t ad taxing etc) and less the tax man's cut.
In my opinion a private buying a perceived 'cheapy' from auction makes no sense at all, it is in fact quite the contrary of good 'bangernomics'. Once you've fought off the relentless trade bids, given way beyond what you thought it was worth, paid BCA's extortionate indemnity, fuelled it and endured the journey home to the tune of rumbling wheel bearings and knocking drop links (at best!) you'll most certainly have paid beyond retail price for a car that is far from retail condition. Best bet is to trawl Auto Trader and source you're desired cheapy from a private seller (in fact avoid trade adverts altogether for the really cheap stuff). There you have the opportunity to crawl all over the car taking as much time as you like, test drive it, and then scrutinize and bargain hard with the seller!
ajb85 said:
Do you know who the vendor of the Focus is? What dealer group?
It is true that there's a shortage of cheaper end, clean genuine cars. Many dealers I know who normally specialise in the prestige stuff are now keeping hold of such part exchanges and retailing the good ones. And so it begs the question why they've sent this particular 11 year old Focus to BCA.
I stopped buying the 'banger territory' cars from auction a while back because I thought it was a false economy and there literally was no money in them. You are forced to pay way, way over the odds for older hatchbacks that appear clean; most dealers want them for stock as anything presentable under £2,000 retail is easy to move on. Alas as you point out, once you've done the necessary fettling that an 11 year old car will inevitably need - there will be couple of hundred pounds in them, less a punter's negotiation (m.o.t ad taxing etc) and less the tax man's cut.
In my opinion a private buying a perceived 'cheapy' from auction makes no sense at all, it is in fact quite the contrary of good 'bangernomics'. Once you've fought off the relentless trade bids, given way beyond what you thought it was worth, paid BCA's extortionate indemnity, fuelled it and endured the journey home to the tune of rumbling wheel bearings and knocking drop links (at best!) you'll most certainly have paid beyond retail price for a car that is far from retail condition. Best bet is to trawl Auto Trader and source you're desired cheapy from a private seller (in fact avoid trade adverts altogether for the really cheap stuff). There you have the opportunity to crawl all over the car taking as much time as you like, test drive it, and then scrutinize and bargain hard with the seller!
I'd agree with this. The problem with the auctions is half the people there are private buyers looking for these sort of cars, buying fever sets in and the car makes stupid money. You'll also find some houses bidding up 'against the wall'. A lot of the dealer groups have their own p/x buyers who take off the good cars and the rest go to auction. I would bother personally, get a good private deal. It is true that there's a shortage of cheaper end, clean genuine cars. Many dealers I know who normally specialise in the prestige stuff are now keeping hold of such part exchanges and retailing the good ones. And so it begs the question why they've sent this particular 11 year old Focus to BCA.
I stopped buying the 'banger territory' cars from auction a while back because I thought it was a false economy and there literally was no money in them. You are forced to pay way, way over the odds for older hatchbacks that appear clean; most dealers want them for stock as anything presentable under £2,000 retail is easy to move on. Alas as you point out, once you've done the necessary fettling that an 11 year old car will inevitably need - there will be couple of hundred pounds in them, less a punter's negotiation (m.o.t ad taxing etc) and less the tax man's cut.
In my opinion a private buying a perceived 'cheapy' from auction makes no sense at all, it is in fact quite the contrary of good 'bangernomics'. Once you've fought off the relentless trade bids, given way beyond what you thought it was worth, paid BCA's extortionate indemnity, fuelled it and endured the journey home to the tune of rumbling wheel bearings and knocking drop links (at best!) you'll most certainly have paid beyond retail price for a car that is far from retail condition. Best bet is to trawl Auto Trader and source you're desired cheapy from a private seller (in fact avoid trade adverts altogether for the really cheap stuff). There you have the opportunity to crawl all over the car taking as much time as you like, test drive it, and then scrutinize and bargain hard with the seller!
I have access and can help but can you be a little more specific? What model, what year what mileage are you looking for?
For example:
2016 White TESLA MODEL S 0.0 70KWH Hatchback with 12k miles
CAP
New 58.9k
Retail 53,2k
Clean: 48.2k
Avg: 46.6k
below average: 45k
Glass's
New 56.1k
Retail: 50.6k
Trd: 48.1k
Cars are regularly making the clean price + fees as there is a shortage of decent second hand's in the trade at present.
For example:
2016 White TESLA MODEL S 0.0 70KWH Hatchback with 12k miles
CAP
New 58.9k
Retail 53,2k
Clean: 48.2k
Avg: 46.6k
below average: 45k
Glass's
New 56.1k
Retail: 50.6k
Trd: 48.1k
Cars are regularly making the clean price + fees as there is a shortage of decent second hand's in the trade at present.
I'm specifically looking into the model X. The company I work for is looking to put a model x up for auction. I am doing research on the resale value of tesla's being sold through BCA. I was looking into three Tesla model S's for Auction and was looking to find what they've been sold at or are priced at.
Model S's I was looking at.
-GX16 MHV auction 04/07
-MF67 EPC auction 27/06
-LD17 MLZ auction 29/06
Any prcing information on these would be very helpful!!!
Thank you!
LG
Model S's I was looking at.
-GX16 MHV auction 04/07
-MF67 EPC auction 27/06
-LD17 MLZ auction 29/06
Any prcing information on these would be very helpful!!!
Thank you!
LG
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