Prices are going crazy!

jamoor said:
Funnily enough you can root around wherever you want in an auction, under the bonnet, boot etc etc.

You can even sit in it when it's started!

Have you ever been to an auction?
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Yes, many times. At big auctions the cars are started immediatly prior to being driven through and there is little opportunity to poke around. Many leave the cars locked now as people would pinch things from inside, traders would remove key things from under the bonnet so it ran like crap when it went through the ring, etc.
 
[TW]Fox;13003742 said:
Yes, many times. At big auctions the cars are started immediatly prior to being driven through and there is little opportunity to poke around. Many leave the cars locked now as people would pinch things from inside, traders would remove key things from under the bonnet so it ran like crap when it went through the ring, etc.
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That doesn't sound like any auction I've been to. At the BCA and Manheim auctions that I've gone to you can inspect the cars beforehand to your heart's content. If you're organised, you'll have the sales catalogue, a list of lot numbers and car details, so its not difficult to find and inspect the particular car(s) that you're interested in beforehand.

One one occasion, I went to Mainheim in Yorkshire on the wrong day by mistake and because it was quiet (ie no auction, simply a load of guys moving cars about) they said if I was really interested in a car, they'd let me have the cars to start it up etc. Also if you go to the leasing auctions such as Black Horse and the sales involving more recent cars, most of them are likely to 'warranted', giving you an hour or so post auction to identify any faults with major components such as driveshaft, gearbox etc.

In any event, the risk of problems, with a 'direct' car is likely to be pretty small since they tend to pretty well maintained sold just as the manufacturers warranty is about to expire, so there's no reason why they shouldn't have fixed anything that needs to be fixed. If I was in the market for say, a fairly standard 3 year old Ford Focus, a leasing company auction eg. Lex, Black Horse, Inchape etc would be the first place I would head to.
 
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[TW]Fox;13003742 said:
Yes, many times. At big auctions the cars are started immediatly prior to being driven through and there is little opportunity to poke around. Many leave the cars locked now as people would pinch things from inside, traders would remove key things from under the bonnet so it ran like crap when it went through the ring, etc.
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That's a pretty dam good idea :D
 
[TW]Fox;12997693 said:
Some points before we all get too excited.

a) Provisional means it's not sold. It didn't meet reserve. Getting excited over provisional bids is like finding a car on Ebay that went for £200 but didnt meet reserve. It didn't sell. Yes, some will be within offer region but it's impossible to say which were. I doubt that Impreza sold.

b) Buying at auction carries considerble risk which for many will outweigh the savings. Yes, a 2005 X-Type diesel for 5 grand. Good deal. Not so good if you drive it out of the site and realise the turbo isn't working and it needs 4 new injectors. You cannot test drive, you can't even root around under the bonnet and you can't inspect the cars. There is no warranty.

c) None of these prices list condition. We don't know whether that S2000 had been key'd half way down the side and needed and a grand worth of paint. Or whether it had 2 bald rear tyres, another £350. etc etc.

Yes, there are bargains and yes, many of those listed are indeed genuine bargains. But some may not be...
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A) Provisional means its close and open for negotiation, if its not close the auctioneer will mark it as unsold.

B) This is FUD. They are all ex-fleet/lease and will have FSH in most cases they are all ~3 years old which means end-of-lease not 'im dumping this because its broken'.

C) You can inspect at BCA as others have said, you know you're buying ex-fleet/lease/hire so you would expect marks/dents/scratches/worn NSF tyres. At those prices who cares.

Those are alarming prices which may mean the fleet/lease companies need cash fast.
 
Provisional means it's not met its reserve. It might be £50 under it might be £5000 under. It doens't neccesarily mean its 'close'.

My point is that people shouldnt look at the prices and go 'Wow what a saving over buying from my dealer, im right there next week!' they should understand the reasons behind the prices, the factors affecting the prices and them decide if they think its a good deal. Most of them are, without question, great deals. Provided you understand what you are doing.
 
In my (limited) experience it does. If it was a long way from the reserve the auctioneer would not waste peoples time marking it provisional.

Completely agree with your words of caution regarding auctions, but the thread is about the prices (even provisional) which indicate that the market has dropped significantly (the trade cant raise money, lease companies want thiers back) and for those with money (and contingency) there are some good deals. It also means anyone trading a car 3 years old or older will not get anything near current 'book' prices from a dealer because the dealer knows they cant pass it round the trade and the auctions are full of decent ex-lease stock. Those prices reflect today, most dealer stock is 2+ months old which means the dealer still wants (minimum plus costs) what he paid 2 months ago. Just wait until Mar/Apr those prices may be seen on the forecourts.
 
Example: i have a mate who against all advice in Nov 07 bought a 2001/51 330D SE with 70k miles and that nasty suede interior for £10500. Glasses (which is month behind now) says £4500 to £4950. We all know this is optimistic, its worth £3000 maximum to the trade.
 
Agreed, have a look on Autotrader there are a dozen or so under £5000. Dealers know the risks on these cars so wont pay anywhere near the guide price.
 
Auction stock is lease (hire company, contract hire, motability), reposession and a very small fraction is private sale. So if you are a lease company (or thier finance company) and you cycle between 100-350 cars every two weeks you need to use an auction, no dealer can throughput that volume of stock to the public at retail prices (although the car supermarkets have tried). This has been fine previously, everyone knows Ford, Vauxhall and the French sell at huge discounts to lease reducing the sale prices second hand, the suprise is the effect now seen upon the more prestige marques through quantity for sale and lack of buyer credit.
 
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