I am a trader in Surrey and have noticed a trend lately for auction prices on cars and vans are on the increase
Just come back from a sale today at a certain site in wales and the Ex-AA VW transporters were making retail money and it seemed three or four dealers were buying them all up at top money! A grand to £1500 more than two weeks ago!
The same at other sites with Cars making close to retail and all the traders ive talked too saying how quite it is and how the good weather has seen a huge drop off in sales compared to last year.
The auction companies are being forced by the leasing companies to get better prices ,but both are benefit in the long run
What is going on out there?Are they being too gready and running the prices up because at more than one venue ,you could see no one was bidding until the last few bids and that defeats the object of an auction surely !
Anyone agree!!!
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It appears to me that you're saying that the vehicles ARE selling, but for too much.
It also appears to me as an auction amateur (but who has been to plenty) that no-one can force anyone to pay too much for a vehicle at auction. Either you want to bid, or you don't. Thus there must be demand at the higher price.
Your comment "you could see no one was bidding until the last few bids " shows that someone was prepared to pay what was being asked. They weren't being forced to bid....
Also (though I can't see it applying to vehicle transporters) people being on holiday must bring in private punters who are more prepared to bid higher, if only because they are still getting a bargain at a price a dealer cannot pay.
V
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Unusual Autos, how does this work?
The auction companies are being forced by the leasing companies to get better prices ,but both are benefit in the long run.
An auction is a free market SFAIK. Are you suggesting that the auction companies have got "shill" bidders in there to force up prices? I don't see how leasing companies can have any effect on auction prices other than by restricting the release of certain high demand cars to the auctions, thus artificially stimulating the market by controlling supply and thus affecting demand
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I gave up on auctions some time ago, the nprices are too high with some dubious practices also by some of the auction houses.
I'd rather go to a car supermarket and get what I want rather than get something cheap at an auction only because no one else wants it.
I think car supermarket prices are as good as you can get at auction and at least you can have a really good look at the car with some comeback if things aren't quite right.
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" dubious practices also by some of the auction houses"
Without naming names, what are these? I'm interested how anything can make someone bid more than they are prepared to. OK, you might occasionally get someone to lose their head, but if you're doing it on every vehicle, you'll just end up with hundreds of unsold vehicles, which I suspect isn't to the auction house's benefit in any way.
I may be missing something - I'm definitely an amateur - but I'm interested.
V
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Vin, very simply, the auctioneer will point to a non-existent bidder as he is going through the prices and thus making you bid up higher. Sometimes it may fail and they will be left with the car but I guess they are very experienced and know when to stop.
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Couple I've been too recently the prices seem quite low - bids on decent cars 90% of book or under being accepted. What are you comparing the prices with?
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Depends on which car supermarket. Taking a quick look at Car Giant's website the mark-up on some cars compared to what they've been selling at auction at recently is £2500 or more on some cars.
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Ive attended Preston and Manchester BCA in the last month
Prices are up - I have no doubt about that, but its the time of the year.
I am hanging on till late August/early september when some more de-fleets hit the market.
I was offered a nissan saloon - but the engine problem put me of.
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Auction house practice as described above used to be common enough, in my experience. Maybe it still is. They used to call it 'bidding against the wall'. Planting your own 'in house' bidders certainly used to happen as well. To be fair to auctioneers, bidding rings among traders were common too.
For what it's worth, I don't think there are any real bargains to be had on Ebay motors any more, either. I have certainly been asked by a friend to bid for his car just to jack the price up. How many other people do the same? BTW - I declined.
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As I understood it (and I could easily be wrong) 'bidding against the wall' is a legal practice used when the price currently bid is below the reserve. This is done because if the auction ended at that point, neither the buyer nor seller would be happy, as the transaction would basically be cancelled.
I would guess it becomes illegal if the auctioneer continues to do this above the reserve price.
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I'm sure you're right BazzaBear - but if bidding is below the reserve that must surely mean market forces are operating? I dunno, life seems very complicated...
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Well if your bid does'nt reach the sellers reseve you won't get the item anyway, auction, ebay, private sale or trade sale.
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2 Dirty VW diesels and a Honda with an 18 inch blade
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If the price doesn't reach the reserve then unless it is miles below the auctioneer will normally take a provisional.
I'd still say prices are quite cheap at the moment over all and are likely to go up towards the end of the summer as everyone comes back from holiday but it probably depends on what sort of car you are looking for.
If it's an ex-lease disposal remember that most auctions track book prices quite closely and unless the car is tatty the vendor will rarely let it go for less the 90% of book price and prefer to put it back through. If we're talking part-x's or other sources then prices can vary a lot more and you might find a bargain but you are also more likely to come across a complete dog.
What car are you looking for?
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