Hi gents,
I've searched through the archives and can't seem to find any old threads covering this. I'm looking at getting my wife a new car, she does very few miles a year (no more than 5k), but I'd like to get her something decent - along the lines of an A1/3, 1 series, Mini, or Focus, possibly even a Kuga or Qashqai.
I've done the usual rounds with looking at private lease deals, which I've discounted because I know she has a bee in her bonnet about not 'owning' the asset and just chucking money away. Then I've looked at several used dealerships and of course Autotrader and the likes. Plenty of options - my budget is 7-10k. Must haves are bluetooth, isofix, DAB, parking sensors. Preferables are privacy glass, automatic, petrol.
After some looking it occurred to me I might get a good deal via auction. I've never been to an auction before though and therefore wanted to see if any of the fine members here could share their own experiences, the risk, the rewards, etc. Any guidance would be gratefully received!
Thanks,
John
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Car auctions are not a place for those who aren't up to speed with them, traders get in early, snap up the good stuff and then the general public tend to be left with ones that traders won't touch due to condition, confidence or cost. It's a risky way of trying to save a few quid, for one off car purchases i'd look around and find a garage i trust and spend a little more to get peace of mind, and a warranty period to cover anything going wrong.
We have leased cars for the last few years. Wife is currently doing this with a Qashqai and my son has a Honda Civic. I certainly don't see it as 'chucking money away'. Sure, it requires a different mindset but it has worked well for us and given us access to reliable cars with no worries about depreciation or resale issues. There are great deals to be had too.
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Thank you - exactly the kind of comment I'm looking for - stop me from doing something stupidOriginally Posted by Argee1977
Yes I agree, we did a PCP deal on a Ford Fiesta a few years ago that worked really well and we made money on the car in a private sale at the end of the agreement after paying the GFV. I've leased also and as you say see it as a great way to get a brand new car, affordably. I will have to try and persuade her! She's an accountant so I will work out the comparable numbers on a spreadsheet, that should do it
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I reckon the numbers would be favourable. Plus peace of mind of course. Good luck!Thank you - exactly the kind of comment I'm looking for - stop me from doing something stupidYes I agree, we did a PCP deal on a Ford Fiesta a few years ago that worked really well and we made money on the car in a private sale at the end of the agreement after paying the GFV. I've leased also and as you say see it as a great way to get a brand new car, affordably. I will have to try and persuade her! She's an accountant so I will work out the comparable numbers on a spreadsheet, that should do it
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I've spent quite a few years in and around the motor trade and echo those who say that auctions are no place for the amateur, unlike property and some watches cars are a depreciating asset, in my experience a decent lease / pcp will give you a decent car with warranty and even service costs without the potential headaches, the auction bargain isn't such a bargain when something goes wrong and you need to find someone you trust to fix it whilst you find alternative transport.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
I would avoid auction cars to be honest. I used to buy (trade only) from dealers (px’s) and if the cars were good enough for the trade we’d have half a dozen forecourts we would take them to for the best price. The ones nobody wanted would go to the auction.
I have bought ‘cheap’ cars from the auction but they’re usually in there for a reason. Granted some cars are in there from bigger dealers and it might be worth asking the auction house if they can tell you if any of the big main dealers are putting their px’s through. I know my local advertises them on the website as “direct from xxxxx” as a selling point. If so, maybe keep an eye on those as some of them (it might even be a fair trade requirement now?) will put all their cars through the auction to stop all the back door trade messing/back handers.
Basically anything good enough to buy that’s coming direct from main dealers, you’ll be fighting against a few car dealers who’re looking for stock. It’s the clapped out “we’ll just stick a pot of k-seal in & stick it in the auction” stuff that you’ve got to avoid.
As an accountant, she should be well aware of the cost benefits of leasing rather than buying!
I once went to auction to buy a Fiat Punto for the ex; it actually fetched more than I could buy a similar one for at Motorpoint so I didn’t bother.
I went to a few car auctions a while a go I was looking at ex company cars and a lot of them weren’t much less than dealers were charging, I couldn’t understand how the dealers were making any money on them
The reason that 'We buy any car' came into existence was mainly due to the difficulty of buying good used cars.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
It was started by the McKee brothers who owned Carcraft primarily, as you say, to buy decent cars for their sales business.
There were many stories of Carcraft sending cars that didn’t meet their standards to auction, only to be bought back by their buyers at the auction!
You might want to check out the car discount sites like autoebid, drivethedeal, coast2coast, cars2buy etc as you'll get a choice of brand new car for £10k (often down from £15k+). Arnold Clark website too as they have a sh*tload of pre-reg stuff at big discounts.
Auctions are for the experienced and/or knowledgeable otherwise can end in tears.
Yes I knew Darren at one time.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
I'm the group buyer for a large multi-franchise dealer group (AM top 10), fworking solely with one of their volume brands over 7 sites. Amongst other tasks involving brooms up my bottom, I also do the disposals at auction for our LCV stock with BCA Blackbushe. Up until 2-3 years ago, I also disposed of all the cars from our franchise but thankfully they employed someone to focus on that as their main job (last year we disposed of 18500 cars via Manheim/Aston Barclay). I've been around auctions all of my life (born into the motor trade) and still love the buzz. However, I buy approximately 200 cars/LCVs a month and only about 10% come from auction.
Hopefully, seeing the above, I might have a little bit of credibility for answering the question!
Don't bother.
1. Auctions circumnavigate some elements of the Sale of Goods act. If you have an issue with what you buy, your life will be consumed with trying to sort it.
2. The indemnities as a private individual are horrific. If you buy something at BCA for £10000, you will be paying £661 (inc VAT) on top (https://www.british-car-auctions.co...._Nov_2018.pdf).
I disagree with some of the comments and opinions above. Not everything in auction is sent there because there's an issue with it. Most large groups like ourself have an auction policy, which means we send everything to auction. This is to stop traders coming in a cherry picking and also to speed up cash flow: those 18500 cars last year turned over £98 million - I have to present this info to new starters whilst giving them appraisal training so it's fresh.
Lease companies also sell end of term vehicles at auction directly.
UKCGR = webuyany car. Avoid.
Avoid motability cars. We get the option to buy back at end of term, if we don't want it, it then goes to an online platform for all other dealers, then the shite that's left goes to auction... and it really really is shite.
If you do go:
1. Read the descriptions properly, is the mileage warranted, are there 2 keys/SD Card for Nav and does the check sheet have any red on it for tyres/engine management lights, gearbox issues etc.
2. Check the history, then check it again. Has it been serviced regularly enough to maintain any left over manfacturer warranty
3. Get there early and do all of these checks
4. If you find something you really want, set a firm price in your head. Find out how nuch the fees will be at that price. Then look online and probably go and buy one with a warranty from a dealer for the same price!
5. Don't be afraid to ask for help from the auction staff. Not the people driving the cars through, they are invariably agency people that haven't got a clue.
If you or anyone else is considering buying from auction (it's fun and you really CAN find the occassional bargain!) please send me a message. If you are local to Blackbushe, I can meet you there or if like the thread starter you're far away, I am happy to speak on the phone and help as much as I can.
Great post full of information
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
My wife’s last car was a Golf GT contract hired over two years total cost for that car which was a 23k car was £4800 inc vat great value
What a kind and generous post - and the offer at the bottom is above and beyond. Hats off to you! Really appreciate you taking the time and such useful information.
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Can only echo some of the comments above. Having spent quite a few years in various parts of the Automotive sector, my advice would be to buy from a well established 'bricks and mortar' dealership. No way should you drop 7-10k on a car at auction unless you really know what you are doing. Even the guys that do sometimes come unstuck. And as mentioned earlier you lose a lot of buyers rights. 7-10k should get you a pretty good car from a decent dealer.
Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.
It maybe worth checking Evans Halshaw.
I have been in the market for a cheap-ish run around and keeping an eye on the C7 Audi A6 market (avant), last week one popped up in Evans Halshaw well under market value. We quickly reserved it and had it brought to my local dealer, there was a couple of exterior things I wasn't happy with which are getting rectified but we got a good deal. In fact we paid the same as we buy any car are offering at the moment. Its a 65 reg A6 Avant S-Line with 41k miles so overall a reasonable motor with some extras and was an ex-company car so likely motor way miles but a full Audi history with a major just been carried out recently.
Great sounding advert / recommendation
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
Got to agree with using these. I've bought a few cars over the years from auction but it got too dear.
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