Comments on: How do public car auctions work?

By: mccoyblues

mccoyblues — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 09:37:59 +0000

Auctions are a huge risk. If you don’t have the skills required to determine the condition of a vehicle then you should not go to an auction. There is very little inspection time, no test drive time, zero time for research like Carfax and you have to have cash. No Warranty, No second chances. Pay in full at the close of the auction and you own the car.

One thing you have to realize. Cars that end up at the auction are there for a reason. They weren’t good enough to sell at the retail dealership. Too old, too many miles, too many problems, maybe all three. If they were good cars the dealers would keep them and sell them for retail rather than dumping them at a wholesale auction.

It’s very easy to get caught up in the bidding frenzy and pay too much for a car. It’s very easy to end up with a car that is a complete POS.

High Risk. I would avoid the auctions unless you are a very knowledgeable about cars.
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By: Wend Song

Wend Song — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 08:54:59 +0000

You have more than that to worry about. Dishonest auctions have people bidding against the auctioneers and against people who aren’t bidding. Be careful. I was at an auction and saw this happening.

If the bidding goes up higher than the wholesale price, stop bidding, even if you don’t get the car. Remember that there are lots of used cars out there.
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Personal experience

By: Gothic Bug

Gothic Bug — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 08:17:59 +0000

The one I went to let you look over the cars and most of them they would drive under it’s own power into the auction block.
So go early and look over the cars you want to bid on, if you find a good one, most likely someone else looked at it too.
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