Pickles auctions

[paddyj]

Just wondering if anyone has bought a car from the auctions before?

Any good deals to be found? Are they worth a visit?

Paddy

[POVRTY]

im also interested in hearing about autions? do pickles sell written off cars as well? if not were do you buy them from???

[1991_Vn2nV]

Yeah Pickles sell written off cars.

Damaged, burnt, stolen and recovered etc... Financial Write-offs, structural write-offs... The lot. And normal cars as well.

They're worth a look... Some cars go dirt cheap... I've been thinking about popping down there if I see a Calibra on their site...

[the horse]

Yeah i think pickles is great, you can get a great deal especially if the car has a late appearance in the auction and it is a nice hot day, not many of those dealership guys like standing in the hot shed! Also i think the one in welshpool aint as good as the one up north - just a bit further to drive for a few of us!

[1vngal]

There's also Fowles, which sell damaged, repossessed, fleet and written of vehicles. They are definately worth a look. The only thing is, if its a commodore your after, you'll have some tough competition. Not only the public, but most wreckers scour auctions as well.

But still, bargains to get there are everywhere. I'd suggest go to a few auctions and just see what goes on before going in to buy something.

[paddyj]

Cheers guys, yes I'm after a VY Acclaim, they seem to have a few every week but I have no idea how much they end up going for.

You have to buy the Pickles "What people pay" book

[1vngal]

Nah, just go to the auction and see first hand what people pay. I've been there and seen a VX calais go for $4,500, but I've also seen a VT Exec go for $6,000 in the same condition. It just depends who your competition is. For a VY keep an eye in the fleet and repossessed vehicle auctions.

[1vngal]

Here's the site for Fowles...
http://www.manheimfowles.com.au/

[Stupa]

probly looking 15 from wht i saw a while back

[bezz]

i've bought a few cars from pickles, there's definately bargains to be had there. It definately helps if you know what you're doing- go to the auctions for a few weeks before you even try bidding so you can suss out how it works. Or become friends with a high profile wrecker so they can buy for you ;-)

[88GreenVN]

If the car yard people are bidding - you wont win at a good price unless they have filled the quota..... Auctions go in cycles so you may need to go for upto 5 or more week. Set your price and stick to it. I bid on 6 cars before I won a vx s/c 2001 ex telstra car. just over a year ago I paid 15,100 and had 51,000kms on it. It was red.....so sad its gone now.

[paddyj]

Will keep an eye on fowles but they don't have what I'm looking for at the moment.

Have about 15k budget + my vn which I can get 500-1000 trade in for.

This is my first time buying a car of this value, it's really daunting even when I know what I'm looking for. I have noticed the good ones( <80Km) go very fast.

[paddyj]

It was red.....so sad its gone now.

what happened it?

[bezz]

Will keep an eye on fowles but they don't have what I'm looking for at the moment.

Have about 15k budget + my vn which I can get 500-1000 trade in for.

This is my first time buying a car of this value, it's really daunting even when I know what I'm looking for. I have noticed the good ones( <80Km) go very fast.

you'll get an ex-fleet/government vy for that easy, in SA vz's with low km are making 17-18k. If you can stand white or silver you'll get one cheaper too.

[paddyj]

Maybe I'll fly down to SA ;-)

Acclaim

[JSTPOZN]

i know someone that buys them from there fixs them and sells them for hell more then what he pays thousands profit.. there great if you need a doner car..
BUT

make sure you check it out perfectly and dont be stupid on things thing about it when your looking at it and i recommend interstate buyers to not buy without looking

[88GreenVN]

what happened it?

Had to sell to pay for a sub-division of some land - cost 15k to do - car got sold to pay for it

Toy gone....

Will buy again one day - the S/C VX was soooo cool.

[paddyj]

Oh no that must have been a very hard decision!

[kipela]

Bought mine through Pickles Auctions in Brissie about 8 months ago - picked up a 2004 VY Series II Executive, 56,000kms, not a mark on it, ex-fleet car and they had just thrown 12 months rego on it for $14,500

Insider source told me that around March-June is a good time to buy from Pickles (when I did) as a lot of government and ex-fleets are sold off in this period either with no rego or full rego if you manage to get one at the right time. A fair few companies renew all their rego's in the same month and release them to Auctions when they wanna get rid of them to upgrade their fleet - so keep a look out for that.

I was patient with my purchase and it paid off - I went to their auctions every week for about 4-5 weeks till a good buy came along. But as someone said above keep notes of ones you see, as they don't always sell through auction. If their prices are too high and they keep getting passed in, they'll put them through week after week for 3-4 weeks - if it doesn't sell they'll release it for a cheaper price at the end of the cycle as its taking up lot space. Pickles most of the time are only after what is owing on each car plus a small profit for lot fees.

Some other good buys friends of mine have gotten from Pickles in the last year:

2005 XR8, 12,000kms, immaculate - $24,000
2004 VY Calais, 5.7, 45,000kms, full options - $21,000

[88GreenVN]

Oh no that must have been a very hard decision!

Agony Agony and well full on sadness.
It went, stopped and turned like no other car I'd had.

AND it was RED

One day I'll go back and get me one again.

[paddyj]

The only consolation is that at least they will be cheaper to buy when you go to get another one.

[*VOLATILE*]

I remember being there one time looking for Commodores and at that time, a near new Silvia S15 200SX was up for auction. All it had wrong with it was a rear smashed window. If I remember rightly, it went dirt cheap for like $18-20K. I'm thinking of making a visit one of these days. I want a V8!!!!

Do you think that I would be able to pull a V8 for around 15K???

[evil_monkey]

yeah easy theres a book you can get which has prices that people pay at auction and theres like vt ss's the 5.0L going for like 11k and vt/vx gen III's for around 15k oh and no to mention if they have an oldie they go really cheap i saw a hsv vs senator go for 6k with 150 thousand kms

[Premwood]

sorry for me to be negative, but we go to the auctions everyweek, and something i have to say, because i have seen alot of people stuffed around because of this:

ONLY BUY FROM FLEET/EX-GOV AUCTIONS

Dont bother buying from the clearing auctions/ as alot of thos cars are trade ins from car yards that they know they wont be able to fix for a good price, its pretty hard to find a decent car in this auction, And definatly dont go into the salvage auctions, as i have seen this happen time and time again,
people see cars going through salvage auctions at "Cheaper" prices, so they buy a car that they think will be easy to repair, thing is that car comes back the next week, you see that person asking all the wreackers for parts, when they find out that how much it costs, they realise its not worth it, as well as that, if the car has been damage, you will get things (Over time) like uneven tyre wear, bad handling ect ect, and if you ever want to sell the car, they have all been flagged by the road authoritys, so you have trouble selling them as well.

So yeah, its best to buy from EX/GOV or FLEET auctions, they have all been seerviced on time (By Holden) and have been looked after

[paddyj]

Cheers thanks for the tips.

I definitely wont be buying anything that needs to be repaired!