Car auctions - worth bothering?

[bedonde]

Anyone have any recent experience of BCA (Blackbushe)? Have bought many cars via BCA in the past but nothing for about 3 years. As a private punter is it worth it anymore or are prices still silly? Fully aware of the folly of buying an untested car for somewhere close to retail...but past experience tells me it makes sense if the hammer falls at the right price.

[craig-A]

They can be, but you need to know what you're looking for though it sounds like you do.
They are really set up for dealers doing multiple purchases, not private punters as the fees are ridiculous to be honest. My last purchase was a 2008 Citroen C4, £875 hammer price, just under £1200 after fees!

My last 3 cars were bought from BCA, Glasgow, Kinross and Livingstone. They've been perfect for what I've needed, but I won't spend more than £2k on a car these days.

What sort of budget do you have?

Craig

[bedonde]

Looking to spend 12k ish on a Merc E-Class estate. So fees at that level are likely to be £650. There's quite a disparity between Glass's and CAP prices too, makes it hard to predict where the hammer is going to fall and whether it's worth travelling to have a punt.