buying a car from an auction

[IndianStig]

I'm looking at buying a car from an auction. Who hear has experience with it? What type of things should I look for? I am a complete n00b to this.

[Bpeterson]

:burnout: if you are buying from an auction get there before the auction actually starts and look at a car as if yiou would anywhere else check the fluids look for leaks put the car in gear chech everything you possibly can also most importantly look for frame damage and signs of an accident such as overspray(you can feel the difference in the paint it will be rougher than the rest of the paint when the paint looks new), aftermarket parts(core support glass hood) etc. good luck

[IndianStig]

thanks for the tips. reps

[integraguy06]

:burnout: if you are buying from an auction get there before the auction actually starts and look at a car as if yiou would anywhere else check the fluids look for leaks put the car in gear chech everything you possibly can also most importantly look for frame damage and signs of an accident such as overspray(you can feel the difference in the paint it will be rougher than the rest of the paint when the paint looks new), aftermarket parts(core support glass hood) etc. good luck

x2 and this might sound obvious, but see if u can find out why they are selling it... unless its a police auction

gl man

[IndianStig]

x2 and this might sound obvious, but see if u can find out why they are selling it... unless its a police auction

gl man


sounds like a plan.


where do I go to get the post sale inspections? i hear there are inspections that i can do that if th car fails the auctioneers have to take it back

[R32Dragon]

What kinda auction are you talking about, I know that some kind require dealer licenses.

[yerrow]

cars at auctions are the ones that no-one else wanted

[seanrg1116]

What kinda auction are you talking about, I know that some kind require dealer licenses.

most do require a license but the ones that dont are almost not even worth your time. Just be careful a friend of mine got a vw from an auction and it had a bad turbo so he replaced it and then the whole cooling system went out. if you have a friend that is a machanic get him to go with you.

g/l man

Bpeterson you know what im talkin about :goodjob:

[MistaCee]

most do require a license but the ones that dont are almost not even worth your time.

x2

[Revmaynard]

I wouldn't bother going to one that doesn't require a license like others have stated. The dealer auctions usually are a lot better. My landlord has a license but no dealership and he just flips cars. He told me he saw a Civic SI up there with a grinding trans and it went for $700. It had like 112k miles on it too. It was an EF hatchback.

[Barefoot]

take a mechanic with u. pay him $100 let him do the work. he will know what to look for.

[IndianStig]

i have ppl with dealer licenses so its def through a dealer

[Schugg]

you wont have much luck going to public/police auctions cause then everyone goes and your just going to end up paying to much for something, (it will be cheaper than buying it somewhere else, but then again you dont know what your getting into) no matter how educated you are on finding a good car. cause even if it has damage, or any other the other things the guy said to look for, not everyone in a public auction is going to be looking for that so they will probably be willing to bid more. if you can afford a dealor license its worth it if you plan to buy/fix/sell cars often. if i still lived in georgia chances are i would have one already, without one you can only do 6 cars a year. im going to start looking into texas rules and dealor auctions to see what if it would be worth getting into out here. not likely though cause im in a pretty small town 2.5 hours away from a big city.

[gforce23]

cars at auctions are the ones that no-one else wanted
Wrong. Dealers routinely turn up at licensed auctions to buy and sell cars. Many cars that are bought in ATL weren't originally registered here. Get your facts straight.

[Barefoot]

Wrong. Dealers routinely turn up at licensed auctions to buy and sell cars. Many cars that are bought in ATL weren't originally registered here. Get your facts straight.
they are talkin about at public auctions. not dealer auctions. an he is correct public auctions normally have the best of the crap.

[IndianStig]

Wrong. Dealers routinely turn up at licensed auctions to buy and sell cars. Many cars that are bought in ATL weren't originally registered here. Get your facts straight.

w3rd. BTW, might get that lexus i looked at yesterday for 6.6k. i really like it lol. but anywho....reps to all i can

[Schugg]

they are talkin about at public auctions. not dealer auctions. an he is correct public auctions normally have the best of the crap.

the public/police auctions i goto are usually abandoned cars or cars that were taken by police for evidence or something and then sold. most abandoned cars are either wrecked and never picked up or have some motor problem and never picked it up. and in my case thats all i buy so its far from crap, just depends what your looking for. there was a nice mustang at one of the last auctions i went to the police took and only thing wrong with it was they busted out the window. it went for pretty cheap