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Looking at buying a newish car 2014 and by that age most main dealers are not selling that age and you are buying from an independent dealer. Now, I suspect that the a great many of the cars they sell were purchased at auction anyway and therefore, they are just acting as a broker.
Has anyone purchased a nearly new vehicle at auction and did you save much dollar?
We looked at auction this time. Firstly the auction buying was crazy. 5 lanes of cars simultaneously being auctioned at lightning speed. Price wise some stuff seemed good, other more popular newer family cars didn't seem that cheap and that was what we wanted. Also the auction fees were much higher for Joe public. Added quite a bit to the hammer price. We decided against. A friend got a great deal on his van at auction though
IMO you really need to know what you are doing. Go to a couple of auctions with no intention of bidding just to see how they work. You also need to be able to check a car over and find any faults with it as it "sold as seen"
ttjwrongagain
You get an hour after the auction ends ( BCA ) to drive the car and check for any major undisclosed mechanical faults. So hammer time and its yours and you find a knocking engine or slipping clutch and you get your money back.
Alot of cars are ex lease , ex rental cars and are perfect mechanically.
You need to register and pay a hefty 'bond' to be able to bid as a punter. Then you need to be able to get it home obviously, with tax and insurance cover in place.
Ideally get an independant trader to buy with you. You also need to be aware that the auctioneer can spot a billy a mile off and will accept bids against you from the wall behind your back to bump the price by a few hundred quid.
Then there is buyers premium fees on top.
singletrackmind - agreed but its all the bits and bobs you might not spot especially if you have limited mechanical knowledge. that was my point. You get more security buying from a dealer.
I know two people who bought shit cars at auction because of their limited knowledge
When we were having issues with our golf, I went to a local garage/dealer who explained how they acquire cars for sale.
They access the stock going through auction online. Then it's like ebay without the snipers. This place worked on a fixed margin after whatever damage had been fixed and they mostly went with ex motability stuff.
Frankly if you're buying against them you've not got much of an edge. It's very quick, you pay a fee on top, then you have to tax and insure it or pay someone to get it for you. And as you're buying at auction you don't get the usual legal consumer protection AFAIK.
I'd use that dealer to find one for me and try to agree their margin up front. There and then again, I'm pretty much sold on lease these days. Buying anything from auction just out of manufacturer's warranty gives me the willies - maybe Toyota or Kia worth pondering but I bet everyone thinks the same.
Have been to a few at Bkackbushe, not bought personally but have been with people who have. Friend got quite a nice Lexus 4x4 thing and saved quite a bit versus dealer forecourt price. Cars I have followed there have sold above trade-in price, close to private-sale money as they have been more popular models.
I am not sure you have any fewer rights than buying privately
Ho along to a few and see what you think, then decide whether to bid
spot a billy a mile off and will accept bids against you from the wall behind your back to bump the price by a few hundred quid.
I've bought at auction a few times and have never seen this. I always knew and could see exactly who I was bidding against.
more popular newer family cars didn't seem that cheap
This is quite true. If I was buying something 3 year old I would probably just go to a "car supermarket" type place. Have a look on Autotrader, everything is internet driven and you can get cars shipped to your local branch to check out. Just buy the car with no extras, they make next to nothing on the cars, they make money on warranties, paint protection and finance etc.
If you want any of those buy them yourself afterwards.
I am not sure you have any fewer rights than buying privately
You do. Unless you find a major fault inthat hour or its badly misdescribed then you have no comeback. Usual consumer protection that you get from a dealer does not apply to auctions
don't find a fault in the hour then its tough. thats what happened to one of my mates. the engine blew up a couple of days after he bought it. No comeback whereas if it had been a dealer there would have been
“Sold as seen” TJ - you have basically no rights, no ? I was referring to a private sale ie no dealer involvement at all
Every private sale I have done as buyer or seller has that written on the receipt
You do. Unless you find a major fault inthat hour or its badly misdescribed then you have no comeback. Usual consumer protection that you get from a dealer does not apply to auctions
He never said dealer, said privately, so is right.
I've bought loads from the Auction back in the day. I bought them for good customers and charged a small fee, knowing that I'd get all the service work. Unless you know what you are doing don't buy cheap stuff. The more you spend the safer the bid, as the vehicle will still be under the VM's warranty.
You can't compete against the trade as they all have accounts that have a discount on the hammer price. VAT is also payable now on the hammer price (I think).
Don't buy trade-ins from dealer groups. Ex lease only (ALD, Hitachi Capital, Black horse etc).
Hth
We've bought 2 cars from car supermarkets. On was an ex dealer demo car (registered 2 months before the car was even released) and only 10 months old, the latest was an ex motability - had done just 20,000 in 3 years and was mark free as new condition. We did pay for the extra warranty as it was competitive, and had it back a year later for a wheel bearing - absolutely no hassle with the supermarket. Overall good experience.
A friend of mine runs a small Merc Indy garage and occasionally buys Merc’s at auction for folks that ask him too. He does know what he’s doing with Mercs so knows what to look for, and fix if anything’s needed. He doesn’t make much on the buy then sale but does on the return servicing and repairs. He bought an ML450 14’ reg with all the accessories on for £22k because it was a big petrol thirsty thing and had only done 30k for one of his clients.. pretty much a £80k car that was ex-lease.. he says go for slightly off mainstream for bargains and leave anything like hatchbacks or small run around alone. Go for the big odd things.
I bought one at blackbush, did my research by sitting in the stands and watching similar ones go through for a few days.
That bidding aginst the wall is an urbn myth, i do think the regular traders dont want you there so may bid just to mess you about.
So, successfully bid, paid, sorted insurance and drove it home.
I d do it again, had the car for 5 years no faults at all.