Car auctions - what's your experience?
Discussion
p0rcupine said:
3. What are the typical gotchas?
Don't take offence but if you have to ask things like that then you are going to get burned. Prices won't be far off retail (as a non trader you'll be paying full fees)
Buy something (with backup/comeback/warranty) from the normal channels
Cue next week's thread..."bought a shed from auction so how do I get a refund"
Some auctions let you take a look at cars the day before. Make use of this time to grab the keys and have a look round the car you wish to purchase.
Don't get caught in a bidding war. Have a max price in your head, and stick to it.
Remember the car may have hidden faults. Budget for repairs.
Research auction fees before putting your hand up. Some can be higher for joe public.
Typical fees can include:
Flat rate purchase fee and/or Percentage of cars purchase price
V5 Registration document transfer fee
Cash handling fee
Credit / Debit card charges.
Remember, once the hammer has went down, the car is yours. No refunds, no complaining, no whinging. And people are savvy to cars being run through auctions a few weeks after being purchased.
Don't go and buy a car the first time. Take a sit back and watch. Decide if going through this route is really for you.
I can not stress this enough. You really need to know what your doing with both the price AND the cars mechanicals. If you can't identify basic faults -which may be hidden or bodged-, you are going to have a very bad time.
Don't get caught in a bidding war. Have a max price in your head, and stick to it.
Remember the car may have hidden faults. Budget for repairs.
Research auction fees before putting your hand up. Some can be higher for joe public.
Typical fees can include:
Flat rate purchase fee and/or Percentage of cars purchase price
V5 Registration document transfer fee
Cash handling fee
Credit / Debit card charges.
Remember, once the hammer has went down, the car is yours. No refunds, no complaining, no whinging. And people are savvy to cars being run through auctions a few weeks after being purchased.
Don't go and buy a car the first time. Take a sit back and watch. Decide if going through this route is really for you.
I can not stress this enough. You really need to know what your doing with both the price AND the cars mechanicals. If you can't identify basic faults -which may be hidden or bodged-, you are going to have a very bad time.
Edited by MethylatedSpirit on Monday 11th September 13:34
As an independent car dealer, I can probably give some advice. If you're looking for something a bit special, then classic and specialist auctions could be the way to go. If you're after something more 'run of the mill', I would suggest sticking to private sellers via the normal platforms. Have a browse on Facebook and Gumtree. It is amazing what people are giving away on these sites, and you'll have a chance to go over the cars with a fine tooth-comb and thorough test drive. You've also got more chance of bidding them low, especially if they've had the car for sale for a while and you can offer them cash there and then - cash talks as they say. As for auctions, there is so much part exchange rubbish going through and the auctions fee's can be a killer (even with a trade account!) I have been a mechanic for the last 8 years, so feel I have a good grasp on what a good car looks like, but the simple fact of the matter is, everyone's definition of a non-slippery clutch is different for example. Some auction drivers have no mechanical know-how, so won't be able to tell you if the clutch is too high or slipping. You have no guarantee that a car will drive in any gears other than first or reverse, you'll have no idea if the car is going to overheat (auction houses will clean mayo from oil filler caps), amongst many others pit-falls. You might get lucky buying just one car from auction, but you could get equally unlucky. I buy around 3-4 cars a week from auction and usually once a month I buy a complete dog which will subsequently be put on eBay as spares or repair. Probably another 1/2 per week will have hidden mechanical faults which have to be put right before sale.
Plenty of auction houses down south, in and around London. I usually buy from Mannheim and BCA. BCA fees on a £1000 car as a private buyer will be around £340 plus VAT.
Sorry for the long post....it's been a slow day!
Plenty of auction houses down south, in and around London. I usually buy from Mannheim and BCA. BCA fees on a £1000 car as a private buyer will be around £340 plus VAT.
Sorry for the long post....it's been a slow day!
A mate walked away with a £40 Metro that no one else was bidding for. He made his wife drive it for 6 horrible months with it breaking down on a very regular basis.
I walked away with a Laguna for £300 that I'd not looked around thinking it looked too expensive, broke down on the way home from the auction hall. Saw the mountings for the taxi meter as soon as I got in. Fixed the heater and replaced the radiator to stop it overheating and the gearbox packed in on the way home. Reconditioned gearbox gave me six months of interesting (it would oversteer in the wet, never worked out why - was amazingly controllable though) motoring before a major MOT failure list! Got something like £70 back as some guy wanted the wheels and took the car.
This was all years ago so we're well overdue another trip
I walked away with a Laguna for £300 that I'd not looked around thinking it looked too expensive, broke down on the way home from the auction hall. Saw the mountings for the taxi meter as soon as I got in. Fixed the heater and replaced the radiator to stop it overheating and the gearbox packed in on the way home. Reconditioned gearbox gave me six months of interesting (it would oversteer in the wet, never worked out why - was amazingly controllable though) motoring before a major MOT failure list! Got something like £70 back as some guy wanted the wheels and took the car.
This was all years ago so we're well overdue another trip
Steve_F said:
A mate walked away with a £40 Metro that no one else was bidding for. He made his wife drive it for 6 horrible months with it breaking down on a very regular basis.
I walked away with a Laguna for £300 that I'd not looked around thinking it looked too expensive, broke down on the way home from the auction hall. Saw the mountings for the taxi meter as soon as I got in. Fixed the heater and replaced the radiator to stop it overheating and the gearbox packed in on the way home. Reconditioned gearbox gave me six months of interesting (it would oversteer in the wet, never worked out why - was amazingly controllable though) motoring before a major MOT failure list! Got something like £70 back as some guy wanted the wheels and took the car.
This was all years ago so we're well overdue another trip
I bought wheels from a Laguna near your location for my Clio 197. Paid £70. Was it you? I walked away with a Laguna for £300 that I'd not looked around thinking it looked too expensive, broke down on the way home from the auction hall. Saw the mountings for the taxi meter as soon as I got in. Fixed the heater and replaced the radiator to stop it overheating and the gearbox packed in on the way home. Reconditioned gearbox gave me six months of interesting (it would oversteer in the wet, never worked out why - was amazingly controllable though) motoring before a major MOT failure list! Got something like £70 back as some guy wanted the wheels and took the car.
This was all years ago so we're well overdue another trip
Unless you have had at least 10 years of experience in buying vehicles from auction - don't bother.
Too many people think that seeing the word "auction" infers that ANYTHING that is sold via this way means cheap. IT DOES NOT.
Keep in mind that in every single case the auction house represents the seller - NOT the buyer. If a vehicle seems cheap, it is cheap for a very good reason.
Having spent 10 years of my life wasted at car auctions as a trade buyer - I would NEVER recommend anyone buying a vehicle via this method. The rip-off fees foisted on private buyers AFTER the hammer has come down helps to make the whole exercise very, very expensive.
Buy your vehicle from ANY other source, but there are 3 rules to abide by. Research, Research, Research.
Too many people think that seeing the word "auction" infers that ANYTHING that is sold via this way means cheap. IT DOES NOT.
Keep in mind that in every single case the auction house represents the seller - NOT the buyer. If a vehicle seems cheap, it is cheap for a very good reason.
Having spent 10 years of my life wasted at car auctions as a trade buyer - I would NEVER recommend anyone buying a vehicle via this method. The rip-off fees foisted on private buyers AFTER the hammer has come down helps to make the whole exercise very, very expensive.
Buy your vehicle from ANY other source, but there are 3 rules to abide by. Research, Research, Research.
norasport said:
Anyone had experience of the online auction company "Wellboughtwellsold" by any chance?
Unfortunately you can only post positive reviews on PH due to the joke shop rules (yes, yes I know we agreed when we joined etc. Its still a total joke) No negative discussions can be entered into, even if they are 100% factually correct and backed up with evidence.
I hope you dont get scammed but if you do, dont want others here using this forum.
Unbelievable but sadly true.
i bought my previous car from BCA. £5800 hammer and with all the fees added it came to £6400 ish total.
drove it for 4 years and just PX'd for £2200 and now someone else has already started driving it!
I didn't know much just needed to buy a car that day at whatever the cost so just checked the windscreen report to see if it was all green and bought it.
Car was good. served us well for 4 years but it's a hit or miss as you have no come backs.
and due to the current market, i don't think you'll get your hands on any of the good stocks
drove it for 4 years and just PX'd for £2200 and now someone else has already started driving it!
I didn't know much just needed to buy a car that day at whatever the cost so just checked the windscreen report to see if it was all green and bought it.
Car was good. served us well for 4 years but it's a hit or miss as you have no come backs.
and due to the current market, i don't think you'll get your hands on any of the good stocks
Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff