auction car buy pros and cons?

[karan99]

hi all,

i am looking to buy a cheap car for commute and came here from the biker forum. I have looked at many auction vehicle which are cat x or u and have no v5.

What are the pro and cons for buying from those sites pls? like copart, salvage auction etc.
if the car drives and runs can we drive from the auction site... i doubt as it has no v5 or is damaged...

any help appreciated

thanks

[123DWA]

Unless you are well experienced with repairing cars or in the trade yourself I would steer clear of salvage auctions.

"Runs & drives" on Copart means that it rolls forwards & backwards. It could still have a significant engine or gearbox fault (or both!) Also, some people will buy a heavily damaged car and chuck a few panels on it so it looks lightly damaged and re enter it into the auction. If you don't know what you're doing its very easy to get your fingers burnt. As well as all that you're bidding against people in Europe or further afield who have much higher used car prices meaning they're happy to pay more for a car even if in the UK that might be the cars undamaged retail value.

You wont be able to drive it away as all the fuel will have been drained & there may be damage to the engine & sump as all the cars are lifted from underneath using a forklift. I believe some Copart sites wont release a car to you unless they are loading on to a truck/trailer.

Edited by 123DWA on Friday 24th February 17:20

[The Road Crew]

Don't - you will get your fingers burned.

[Muzzer79]

"Runs and Drives" literally means the engine starts and it moves under it's own steam.

It does not mean that it's roadworthy - it's at a salvage auction.

If you know little about cars or repairing them, steer clear - they are not the places for you.

If you are looking for a cheap car, a potential could be to buy a Category car that's already been repaired. If you intend on keeping the car and/or running it into the ground, so aren't too bothered about value, it makes sense to buy one that's cheap in the first place.
Just ensure you get it inspected by someone who knows what they are looking for.

[nobrakes]

Autotrader multiple searches for
1 owner
2 owner
Full Service history
Etc

Open mind

Don’t be afraid to travel for the right car.

Take cash

Get AA inspection if you like.

Cheapest is sometimes a false economy

Don’t worry about mpg as all goes outgrow window with the cost of repairs, so a better condition V6 will be cheaper to run than a dog 1.6

Left field brown unpopular spec will be cheaper if you aren’t bothered.

[karan99]

thanks for all the inputs... yes will be staying away from the salvage auctions..it got me interested as looking for a cheap car to commute and there were really good prices on it.
does anyone knows if we can get into the auction of leased cars... i tried google but all are open to trades only..

[KTMsm]

karan99 said:

thanks for all the inputs... yes will be staying away from the salvage auctions..it got me interested as looking for a cheap car to commute and there were really good prices on it.
does anyone knows if we can get into the auction of leased cars... i tried google but all are open to trades only..

They won't let you bid because they don't want the hassle, because many of the cars aren't what they seem

Auctions only make sense if you need volume, there are cheaper cars on FB, ebay, gumtree and AT