Experiences with Car Auctions

Oscar of Markoz · 20-02-2008, 12:38 PM

Hi people
Iam looking into maybe buying a car from the auctions to re-sell and make some profit off.
Just wanted to know what peoples experiences with car auctions have been like? Did you get a good saving? Is it easy enough to win an auction? Whats the best place to go here in NSW? Any hidden rules that I might need to know about?

I have never been to a car auctions before, but will be checking 1 out soon. Its the manheim auctions at Moorebank in NSW.

Just wanted as much info before I go to have a look.

r3dfutura · 20-02-2008, 01:18 PM

I bought my 03 futura from the auctions last week and they were extremely helpfull with warranty and very professional. ive been to the manheim auction a couple of times and prices tend to be higher over there so i bought my car from the pickles auctions at belmore. i got a great saving... when i went to insure the car for what i payed for it it was below their "market value" so its insured for more than what i payed... THEY WOULDNT LET ME INSURE IT FOR LESS ! it is very easy to win an auction just register yourslef at the front desk and if you have a car you like.. simply hold up your card, easy stuff and you can take the car on the day if you have the money ready...
cheers

Oscar of Markoz · 20-02-2008, 02:14 PM

So what sort of saving did you get over market value

paul_r_d · 20-02-2008, 02:17 PM

I posted this a few months ago for a similar question...

Auctions are good, my very first car was from Fowels Aucton Group in Altona, Victoria.

They usually are once a week, and the day before they have a "viewing" so you can go over the car. The only thing I found with auctions is that you have to go through a lot of crap to test drive the car on the viewing day.
I was interetsed in about 4 cars and well because I was potentially going to buy the car I wanted to test it, and my experience is as follows:

1. I could never find a staff member on the ground to take me, becuase its so dam busy.
2. When I did I had to wait at least an half an hour before they come
3. They only take you around the auction lot, therefor you don't know how the car handles at high speeds.
4. The $320 service fee if you win a car is friggin insane! Just watch out for that - its in the fine print when you register.

Personally I wouldn't go to an auction again. If you want a good bargain go for it, but in the end you really dont know what ya getting. It's an easy bidding experience though, just flash your card number up as high as you wanna go with price.

Good luck mate

r3dfutura · 20-02-2008, 02:45 PM

i saved 3 grand on market value and am pretty much covered for everything with the $775 warranty at pickles... 3 grand is alot seeing as this car is an 03 futura with under 100 000kms on it
i would also recommend viewing the car on the weekend prior to auction and inspecting the log books of the vehicle.. i opted to buy an ex fleet car from ORIX.
when i went to inspect the cars i took my mate who is a ford mechanic so he helped me pick out the most mechanically sound car that looked well looked after.
great bargains to be had

Airmon · 20-02-2008, 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by r3dfutura

when i went to insure the car for what i payed for it it was below their "market value" so its insured for more than what i payed... THEY WOULDNT LET ME INSURE IT FOR LESS !

Haha yeah I had the same problem, I bought my car at Fowles at Moorebank and at the time probably saved around $8K for a similar car.

Oscar of Markoz · 20-02-2008, 04:30 PM

Holy Crap, $8k, is massive savings!

I know not to dive in to the 1st thing I see, so i think maybe 4 or 5 visits of sussing it all out will probably give me a decent idea as to whats good and bad and the way to go about things.

r3dfutura · 20-02-2008, 04:35 PM

yep thats what i did... didnt get the first car i saw although i may have liked to lol i waited for 4 weeks sussing out all the cars at the auctions and it payed off in the end ... that first car i saw had 50 000kms more than the car i have now and was an 02 (went for 4grand more than my car now)

:

DONT JUMP INTO THE FIRST CAR YOU SEE!

nugget378 · 20-02-2008, 04:45 PM

The auctions arent what they used to be,there are alot out there doing the same thing you want to as a supplement their dole income,you'll see who I mean when you go...
But,if your patient you will find a bargain,mannheim at moorebank is HEAPS cheaper that pickles in general,pickles has changed a bit in the last few years.
I have bought 7 cars from auctions,the best deal was a 96 4wd hilux I got for 8,800 when 2 years old,I insured it for 21k the next day,I bought that one from pickles and it took me 3 months to get one that cheap,but like I said it's not as good there as it used to be IMO.
The most recent one I bought was a couple of months ago,it was a 97' magna V6 with 12x,000 on it for 3.5k with a years rego on it,quite a good deal I reckon...
I got a 96 hilux dual cab V6 auto with 60k km's on it for under 20k last year at mannheim's

Oscar of Markoz · 20-02-2008, 05:14 PM

Is it true that Pickles have NRMA inspections on their cars, where as manheims don't?

nugget378 · 20-02-2008, 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oscar of Markoz

Is it true that Pickles have NRMA inspections on their cars, where as manheims don't?

I think its up to the seller to do it now,I didnt get one with the last car I bought from pickles,probably best to call up and ask.

Airmon · 20-02-2008, 05:53 PM

Yeah definately wait for a good car to come up. If you know what you should be paying for a car you'll have a better idea. Like don't go paying $15K for an 02 BA XT.
It tooks us about 3 weeks to find my car, and even then it was one of the last lots.

TadKa · 20-02-2008, 07:26 PM

I got my car in june 06 at auction in tas for $20k with 32k on clock (Phantom xr6 manual) one of my mates bought a phantom xr6 auto (only dif is premo sound) in a car yard in dec 07 for $27 with 80k on clock. I got a bargain and he got ripped off.

Feathers · 20-02-2008, 07:42 PM

I bought my XR at Pickles Belmore.
It's an October 03 model, ex Sydney Water, and I bought it in 05 for $27,000, 16 months old, had 40,000+ k's (can't remember exactly now).

I wanted a manual, and it had to be Blueprint, which meant it had to be an XR or higher.
There was an 04 auto in Blueprint later on in the same lot, which went for 2k more. Dad tried to talk me into it.

Went back the next day with a bank cheque and picked it up!

XDV800 · 20-02-2008, 08:29 PM

Good and bad experiences to be had
Recently had a customer who purchased a 99 Jeep grand cherokee, overall a schmiko enough looking car, he saved a bundle over car yard prices
However since he could not test drive the vehicle, the drive home revealed a knocking noise in the front end, it had a problem with the front diff, the thing had been blown up at some stage, so he had to take it back. Purchases usually come with a cooling off period.
On the other hand, a bloke i used to work for years ago used to buy through auctions, he'd shop at stolen/recovered type auctions, and once picked up a EB Fairmont GHIA V8 for about $1500, very nice car, had no ID plates and needed about $500 spent for RWC. He sold that for $6500, so nice profits to be had for sure.

whiteELXR6 · 20-02-2008, 10:19 PM

auctions are goos, but patience if ,a virtue. All three of the cars i have had i bought from the auctions, 96 EL Gli with ticky kit in mint con $4000 3 years ago, 99 holden rodeo single cab diesel ute in pretty good nick but with high k's $4400 1.5 years ago and a 95 DF LTD 5.0L in ok condition for $2750 a year ago. Basically aslong as your patient, know what you want and don't go over what your willing to spend you will find a good deal, just don;t expect to go there and find ya dream car straight away.

Oscar of Markoz · 21-02-2008, 09:30 AM

Iam not looking for a car for myself, so that should be easy enough to not go for the 1st thing I see. Lots of study in this area will be had before making any bids at all.
But its great to see that decent profit could be made here.
Just after alittle extra money to spend on my own car and house.

Thanks for all the info guys

Mr Brooksy · 21-02-2008, 09:57 AM

I bought a 99 laser in June of 07 with 140 000km on it for $6000 in Valley Motor Auctions in Newcastle (just before the floods). I spent 5 months researching and visiting dealers every weekend (I like to get the best deal). And we found this laser that had been sitting in the shop for a few weeks. They wanted $8000 for it but I took a mechanic mate (who is also a registered dealer (hobbie dealer)), after some negotiating it dropped $2000 and I didnt have to pay the $800 that everyone else would have if they didnt have a dealer with em. Oh and at that time there was NOTHING in all Newcastle for under $10000, and most of them were rubbish to drive!

On the other hand, I was looking for a BA Fairmont or nice Futura, and spent ages waiting for a good one with low Kms to come through and it never happened. I spent about 3 months at various auctions and in that time there was only 3 that came through! And they were crap! I ended up going ORIX and was surprised off my feet when they dropped the selling price of a 04 Futura with 49000km from $18000 to $15000. Turns out they dont really have a 'lowest price' on their cars.

Id recommend finding whats hot on the market now, and then get a super cheap deal at auction (save yourself more cash by buying through someone you know with a licence). But like others have said, take your time! And its not a bad idea to attend the auction, see what DOESNT get sold and make an offer. Usually you can get an even better deal that way... Depending on the day.

Sam_Boss260 · 21-02-2008, 11:02 AM

Just do your homework, and it depends on what you are after.

I have just spent a couple of weeks looking at the auctions and for I want, ie colour, options I ended up finding at a dealer. Spent 3 days negotiating and struck a good deal. Plus I had a trade that I had to get rid of and pay the finance out.

So for my situation, auctions weren't the best thing for me.

But regadless, do your homework.

Ringo · 21-02-2008, 02:05 PM

Depending on what you want and how much $ you have you could try a fleet company direct.

Custom Fleet do sell their cars directly to the public. They have stacks of stuff and its fairly popular. There is a process to go through much like the auction houses and the savings can be substantial.

The good thing is that you can learn a bit more about the car if you ask a few questions.....particularly the service books etc. Inspections on Wednesdays and and you get a price on Fridays.