Car Auctions ... SAVE UR SELF THOUSANDS!!!

[nEb.]

I was bored last tuesday and had some time to kill, so i made the trip with my old-boy (dad) to Pickles @ Tullamarine (Melbourne) and on wednesday to Fowles @ Altona (also Melbourne) to everyone whose after their next car and havn't got $35,000 lying around the house to go buy a brand spanker from the car yard, or are just smart and want to save a few thousand, make your way down to your local car auction yard, i witnessed VY-II Exec.(100K or so on the odo. MINT condition nothing wrong with it) SELL, yes that "Sold to the man in the blue shirt" for $11,000 - $12,000 thousand!!!!!! Not one exceeded 12.5 grand!
The new Fairmont Ghia BA MKII - FULL OFF WHITE LEATHER INTERIOR!!! Alloy wheels, power evereytrhing, cruze control, 60,000 kms! sold for 11,800!!!!! UNBELIEVEABLE!!!

I took a quick peak on sites like Car Sales etc, THEY ARE DREAMING WITH THEIR PRICES!!!! Theres a guy who is asking for 16 thousand for a 97 Model VT with 90K on the clock ... fair enough it has decent K's but wat would u prefer a VY-II with 100K or so @ 11/12Grand or a VT-I with 90K on the clock?


Guys dont believe the stigma that auctions have had blasted at them, do a quick google search e.g. - Adelaide car auctions, see what comes up and even if you're not going to buy one kill some time when you have nothing to do, go and suprise your self, having knowledge is never a bad thing - Neb!

If anyone has bought their car from the auctions, let us know how it all went, are you happy?

[naf33n]

my mum bought her vs berlina from auction in 1996. still have it today and has never broken down it now has about 160000 on the clock(only problem was the ignition lead burning out at 120000k's) we bought with 6000 on the clock. icant remeber what we payed for it(i was like 11 at the time or something)
my dad has bought 2 magnas from there a 92 model and a 2000 model both no problems. still have the 2000 model with 180000 on the clock and still goin strong.
i have bought 2 sv6's from auction one was a 04 model no options. i payed 24000 and sold for 25000 a year later and 20000 k's extra(it was auto boring to drive)
the second one is identical in everyway but its a 05 model and has a fair few extra with it and its a manual i bought it for 24500 with less then 15000k on the clock. had it for about a year now and not one problem
my bro bought a vz berlina about a month ago for about 5k less then private sales. no problems to report

so as you can see we are a auction family. but naturaly there is arisk in buying these cars. but still under warrenty and alot cheaper the private sales


ps..these cars where bought from fowles pickles and enfield auctions in sydney

oh and i bought my postie bike from auction. i flog it nearly everyday. and it only has one small oil leak...i love my bike

[nEb.]

hahaha thats crazy man, lol auction family all the way, but yeah you can save your self upto 5grand asking price on what others on the net and etc. ask for, i'll probably go see wat i can buy and re sell to make some profit around july or so, who knows i might just keep it :P

[BeNoS]

i really want to go to an auction but have no way of getting there due to work and stuff
is there anyway u can bid over the net or sumfin along those lines

[Reaper]

Car auctions are great and you can save a great deal of money but there are a few things that people need to keep in mind.

1. Make sure you are buying the right car. Auctions are magnificent if you are looking for a Commodore or Falcon etc and am willing to compromise on the color. If you are looking for a specific car that is not mainstream then unless you are lucky you will probably be disappointed.
2. Research what these cars are worth. Just because the car is coming from auction doesn't mean it is cheap. Most are sold without a RWC and many don't have rego. Make sure you take this into account when you decide how much to spend on the car.
3. Keep in mind that these cars don't carry a warantee. If there is any original manufacturers warrantee (sp????) left that should be ok but check first!
4. If you bid on something, keep in mind that you might end up owning it! Make sure you have your finance organized first because you usually only have a day or two to pay the money and collect the car.

A few things that I have found when buying cars is to be patient. If you are buying a Falcodore etc there are **hundreds** of the buggers. I usually wait till 2/3 thru the auction to bid. Most of the competition has then either bought their car or got bored and gone home. If there is still too much interest in a particular car then forget it and wait for the next one.

If you are the winning bidder sometimes the car hasn't met reserve. When this happens the auction assistant will take you aside and try to talk some more money out of you. I never offer 1 cent more at this stage and ask him what the reserve is. Whatever he says, I then say that it's more than I'm prepared to pay. (If he asks what I am prepared to pay I respond with whatever the winning bid was). At this stage he will head off and ring the vendor. He will put a *lot* of pressure on them and more often than not they will cave. Always remember that there are a lot more cars in the queue. If I have to toss him another $50 or so to get the deal I will do it at this point but beyond that I put the pressure back on the vendor by being nice about it and suggesting that I'm going back out to the auction line to find another car. This strategy works far more often than it fails.

Good luck!

Reaper

[Reaper]

i really want to go to an auction but have no way of getting there due to work and stuff
is there anyway u can bid over the net or sumfin along those lines

Daytime auctions are the ones to go for. There is less competition as people like you are at work. You can find some bargains at Fowles but I have had more success at some of the smaller ones because once again there is less competition for a given car. Every man and his dog seem to go to Fowles.

Reaper

[NiiCk]

My dad has bought cars from auctions for the last 20 years hes really handy with cars so he buys damaged ones and fixes them himself you get great deals there, i got my VH SL/E for $1000 and my dad bought a 94' magna for $800 not long ago.

[nEb.]

i really want to go to an auction but have no way of getting there due to work and stuff
is there anyway u can bid over the net or sumfin along those lines

bruv log on to www.pickles.com.au <-- (Pickles Auctions) they are nation wide, you can log on to the net and bid online whilst the auction takes place in real life, the people that are on location will see on a projector "Online bid placed - $xxxx" all you have to do is register with the site and you can participate from anywhere around the country even from overseas (if on business etc.) and cant make it to the location, aslong as you have an internet connection to use, you're good to go

[keza87]

Have to admit that auction places are great as well.
Mum bought a 2003 VY Calais with full leather and sunroof for about $38,000 with only about 6000k's on it.
We bought the car from Fowles auctions in Moorebank. They have the option to buy on the weekend before the auction and thats exactly what mum did.
The car brand new from the yard was about $52,000 so mum was happy.
It has been a great car so far with nothing wrong with it

[nEb.]

Mum bought a 2003 VY Calais with full leather and sunroof for about $38,000 with only about 6000k's on it.
The car brand new from the yard was about $52,000 so mum was happy.
It has been a great car so far with nothing wrong with it

I was really shocked aswell at the price difference, although i hear that car dealers also turn up, buy a car for e.g. 10g's and sell it for 15 at their yard, but there are MASSIVE savings to be made, ur mum saved a whopping 14 THOUSAND DOLLARS now thats no small figure, AUCTIONS ALL THE WAY BABY! hahahahaha

[andyman]

i was also shocked when i found out what the fleet management etc pay for the cars new, ie this years model vz wagon cruise control, weathersheilds on windows, mud flaps etc for 28g with the big 0 on the odometor

[Bent_6]

Auctions can be great places to get parts from too.
My bro was looking for a motor and box for his Vn 2 weeks ago, went to u-pull it and they wanted about $500 for the lot.
Went down to Pickles and checked out the damaged cars auction, bought a VN with front and rear minor damage for $300 swapped the good motor and box into his car, put his blown motor into the wreck and sold it to u-pull it for $150.
So he got a good motor and box plus a **** load of other bits and pieces he needed to replace and all it cost was $150+ admin fee and a tow.
A bargain i reakon.

[nEb.]

Auctions can be great places to get parts from too.
My bro was looking for a motor and box for his Vn 2 weeks ago, went to u-pull it and they wanted about $500 for the lot.
Went down to Pickles and checked out the damaged cars auction, bought a VN with front and rear minor damage for $300 swapped the good motor and box into his car, put his blown motor into the wreck and sold it to u-pull it for $150.
So he got a good motor and box plus a **** load of other bits and pieces he needed to replace and all it cost was $150+ admin fee and a tow.
A bargain i reakon.

hahahahahaha nice one very smooth lol i love hearing about people getting back at places that rip people off, good work son.

[nEb.]

also guys if anybody is interested,

Pickles website:
www.pickles.com.au

Fowles website:
http://www.manheimfowles.com.au/
(dont know where the manheim part comes into it) hahahahhaa

see when auctions are on and what is selling in your neck of the woods

[VYBec]

Got mine from Auto Auctions in Sydney.. 2004 VY Exec S2 just over 100ks on the clock, as new interior, clean body, stock standard so I knew it hadnt been thrashed too much!! $12,800... Bargain!!

[nEb.]

nicely done! lol .. any pics? i find it most amuzing @ auctions when two people get really stubborn about a car, and increase its value by about 2 - 3 grand and then the next car, exactly the same gets sold for 2 - 3 grand less. hahahaha

[crinklestheblacklab]

i was about to post about this then did a search found this and i'm glad i did.

i am thinking about a commodore from auction here in Perth.

Is there anything mechanical i specifically need to watch out for?

it will prob be a VY, VY II or VX... anything from 30000km to 100000km.

i think i'd rather pay the $17k for a good VZ than a new sonata or 380... a bit doubtfull about either of those.

and, how do you tell who the original owner of the cars are? i've been to the manheim fowles one in bentley, WA and they had "gov" scribbled on them mostly. i DON'T want to buy an ex-avis car that's been run into the ground. also, is it true avis don't service their cars at all, but rather gets rid of them after say 50,000 km? I want to do regular maintenance myself, but don't want to bother if the mechanicals are shot from the get go for me.

seems logical to save some money.

[Stupa]

gov, mean ex government, the log book will tell you which department it was from. just stay away from ex cop cars.

[crinklestheblacklab]

gov, mean ex government, the log book will tell you which department it was from. just stay away from ex cop cars.

is it safe to say that cop cars usually have the steel rims, and other depts have alloys? also i think cop cars are usually white or silver...

[CHEFAI]

my vt came from the auctions as a reposessed vehicle. Saved so much money!! mates work boss payed 16k for a vx clubby

[andyman]

the log books will have who bought the car to start with so for example the cars i work on says owner, 'shoalhaven city council', plus all the other details

[Stupa]

Cop cars use factory rims now, so the xr6t's are gonna have mags and so on

[crinklestheblacklab]

thanks guys.

does anyone know if government auction cars come with clear title to them? e.g. guarantee that no finance is outstanding and that it hasn't been stolen or written off?

don't want to end up with a dodgy one. oh and i mean the govt auctions, not the salvage auctions.

[naf33n]

yep they all have clear titles

[crinklestheblacklab]

yep they all have clear titles

thanks!
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