Classic Auction Questions

[KTMsm]

I'm just watching Hampson Car Auction

I believe that essentially all car auctions are "sold as is"

Presumably that makes "Owner describes as mechanically perfect" worthless ?

I was just looking at Lot 58 a UK supplied Impreza - with no MOT and 82,708 on the odometer

It fails to mention that it had 173,000 in 2016

Surely they owe some duty of care - either not mentioning the mileage or carrying out the tiniest bit of research ?

[spikeyhead]

There are specific laws relating to auction houses.

They cannot say anything that they no to be untrue, but have not obligation to do any research.

The onus on what is being sold is solely down to the buyer.

[POORCARDEALER]

Buyer beware - unless they’ve said it’s warranted mileage it’s tough.
T & C’s will have it covered.

Not places for novice buyers for sure .

[Turbobanana]

KTMsm said:

I'm just watching Hampson Car Auction

I believe that essentially all car auctions are "sold as is"

Presumably that makes "Owner describes as mechanically perfect" worthless ?

I was just looking at Lot 58 a UK supplied Impreza - with no MOT and 82,708 on the odometer

It fails to mention that it had 173,000 in 2016

Surely they owe some duty of care - either not mentioning the mileage or carrying out the tiniest bit of research ?

Auction description said:

A fully restored car, ‘R855 EFA’ has reportedly benefitted from an engine rebuild and respray in current ownership.

I have no affiliation to the auction house or the vendor, nor do I have any interest in the car, but could it be that the clock was zeroed as part of the restoration it appears to have had?

I'd want a proper trawl through any documentation on this I think.

[austin]

Same auction had an Austin 7 described as an original Ulster.

It isn't by a very long way.

The description is a very, very long way off what the car actually is, hopefully the buyer is aware of that.

Nothing wrong with a decent replica Ulster, (I have one myself sitting alongside a genuine one) so not sure why they describe it as thus. Surely it can't do the reputation of the auction house any good?

[SS427 Camaro]

I was after the 140,000 mile E46 M3, but someone got carried away and it sold at a ludicrous £11,000 quid !
Add their fees and it’s £14,850 !
It needed new discs and pads, had odd rear tires, one of which was a ditch finder, let alone a service and other jobs.

[Turbobanana]

SS427 Camaro said:

I was after the 140,000 mile E46 M3, but someone got carried away and it sold at a ludicrous £11,000 quid !
Add their fees and it’s £14,850 !
It needed new discs and pads, had odd rear tires, one of which was a ditch finder, let alone a service and other jobs.

The reality is, that's probably indicative of what's actually out there. We, as enthusiasts, expect and are prepared to pay for better than that, which makes me wonder why something like this is in a specialist car auction. I suspect the seller is rubbing his or her hands together, though...

[M138]

With the mileage thing. I wonder at what age of vehicle do people look at the condition rather than mileage?
I’m thinking cars like stags where after so long, mileage is irrelevant in most cases as it could be rotten but low mileage after all these years.

[Turbobanana]

M138 said:

With the mileage thing. I wonder at what age of vehicle do people look at the condition rather than mileage?
I’m thinking cars like stags where after so long, mileage is irrelevant in most cases as it could be rotten but low mileage after all these years.

We (the UK) worry about it much more than other people do.

[SS427 Camaro]

Turbobanana said:

The reality is, that's probably indicative of what's actually out there. We, as enthusiasts, expect and are prepared to pay for better than that, which makes me wonder why something like this is in a specialist car auction. I suspect the seller is rubbing his or her hands together, though...

It’s strange, there is a much lower miles, black one on here for sale with a trader for £11k. I called them yesterday afternoon, but he had just taken a deposit on it yesterday, from a buyer in Germany would you believe.
Kicking myself for selling my nice manual one with 179,000 miles for £6,000 back in June 17…..

[M138]

Turbobanana said:

M138 said:

With the mileage thing. I wonder at what age of vehicle do people look at the condition rather than mileage?
I’m thinking cars like stags where after so long, mileage is irrelevant in most cases as it could be rotten but low mileage after all these years.

We (the UK) worry about it much more than other people do.

I think it started in America and obviously made its way over here. I must admit always being the owner of relatively old cars condition has always been priority over mileage.

[KTMsm]

M138 said:

With the mileage thing. I wonder at what age of vehicle do people look at the condition rather than mileage?

I’m thinking cars like stags where after so long, mileage is irrelevant in most cases as it could be rotten but low mileage after all these years.

Totally depends on the car - on a performance car such as an Impreza/ EVO those engines are unlikely to make it to 150k and a rebuild could be 50% of the car's value

On a Ferrari when there are so many low mileage cars around, the only reason you'd buy a high mileage one is if it's substantially cheaper

Personally as I want to drive the cars I own, I don't want a mint car nor an ultra low mileage one

[WPA]

So here is interesting one and a good case of buyer beware.

This car: https://www.mathewsons.co.uk/auction/lot/706-1978-...

It was described as a genuine pre-production TR8 however I was intrigued enough to do some further research and was speaking to Richard at https://www.triumphtr8.com/ to try and clear up what this car actually is, he has kindly allowed me to share the following information.

Well known car. Actually it's a LHD TR7 ACW chassis number that apparently gained a TR8 EFi 13E engine and was apparently sent to the USA for testing. No documented proof for that but it has always been the story that has followed the car. At some point it was converted to RHD. It's claimed the factory did it, but again no documented proof. Very nice car regardless although it could do with a tidy on the interior trim the last time I saw it. Probably was a test car but on the whole they remained in the USA and were then usually destroyed so sending it back from the USA is unusual but not unheard of.

The 22 RHD TR8's are all convertibles, and all have UK bumpers, all the rest approx 2750 have USA spec bumpers. No hard tops were ever made by the factory in RHD.

[KTMsm]

Sorry what am I missing, it sounds as it's described a pre-production V8 (for testing purposes)

[KTMsm]

Another question...

There's another Hampson auction ending today and I recognize three cars that were "sold" at the previous auction

Presumably that means either someone got carried away or saw the car and realised it's not as described either way they would have lost their deposit

I was surprised the Evo III sold for such a high price but the XR4x4 and GT6 seemed quite cheap (I haven't inspected them)

[spikeyhead]

Are you sure they were sold and not "sold?"

Imagine you're an auctioneer. The reserve is £10k

Bidding has been ok, and gone, 9.4k, 9.6k and come to a halt at 9.8k. The bloke that bid 9.8k looks like he may go t0 10.2 so you, as the auctioneer invent a bid from the fire extinguisher at the back of the hall.

Post auction negotiations aren't unusual. Auctioneer later asks the seller if he'll accept 9.8k but is declined, so he asked the highest real bidder if they would like it at 10k which is also declined.

Or it may just be that whoever did buy it had a better look round, decided that putting the car back through the block would mean they'd lose a lot less money than dealing with the corrosion or having two rear wings custom made as the last two that were on ebay before the auction have now disappeared.

[KTMsm]

I have no inside knowledge, plenty were down as Unsold

These still show as sold on the last auction results

The Evo had no reserve, no MOT and a recent respray, based on how rotten they can go I was expecting bids to be half of the £9562

[MDMA .]

There’s usually a case why they are being sold at auction in the first place (they wouldn’t sell privately if people came to have a good look/drive). You really need a few randoms bidding on them remotely for them to stand any chance of selling.
Some of the “modern classics” I’ve seen in person at a few auctions have been utter st.

[Huntsman]

What does 'provisionally sold' mean?

[CubanPete]

Huntsman said:

What does 'provisionally sold' mean?

It means it hasn't met reserve and but there can be a discussion with the seller.