Car Auctions?

Fruiter · Post by **Fruiter** » Wed Aug 23, 2006 11:15 pm

Has anyone ever bought a car from an auction??

I've just bought my first hopefully to make a tidy profit on ebay with it, i've just paid the deposit and i pick it up tomorrow, i don't know what the mileage is, what history it has or even if there's anything wrong with it, i only actually saw one side and jumped in with my bid!

I'm just curious if anyone has had an experience of these auctions, good or bad!

I picked up a V-2000 plate corsa 1ltr with 9 months MOT for £590 incluing all taxes and fees, seems like a bargain, i guess i'll find out when i pick it up

ssgtsnelly · Post by **ssgtsnelly** » Wed Aug 23, 2006 11:20 pm

sounds pretty decent.

i went to Birmingham Car Auctions once with my best mate just to have a look round and i have to say you def need to know what you are doing in those places...not in terms of bidding but in the state and condition of the cars...some of the auctions i believe have independant mechanics that you can get to do a few spot checks on the motor that you are looking at.

i reckon as long as you are honest in your auction then you shouldnt have trouble gettin a profit from that.

from what ive heard most people wont buy from an auction as they feel they will get to involved in what seems like a good deal and end up bidding more than they originally intended :P

good luck mate

Fruiter · Post by **Fruiter** » Wed Aug 23, 2006 11:27 pm

Chees mate, i'm hoping someone gets carried away with my ebay auction when i do it!

I've never been to an auction before but i love a bargain! We're looking for a car but our taste is more expensive than our budget so i'm thinking buy a few from auctions, make a few quid then buy our own from there with the profits!

All it needs is one bad egg and i'm fooked though

We'll see anyway, i'll post the link here when i've done the ebay stuff, i have to wait for the reg doc first though

Drpepper · Post by **Drpepper** » Thu Aug 24, 2006 1:38 am

My brother took his old fiesta to auction... I feel genuinely sorry for the person that paid £400 for it.

He only took it there as he was too lazy to drive it to the scrap yard, the exterior looked ok but it was actually knackered, i spose that's the risk you do take with those places though.

harry 3 · Post by **harry 3** » Thu Aug 24, 2006 9:27 am

£200 for a wreck. No tax, no insurance. Crash or break down, just dump it. That's the morals of a lot of these buyers. If the government took all the unroadworthy and/or illegal cars off of the streets and crushed them then the traffic wouldn't be so horrendous. It's funny how you see most of these old bangers in the evenings.

This is harry, stuck in traffic, news at ten.

:x

Fruiter · Post by **Fruiter** » Sat Aug 26, 2006 12:11 pm

OK so it's not turned out to be as sweet as i thought

I picked it up from the auction site on thursday morning and it wouldn't start :x

I powered the battery and made it to the nearest shop where i spent £30 on a new battery....

Then the engine management light started flickering, it cost me £25 to have someone tell me that the timing belt was about to go

Then i eventually got intouch with a mobile mechanic that charged me £25 to tell me that it didn't even have a timing belt! And that all i needed was an airflow sensor...

Called into vauxhall and they only wanted £300

So i went to every breakers within 25 miles of my house and they had all already been removed as apparently it's a common problem, these retail at £200 so i thought i was looking at a big loss, i eventually bought one from ebay for £30 which i can fit myself

So i'm in for £700 in total and the break pads still need replacing :x

I've lised the car on ebay and with 3 days left to go it's on £720...

So after ebay fees i'm about evens at the moment, but all i need is a couple of student bidders and the quids may just start coming in

Fruiter · Post by **Fruiter** » Sat Aug 26, 2006 12:11 pm

OK so it's not turned out to be as sweet as i thought

I picked it up from the auction site on thursday morning and it wouldn't start :x

I powered the battery and made it to the nearest shop where i spent £30 on a new battery....

Then the engine management light started flickering, it cost me £25 to have someone tell me that the timing belt was about to go

Then i eventually got intouch with a mobile mechanic that charged me £25 to tell me that it didn't even have a timing belt! And that all i needed was an airflow sensor...

Called into vauxhall and they only wanted £300

So i went to every breakers within 25 miles of my house and they had all already been removed as apparently it's a common problem, these retail at £200 so i thought i was looking at a big loss, i eventually bought one from ebay for £30 which i can fit myself

So i'm in for £700 in total and the break pads still need replacing :x

I've listed the car on ebay and with 3 days left to go it's on £720...

So after ebay fees i'm about evens at the moment, but all i need is a couple of student bidders and the quids may just start coming in

spa · Post by **spa** » Sat Aug 26, 2006 10:11 pm

That's the problem with car auctions. People take them there just to get rid of them.

There are some gems to be had but you will notice the amount of interest rises when the car rolls through

There's normally an army of mechanics in these places, they know what too look for and probably make a killing.

Lol, the last time I went a car stalled and would not start back up, had to be pushed to the bidding area and went for £20

Fruiter · Post by **Fruiter** » Sat Aug 26, 2006 10:29 pm

A clio went for £40 at ours last week, i think the lads only bought it to save getting a taxi home

Oh and by the way, the car reached £800 on ebay before being pulled for reasons i shan't go into

ops:

But it's being re-listed soon as i need my funds for next weeks auction

Fruiter · Post by **Fruiter** » Sun Aug 27, 2006 12:22 am

Here's the new auction, heopefully ebay will let it run this time

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... %3AIT&rd=1

mjd · Post by **mjd** » Sun Aug 27, 2006 1:42 am

Edited....

Put simply I dont like renaults!

Fruiter · Post by **Fruiter** » Sun Aug 27, 2006 10:24 am

My last 2 have been a megane and a laguna, They're crap!

MordaciousK(nudges*star) · Mon Aug 28, 2006 8:03 pm

Sorry to say fmw but I saw this coming-buyer beware!!! Never buy something at auction just on seeing.You need someone to check these things over bud.But i do hope your successful in turning a profit

Demmerz · Post by **Demmerz** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 11:19 pm

The auctions are fine you just need to know what to look for..... which comes with practice and experience.

There are some good buys and some bad ones! A tip: don't go to every evening auction - most places will do a couple of evenings and a morning a week for cars from dealerships. You want, say, a 10am tuesday auction filled with cars from the local big dealers, not places like Motorpoint or YesCarCredit (who are now defunct) as they will generally be cars run on a very tight budget.

Oh, and there's nothing wrong with Meganes! The g/f drives my coupe and as she only works part-time, spends most of her days on a Megane foru - under my login!

She changed the password so I can't use it anymore, only she can!

mjd · Post by **mjd** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 11:54 pm

I drove a Meganne once and it was horrid!

The clutch (Biting point) was empire state buildingsville height
The gearbox was terrible
The Brakes were ferocious
The Handbrake is shocking (is a huge lever which weighs two tonnes itself!)
The steering wasn't great either
To get the engine started you have to use this stupid Card and read off this computer?? long live Keys I say!
And its a Renault.............

My vauxhall is sooo much easier to drive, and you can have your tunes blasting out