Out of interest, what happens if an auction buyer buys a car to spec for you and then it turns out to have a major fault (which believe me, some do)?
You don't get a test drive on most major fleet auctions. You sometimes get an "assured" car but that never seems to cover what actually goes wrong on modern cars.
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>>buy a car under 3 years old, I have the safety of the manufacturers warranty
Only if it's been serviced to manufacturers specifications, and you can prove it.
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Apologies for repeating myself as have posted on this subject a lot, but in answer to PD, I have bought 4 cars through Joe Dowd, a friend also uses him, and think he's now well into double figures on the number of cars he's bought for himself and his wife, and friends of his have bought several cars too.
Not had a bad one yet, and would not buy a car any other way now.
Hope this helps.
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Presumeably if the car has a huge problem then you just put it back through the auction?
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Nothing against Joe Dowd - the reason for my comment is that however good you are at some point you buy a pup at auction.
Never fall into the trap of assuming that a full history immaculate ex-lease car which drives through the hall perfectly is a sure bet. It is getting more and more difficult to identify some faults - particularly on modern diesels - which only show up on the open road.
Just wondered what happens in such a situation.
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Thanks for the replies.
But is there much more risk than buying from a small dealer?
I know that the manufacturers have their approved schemes which seem pretty good but are expensive.
However surely a lot of dealers / small garages take cars in as px or buy at auction, bit of spit and polish and then add a few grand to the price.
You buy from them because you feel some security, however the same security could be gained through buying an aftermarket policy.
Is that sort of right? or am I being naive???
Also as 'Bill Payer' suggested if there was a major prob, put it back through the auction, no doubt losing some sheckles on the way, but better than a total loss.
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Sale Of Goods Act applies when you buy from dealers.
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Rashid, I followed your logic with a friend who was looking for a C Max- and came up trumps.
We attended several actual auctions to get a feel of how they worked, who was selling etc.
Decided that we would go for an ex Motability C Max, picked up a 2 year old car with one year's manufacturer warranty still left on it, and only something like 5k miles on the clock. Car was in immaculate condition reflecting the mileage.
Reckon inc fees she paid about £1500 less than dealers were "asking" for the same car. what also worked in her favour was the car had went through one auction and did not make its reserve. So when it came through again the following week, she actually got it for less than the highest bidder the previous week! At these auctions there is usually a rep from Motability who gives a yay or nay to any bids so I would recommend if you choose to go down this route then, do your homework and it can work in your favour.
My only concern would be if you were looking for a diesel then you could, potentially, end up with one that has been put into auction as it has been filled up with petrol instead of diesel, and the warranty would not cover the cost. Having said that, I believe most people are now claiming for mis-fuels on insurance now?
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'My only concern would be if you were looking for a diesel then you could, potentially, end up with one that has been put into auction as it has been filled up with petrol instead of diesel, and the warranty would not cover the cost. Having said that, I believe most people are now claiming for mis-fuels on insurance now?'
Well that's one i hadn't thought of, hopefully it would be apparent from turning it over or the drive from the parking area to the sale area?
Any thoughts anyone?
Also 'Sales of goods act', what time limit would that give me, at the end of the day if a dealer gives you say, 3 months warranty (stingy, i know but it's quite common) and you have a problem out of the period, i would imagine that most dealers would tell you to whistle. The costs involved trying to get/force them to change their mind would probably be more that the cost of the fault.
Yay or Nay
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There's always a risk buying a car at auction.
Realistically I think that ebay is probably a better gamble to buying a used car cheaply unless you really know what you're doing at an auction. At least with ebay you get to have a good look round the car, chat with teh previous owner and have a drive, rather than seeing what it does at tickover in first. There's not buyers fees either, which can be considerable.
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I've bought my last 4 cars at auction (Mannheims at Colchester) , all ex large company cars with good histories and have had no trouble. I think the larger number of private buyers at auctions now means there are fewer bargains to be had however, and my next car might come from a dealer. Auctions are a great experience, exciting and frightening in equal measure, but if I also factored in my time, often many hours each visit, and the fact it might take 2 or 3 visits to get the right car at the right price, then a dealer seems even more attractive. I personally wouldn't be too happy buying from ebay.
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Ebay is no different to a private sale, just view the car first. Never, ever, buy without seeing it.
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If you are after a very common car, e.g. Mondeo, C-Max, Zafira etc. and want a reasonably new one then Auctions are a better option than if you are fussy about a rarer model, spec, colour or whatever. On a common car there will be a choice at most auctions so you can be more choosy.
Basically, the older the car the bigger the risk at auction (although beware of low mileage year old cars there for no logical reason - they are usually faulty).
The danger with being too fussy is that you will waste days and days looking for the right car. Then, one will come up, you'll take a day off work, drive 150 miles to the auction and the car will be a dog. However, because you've done all this, you'll buy it anyway. I've seen it happen time and time again.
Make sure you check out buyers fees as well - they are a rip off for private buyers. Also try and find a proper (CAP or Glasses) price guide. Be aware that dealers and the auctioneer WILL run you up if you look too set on a car.
Manheim Colchester, mentioned above, has a very busy fire extinguisher since they went 4 lanes and have more cars than buyers on some days....
:)
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As with most things in life, auctions have their pros and cons. In my younger days, I used to always bang on about how auctions are the best place to buy as that's where most dealer's cars from anyway! I have heard several stories of people buying cars from dealers with numerous faults and that they had very little comeback from the dealer! The only real snag of auctions though is that you cannnot drive the cars before they go through. A lot of dealers just seem to have a very quick look and bid on them without looking at the cars in any sort of detail. I always have a good look at paint finish/panel fit/warning lights/scrolling through onboard computer for diagnostic faults etc etc and I try and check the service history of the car I'm interested in before bidding. So many times a "full service history" tends to show 75% independent garage stamps and that the last service was actually about 25,000 miles ago and 6 owners once you've bought the car and got the documents! Might be just me, but I tend to think budget tyres (or very worn ones) show a penny pinching previous owner. Uneven tyre wear can show suspension problems too.
As already mentioned, private buyers fees are a complete and utter rip off! If you buy say a £20k car the auction has already made 7.5% in sellers fees - yes that's £1500!!! Private buyer's fees are about another £500 so the auction actually makes £2000 for about 1 min 30 seconds of selling the car! That's probably more than the dealer makes who has to buy the car, sort any problems and potentially sit on it for months! I'm always amazed that more auctions haven't sprouted up over the years as even if a new company took 1% commission surely they'd still make a fortune from the 100s of cars they sell every week!
Ultimately though, there's no way of assessing a car until you've driven it and by this time it's far too late to change your mind! People talk about an hour's trial but this is very rare and even if you have it the car has to have a major fault. Personally speaking, I tend to find ex-lease cars have cloth of gold main dealer histories but many scrapes and knocks from unappreciative corporate owners! I saw a 56reg 530d at Blackbushe with scrapes on almost every panel! It is a bit sickening how these corporate high flyers don't respect their cars! If someone gave me a new 530d I'd be polishing it every week!! If fleet managers gave incentives for more caring ownership, maybe company cars would be better looked after! On the other hand, privately owned PX cars tend to be in better condition but are much more likely to have money skimped on maintenance and of course a lot of people trade their car in as there are a few faults and that persuades them that it's the time to change! Who pays a fortune to get a problem sorted if they are just about to trade their car in!
I guess you need a bit of luck at auction really, I once bought an ex lease Mondeo that was serviced right up to 45 miles ago at the main dealer and that was a £600 cambelt service. I was pretty smug about that until 2 days later the airbag warning light came on and cost £300 to sort out! It can be risky at auction but I guess it depends what sort of person you are really. If you are a worrier you are probably best spending a fortune at a main dealer. I still know people who buy brand new cars every 3 yrs so they are always under warranty!! They don't seem to realise that what they waste in depreciation would pay for a few potential problems on older cars 10 times over!
I think that eBay is probably the best compromise as many of the cars are extremely cheap and of course you can drive them before you buy. Most reasonable sellers say the sale only has to proceed if you are happy upon seeing and trying the car so you simply arent buying the car unseen. Although it's to buy something that doesnt drive as well as you expect at auction I'd still be very reluctant to pay £1000s over the odds at dealers! I'd rather take the bus than make them £2000! I think the best compromise is eBay where some of the cars can go for near car auction prices.
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I would agree with pretty much everything hatman says. In the end there is an element of luck involved - however good you are every now and again you will come a cropper - all you can do is minimise the risk. Good auction buying is a skill and the buyers from the big chains who will be at every auction have decades of experience and purchase thousands of cars a year.
ebay is a good option too if, and only if, you take notice of who you are buying from. There are some reputable sellers on ebay doing the ex-lease stuff - it is pretty obvious who they are. You might pay a bit more but probably no more than the buyers fee you'd pay and it should be obvious from their feedback which ones support their customers and which cut them loose.
I wouldn't put anyone off buying at auction but if anyone says to you "if you buy from a big auction house at a lease sale and choose a car which says all the stamps you can't go wrong" they are either lying to themselves or you.
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There is risk in any car buying. Its about the trade off between risk and cost, different people are happier with a different balance.
I'd say buying ex-lease with all the stamps is a fairly low risk route. These are the cars that the dealer will put out.
I would guess that auction buyers are good at spotting accident damage and noticing the little things that indicate that a car has been looked after. Probably better that the average car buyer ;)
Plus they are at the auctions all the time anyway so dont have the 'I'm here so I must buy' temptation.
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"Only if it's been serviced to manufacturers specifications, and you can prove it."
I bought an 05 Focus Titanium in 05 from auction. 3 months old and no stamps in the book. Engine management light was on when I picked it up.Bought it unseen. Phoned Ford garage en route home, booked it in and the problem was sorted out as a warranty repair.
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