Buying from car auction (not ebay)

[KiDyNomiTe]

There is a lot fo talk about ebay and such, but I am wondering about other car auctions, the ones where there are just a bunch of cars and they auction em off, not this new advanced ebay stuff.

I was just wondering if anyone has bought any 240s or any car there, and if the cars there are generally shitty or if it is just a random chance of them being bad or good.

Where do they get these cars?
Also for those who have been to these auctions most start at around 100 bucks, what do they go up to usually?

I say this all cuz there is an S14 (http://www.autotrader.com/findacar/vdetail.jtmpl?car_id=124805412&dealer_id=1379398&car_year=1995&make=NISSAN&distance=75&max_price=&model=240SX&advcd_on=n&end_year=1996&min_price=&certified=n&address=60016&search_type=used&advanced=n&start_year=1995&color=) for sale in my area, if anyone from chicago has been to waukegan auto auction how are the cars and prices.

I am not really planning on getting an S14 but if I can get one for the price of an S13 that would be fine with me, after all a 240 is a 240.

[TheSparo]

i can answer partly where they come from, they are just cars that have been sitting on a lot that no one wants for some reason or another, maybe they just arent popular or somethin, but dealers usually get tired of holding them and losing money, so they put them in an auction

[pruto]

i got my car from an auction, well, at least my dad did. I believe they give you time before the auction to check out all the cars, i guess you just gotta know what to look for.

Strangely tho, i've been told that all the s14s that went through the auctions in my area (in the time i was looking for a car) were heavily contested and went for near market value. But then again i live in socal and it took me like 2 months to find a s14.

My car turned out ok, just a bit of miles (121k when i got it, still have the paper from the auction in my glove compartment). I had to replace the clutch, there was a problem with the timing chain, and minor things here and there.

Also, unlike ebay auctions and buying from private sellers, i had to pay registration and tax :rolleyes:

anyways, good luck!

[KiDyNomiTe]

The auction that is over lets you come two hours early to inspect the cars, its a $200 deposit to come to the auction, but you get your money back. If you buy a car it goes to the car payment, if you don't you get it back.

S14s are kind of popular around here, at least thats what some guy at a dealership told me, he said he gets lots of calls, but he could just be trying to make me pay a lot for a 240 when it comes in.

[DuffMan]

Most cars in auctions are reposessed vehicles. They could be in great condition or horrible condition. The auction company buys in bulk and you'd be amazed how little time they spend actually checking the cars out.

[96SEChick]

Originally posted by KiDyNomiTe
S14s are kind of popular around here, at least thats what some guy at a dealership told me, he said he gets lots of calls, but he could just be trying to make me pay a lot for a 240 when it comes in.

I think that's exactly what the dealer's trying to do to you. He knows what you want, so he's trying to get the max $$$ out of you. I made that mistake when I bought my car. On the first test drive, I told the salesass this is the exact car I had been looking for. He told me the price was $10300. I said GREAT!!! When I went back to sign the papers, they said it was $10999......when I confronted them about the $700 discrepency, the salesass knew that I would pay it, because I had already told him I had been looking for that exact car for over a year (color, 5-speed, sunroof & all), and they told me "well, if you don't like it, try to find another one in town." And they showed me the Blue Book value and I was still going to get a pretty good deal--$4k below BB value. I even worked the figure out myself because I didn't believe them at first (well, why would I? They were already trying to screw me over). Well, I took it because I loved the car so much, even though I knew they were laughing at my sorry-female-ass as I drove off the lot because they screwed me out of $700.-------moral----never let a salesprick know what kind of car you're actually looking for. They'll bend you over for it.

Originally posted by DuffMan
Most cars in auctions are reposessed vehicles. They could be in great condition or horrible condition. The auction company buys in bulk and you'd be amazed how little time they spend actually checking the cars out.

Exactly my case again. My car was a bank repo. It was in very good condition.......only a few minor problems--at first that is. You can see on my webpage what "maintenance" I've had to do to it during my first year of ownership. Basically, if somebody didn't have the money to pay for the car, there's a chance they didn't pay for some of the regular maintenance. But, that's not always a bad thing. Most of the problems will be somewhat minor, though.



You know enough about cars that I think you will be able to tell if the car has been badly thrashed or not. I think you should go--if you don't find a car the first time, at least you have the experience of knowing what the process is.

[rancid240]

That $200 deposit bugs though. Even if you get it back, I have never had to put $200 down just to watch a car auction.

[96SEChick]

Originally posted by rancid240
That $200 deposit bugs though. Even if you get it back, I have never had to put $200 down just to watch a car auction.

You have to have the money on you anyway. At most auctions, you have to pay the full amount before you can leave the auction w/ the car you bought.

[pruto]

$200 refundable deposit isn't that bad, some auctions in socal require you to have a resale license of some sort and they don't even let the general public in.

[96SEChick]

Originally posted by pruto
$200 refundable deposit isn't that bad, some auctions in socal require you to have a resale license of some sort and they don't even let the general public in.

The same here in OK. It's good to get in good w/ a small dealer and see if you can go to the auctions with him/her. That's what I'm gonna do when I buy my next used car. Some auto-auctions do open as public auctions sometimes, and some auctions are stricly public auctions--no resalers/dealers allowed.