The Car Auction

[NewcastleFalcon]

I am warming to a thread with a simple title.

Can anyone entertain us with their own Car Auction tales?

I have had a recent experience of "nearly but not quite".

Followed that age-old auction advice of know your limit before you go in and stick to it.

Well, in the rawness of post-sale emotion, I am thinking for the sake of a small additional amount of 2017 value pound notes above my limit I could have walked away with a very desirable car for me, which doesn't appear at auction very often if at all, with no prospect of going to another auction soon to bid for something similar at a similar price.

But the limit I imposed was quite practical and generous when you factor in the improvement and maintenance works necessary to provide pleasure in the tinkering, and also more importantly to me in the use of the car.

The tone of the auction also was promising. Lots in general were coming in under estimate, and "mine" was at the end of the sale, old, slow and French, not much of a prospect of a buy and sell-on for dealers, limited market, and a long time since Bridget Bardot draped herself over one of its stable mates.

Disappointing that the Auctioneer started the bidding at the bottom of the guide price from his book, and within a couple of bids it was over my sensible limit, with the commission bid being topped by another bidder in the hall.

Speaking to the successful bidder after the sale he had ignored his limit, paid more than he wanted to, but walked away with "my" car

So a bit of wound-licking at the minute, and not that sure that the "set a limit and stick to it" is such good advice after the event. Maybe a percentage buffer plus your limit could be justified in circumstances where you would have to wait for ever for thenext one to come up!

REgards Neil

[elma]

So a bit of wound-licking at the minute, and not that sure that the "set a limit and stick to it" is such good advice after the event. Maybe a percentage buffer plus your limit could be justified in circumstances where you would have to wait for ever for thenext one to come up!

I love that, set a limit and add 20% to find the limit

I reckon I'd be good at auctions, I hate paying for cars because they are always asking for money anyway.

Maybe I'll go to one for a snoop, sounds interesting.

[myglaren]

I did attend quite a number of auctions about fifteen years ago with the aim of replacing my wrecked Xantia.
Was interesting but never bought anything - bought an Accord privately.

[elma]

What did you think of the Accord?
It was a car I always wanted, well or a Galant, but for me was quite a disappointment.

[myglaren]

I hated it at first but I was in a corner and had to have a car quicksmart.

Broke my back, the seats were awful - literally crawled out of it for the first month, then got used to it (I don't have any great demands on seating normally)

I did think it was a proper old man's car though - until one day on the way to Whitby, stuck behind a 40mph idiot, I took a chance to overtake near Baulby and floored it.

Took off like a scalded cat with an almighty ROAR and flew past Mr 40.

It maintained the ROAR as I had blown a huge hole in the back box

After that I loved it. It was good for 140mph and did 32mpg no matter how it was driven.
Hardly any jobs to do on it - back box twice, radiator and an headlight bulb. Did a serious amount of miles in it too. !40 miles to Whitby and back every weekend plus used for work daily, anything up to 150 miles a day.
Family all liked it, was sad to see it go - again totalled. Bought the first C5 after that.

It was 11 yeqars old and had done only 54,00 miles. Hardly used as the family had a CRV they used modt of the time and the lady wo owned it had a company (GPO) car for work.

Back doors were stiff and back seats had never never used. Boot was immaculate and spare tyre and tools still in polythene wrap.
Front passenger seat hardly used either.

Paid £1500 for it but it was well worth it - better deal than the £3,500 for the Xantia, although I preferred the Xantia.

[elma]

Mine was a bit of a different tale. It was a 2.2 vtec auto and the engine was incredible the gearbox on the other hand was terrible. Unlike my 4hp20 it didn't do engine braking at all and it liked to change gears mid corner.

The seats I couldn't get used to, I've always maintained since that Honda seats only suit those up to 5ft5.

Worst thing for me though was the handling. The front was well set up but the rear was terrible although in a good state of service. I learnt that the rear axle was narrower than the front and wheel spacers may help but didn't like the car enough to bother trying and got rid. Can't remember what I did but I dont remember selling it so probably it was scrapped.

[daviemck2006]

Ive bought heaps of cars at auction. Some have been good and have been ran for a while then sold for money back, or more, some have been a bit iffy and got off with them by the skin of the teeth, only once have I bought a complete dog, a 55 reg fiesta van a few years ago that looked spot on but cost lots to fix and lost money selling. The current auction one is beryl the berlingo, body is good, engine and gearbox good, needs discs pads, possible droplinks and possible alternator. If thats all it needs it will be a cheap motor to run for work for a while and when mot is due in 5 months will get tested and possibly sold then.

[NewcastleFalcon]

Bit of not very good original photography but its a Citroen ID 19 Safari imported from Australia, going through the Auction hall. Really for comic effect I should have rotated it a further 90 degrees in tribute to its origins!

ACA Auction NFalcon Own work

Barry Hawkins the auctioneer showed a truly remarkable amount of stamina, nearly 5 hours in the chair no cracking up of the voice and despite the "extractor fans", being a drive through auction, having to do his stuff in a hall full of exhaust/oil fumes with drivers giving old engines the habitual blips with the throttle as they passed through.

At least us potential buyers/spectators could escape outside from time to time.

Regards Neil

[Gibbo2286]

You 'set a price and stick to it' is exactly the right thing to do.
Motor auctions for the private buyer (punter) are real danger spots, there are traders who spend their whole life buying and selling at auction, they know all the tricks.

A couple of examples, a trader has mates at various places around the room, he spots a private punter getting interested in one of his cars, gives his mates the nod and they run the price up bidding against him until they're pretty sure he's at his limit then drop out leaving him holding the baby.

Two brothers I know bought scruffy cars at the Wednesday afternoon auction when no private buyers are present, tarted them up, not even leaving the auction site, then sold them at the Friday evening auction using the team as above.

John (not his real name) was a dab hand with brown paper, filler and paint, he could fix up the rustiest old bucket to look fabulous, all sold as seen of course, a few weeks down the line when the brown paper got damp and started to peel off.........who cares, no warranty no come backs?

Watch out too for anything offered with a warranty, it only applies to serious mechanical faults (at the discretion of the auction house engineer) and only for an hour after the sale closes, any fault that could or should have been seen by the bidder is not covered.

[RichardW]

I've been to quite a few; only bought one car, but it was duffer (ZX with bust matrix!), so I sent it round again.

All the auctions round here have what amount to punitive charges for private punters making it not really worth buying anything - if you're thinking about buying something, check the charges first, so you know what the total cost is going to be after the hammer falls. And watch out for being 'rung' as per Gibbo's post above!

[RichardW]

For example... Central Car Auctions in Glasgow: http://www.centralcarauctions.com/priva ... ng/buying/

So a £500 car attracts: Indemnity £105, Buyers' premium: £105, V5 charge £25 = £235+VAT = £282 total cost £782, plus a minimum of 0.252% money fee (by debit card, more if you pay cash or credit card) gives a total of £783.97 - a mark up on hammer price of 57%

A £1500 car attracts £135+£145+£25 + VAT = £366, all plus 0.252% = total of £1870.70, a 24.7% mark up.

They need to be seriously cheap for it to pay off for a Private punter. How do you manage at your local Davie??

[Gibbo2286]

I was an account holder at both CMA, BCA, also at Westbury (Wilts) and Newport (Gwent) auctions so didn't have the private buyer charges, but to be honest towards the end the trade charges for buying and selling were also getting out of hand.

[daviemck2006]

The local auction here just charges an indemnity fee plus vat and thats it. I think its £50 minimum up to 500 then a tenner a hundred after that and a maximum of £120 plus vat. One dealer puts an extra £50 plus vat fee for the reg document on its trade ins. No buyers fee. Theres a 2% sellers fee and thats it for fees.

[wurlycorner]

Mine was a bit of a different tale. It was a 2.2 vtec auto and the engine was incredible the gearbox on the other hand was terrible.

H22's are great. I have 6 (3 of which are in preludes)

Was that a tiptronic box, or traditional auto?

[elma]

It was traditional.
I think I'd have got on better with tiptronic.
I always liked the look of mk1 preludes and the early jap integras.
I don't think I'd buy one though, I just don't fit Japanese seats.
Wouldn't hesitate to have another one of the engines at all, very much enjoyed the first despite the car and gearbox not meeting expectations.