Saturday 8 January 2011

Crazy Values Achieved In First Week At The Car Auctions!

Well, what a week! The first few auctions of 2011 brought few surprises. As expected, dealers are clamouring to re-stock and values were retail and above for most cars in auctions I attended.
For instance, at BCA Blackbushe yesterday, there were between 800 and 900 vehicles, and the pace was frightening! If you've seen the Kellogg's Crunchy Nut ad with Rob Brydon playing the Newsreader, imagine him as an auctioneer and you'll get the picture! Now I'm certain many cars in this auction were being "run up", but even so, most sold, and most of those were well over the odds.
There was a batch of '58 plate Vauxhall Corsa Clubs, all blue, with good mileages. Not one went for less than £5,000. By the time the buyer's fees and transport costs are added, and then the vehicle inspection and valet, they will owe the dealer at least £5,500. Now search for one on Auto Trader, and the cheapest main dealer car is £5,495!
This wasn't limited to prime stock, either. Cars with high miles and lots of damage were being snapped up aswell. I fully expected the "main dealer" type stock to make good money, but was amazed at how strong everything else was.
So what does this all mean? Well, it's a great time if you are looking to sell your car in auction, but if you are thinking of buying, a dealer is likely to represent a better deal.
Of course, there is a shortage of stock in the UK market, but there is also a shortage of consumers, and until the economy improves, I can't see things getting much better - new car registrations are tomorrow's used cars.
So if you are buying your next car in auction, take extra care. Do your research thoroughly, as there is even less margin for error. The best bargains at the moment are probably convertibles, as it's a little early for them yet.

My advice for die-hard auction fans would be to wait for the initial rush to die down before going out buying.

2 comments:

  1. Do not bid on the vehicle if you do not intend to buy it.Think before you bid. DO NOT get caught up
    in the heat of the excitement!
    car auctions online

    ReplyDelete
  2. Car buyers are more wiser nowadays, they don't spend much if they can't get back a profit.

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    sydney car auctions

    ReplyDelete

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