Buying at car auctions...advice

[s114hed]

Hi all,

Haven't posted on here for ages, but a friend of mine is going to an auction this week and has asked me to attend. Just wanted some advice really, what should I be on the look out for? How can I tell if he is bidding against the wall etc? Any advice much appreciated.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[zollaf]

best advice i can give you, if you need to ask how to buy at auction, don't buy at an auction. you are up against hardened pro's. you will lose. simples. what you might save on the day you will lose soon enough.

[s114hed]

Zollaf, my friends was looking at 1 owner cars with full main dealer history and under 60k mileage. He's done various valuations and knows what the cars worth, he's also checked with the dealer and got a copy if all work completed. It's just a matter of how to get the best price and not look like a private buyer


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[zollaf]

read my first quote. he will stick out like a fat bloke at a hen party. the auctioneer will not know him so will know he is a private buyer. everyone else there will know he is private by the way the auctioneer handles things. you won't know if you are bidding against the wall. go to a few auctions first. get a feel for them. see what its like. doing various valuations and knowing what a cars worth is worth diddly squat. he is up against people doing it for a living that attend every auction in their locality. trust me, been there, done that. had some bargains, also been stung, but thats the motor trade. private buyers are there for amusement.
oh and at the moment the trade is hard, which will make it worse. he may get a good deal though, luck of the draw.

[s114hed]

Thanks Zollaf.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[dreddfan]

Just don't buy French ;)

[s114hed]

Lol he's looking at buying German, Audi A4/5


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ChA6dders]

I agree with some of what Zollaf says but have to say on the whole I don't. It's a good idea to go to the auction a few times before hand & if possible a few different ones. Know what you want too bca & manhiem put most their cars online before they go into auction. They Inc mileage details, pictures, so, etc. Don't forget the fees involved & also you have to pay on the day so have your funds in place. I've been to loads of auctions & bought a number of cars. Yes there are dealers there but there are also a lot of private buyers. I've always found the auctioneers helpful they know your a private buyer but they treat you like any other buyer in my experience. You can also easily outbid dealers they have to buy the car & then make money you don't I've outbid dealers in the past because I've no overheads. As far as checking the cars goes u have a good hour to look around most the cars are open so don't be afraid to have a proper look around the vehicle. Also if you've got access to the inet at the time check out prices on line. In summary you can definitely get a bargain, most the cars sold at auction are genuine & only a couple of years old. So go for it & get yourself a bargain.

[s114hed]

ChA6dders, thanks for your very informative advice. I heard the traders take you on for a laugh, is there any truth in that?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ChA6dders]

ChA6dders, thanks for your very informative advice. I heard the traders take you on for a laugh, is there any truth in that?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Not that I'm aware of but who cares your budget is your budget. As said you don't have to make money on the car so in theory can probably bid higher but still within your budget. It's not the cloak & dagger shark infested environment you might be led to believe. Another tip is to see if you can get hold of the traders catalogue for the day you buy a catalogue on arrival but the traders one has more pricing info like the expected sale price & retail price Sometimes they're left lying around (no name fair game) as such

[s114hed]

Oh that's good to know. Would they charge for such a thing?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[s114hed]

I see there's a sale catalogue online, but without the trade prices on it.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[ChA6dders]

Oh that's good to know. Would they charge for such a thing?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I see there's a sale catalogue online, but without the trade prices on it.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

The prices are only in printed catalogues and available on the day normally to traders. They cost about £2

[chody]

I have bought several cars at auction and would recommend you buy a dealer or lease company direct as they are sent to auction if they dont meet the criteria for the forecourt and that could just be mileage too high or age or overstock of that model

[s114hed]

Chody what was your experience like as a private buyer? And tips you may have?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[chody]

pretty good but watch for them trying to get more money out of you when they realize your not a regular they will say the car has a reserve on it and you are just under the seller wants x amount more they have tried this twice when i have won a bid just say no thanks I will bid on another car

[s114hed]

It's that after you've won the auction? Wouldn't they say provisional bid if your under the reserve of the car?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[gazza57]

There's nothing wrong with buying from an auction, in fact in my experience it is entirely the same as buying an "approved" car from a dealership... but without the hefty price tag.

I bought my wife's last Golf from an auction way back in 2001, it has been a superb car, it needed a bit of work when I got it because the dealer who had supposedly "serviced" it for a fleet company appeared to have done nothing of the sort, the discs were grooved and the pads down to the backplates, yet only 200 miles ago it supposedly had a 60000 mile service, it was showing 60200 miles I rang them to ask for its service record, and compared it to every tick in the service schedule that was in the glovebox.
It tallied exactly, so the dealership concerned had obviously employed Mr Magoo or blind Pugh to service the car on that day. I called them to explain why a car which had supposedly had a 60000 mile service at over £400 appeared to have had nothing but a cursory glance, they declined to comment, so I called the fleet company concerned and told them that this dealership appeared not to be doing work for which the fleet operator had paid, the photographs clearly showed badly worn discs and pads and there was not even an advise pads/discs worn, nothing.
The result, they lost the fleet servicing contract.

Anyway, I put a new cambelt on it, new discs and pads all round cost me £700 but the same car on the dealership forecourt £12995 whereas I paid £8125 plus the £700 so £8825 in total a solid £4100 saving.

Warranty? No such thing either at the auction or at the dealership,only essential difference being that the auction house tell you where you stand where the dealerships in my opinion humour you as a customer, make all the right noises, but do little else.

Gazza57

[s114hed]

Gazza57 wow thanks for that very informative piece of advice. I will go and check it out and hopefully my friend can purchase a sound car for a reasonable price. Now the only question is how to bid?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[gazza57]

S114hed,

What I would say is the following:

Get the catalogue, and pick out the cars on which you would like to bid and stick to them.

You only get to hear the car running when they start it up to bring it in, the rest of the time it is locked, so you get around 2 minutes to pop up the bonnet and listen to the car running.

Once you have chosen the cars on which you are to bid attach your top bid against each.

Once the bidding exceeds your top bid, step out of the bidding for that vehicle.

Don't be lured into a bidding war, you might end up paying £1500 more than the car's worth merely because you want it so bad.

I had my heart set on a 2.4 Audi Avant, but it went too high so I walked away.

You need to have patience and be prepared that you may not buy anything on one particular day.


Gazza57

[Sam]

Gazza57 wow thanks for that very informative piece of advice. I will go and check it out and hopefully my friend can purchase a sound car for a reasonable price. Now the only question is how to bid?

Raise your hand high into the air and shout "ME, ME, PICK ME!"

[s114hed]

Raise your hand high into the air and shout "ME, ME, PICK ME!"

Lool, thanks for the afternoon laugh. I'm sure you know what I meant. 😁


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[s114hed]

S114hed,

What I would say is the following:

Get the catalogue, and pick out the cars on which you would like to bid and stick to them.

You only get to hear the car running when they start it up to bring it in, the rest of the time it is locked, so you get around 2 minutes to pop up the bonnet and listen to the car running.

Once you have chosen the cars on which you are to bid attach your top bid against each.

Once the bidding exceeds your top bid, step out of the bidding for that vehicle.

Don't be lured into a bidding war, you might end up paying £1500 more than the car's worth merely because you want it so bad.

I had my heart set on a 2.4 Audi Avant, but it went too high so I walked away.

You need to have patience and be prepared that you may not buy anything on one particular day.


Gazza57

Gazza57,

My friend has his heart set on only 1 car really, the CAP price is £13,650, but after 4 valuations (Parker's, WhatCar, Glass) the average price was £13,250. He has said he won't go a penny over £13k including the buyers fee which is about £650. So £12,350 is he's final bid. Do you think we might be wasting our time? There's only 150 lots and there all from ex-lease with full main dealer history.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[dreddfan]

Curious to know how this panned out. Did your mate buy a car after and if so what did he get?