So first I pulled in my connections to get a great deal ion a Jetta
but then FH's dad said he'd only help us pay for an Elantra b/c it's cheaper.
So then i did the research and an elantra would only be $1200 less and would cost more to insure and lose more value...but I called in my connections AGAIN to get a good deal on the elantra (my old boss is really going out of his way for me..and I feel so bad FH and his dad are making me jerk him around)
NOW FH's dad said he'll only help us on a USED car. And he is insisting it be at auction. I'm kind of scared of this. I feel like you never know who had that car before. Has anyone ever bought a car at auction? Can you get it for cheaper and what are the special caveats
HearzBellz
Posted:
Member since
Re: Has anyone ever bought a car at auction?
You have to be VERY careful when buying a car at an auction. Most of the time you cannot have any one check out the car before hand. You can do a 'visual' inspection, but looking at a motor will not necessarily let you know if it is functioning well. Also, no time to do a VIN# search to see if it had been in an accident or anything like that. And, most require cash upfront.
I do know someone who bought a luxury sorts car at an auction (he could not have afforded it otherwise) but he was ok paying extra $$ for repairs & did not care about not having a warrantee b/c he wanted that car so badly. Plus he had over a year to save for the car & any 'incidentals'. He did indeed have top pump some cash into the car to get it running well.
MrsERod
Posted:
Member since
Re: Has anyone ever bought a car at auction?
why don't you save yourself alot of aggravation and just buy a used car??
I bought my '95 Saturn back in '98 for $6K..it only had about 25K miles on it at the time, and was in mint condition...(1 owner, garage kept)... if you looked around, I'm sure you could find a similar buy....
eta: not thru auction, thru used car dealer...I DO NOT trust auctions at all
lilacwine
Posted:
Member since
Re: Has anyone ever bought a car at auction?
Going to an auction is significantly riskier than buying a certified used car.
If you're going to go the auction route, you may want to consider going with someone who buys cars at auctions all the time. Your old boss may have people who do this.
If you need FH's dad's help to buy a car, you have to live by his terms or convince him to change his mind.
t
Posted:
Member since
Re: Has anyone ever bought a car at auction?
Posted by lilacwine
Going to an auction is significantly riskier than buying a certified used car.
and that says it all
Boop2704
Posted:
Member since
Re: Has anyone ever bought a car at auction?
DH works in the automotive industry and he just bought a car that came from auction. He knows a guy that owns a shop and goes every week to the auction to purchase them and then he fixes them up at his shop and re sells them. DH just bought one and it is a great and very reliable car. If you would like I will get you the name of the place, it is right off the southern state on I believe Nassau road. He has some really good deals. Let me know!!
ETA- you can finance through him as well.
don424
Posted:
Member since
Re: Has anyone ever bought a car at auction?
seriously jenn, you can get a great used car for the price you want and save yourself a BIG headache later
Blu-ize
Posted:
Member since
Re: Has anyone ever bought a car at auction?
Don't do the auction thing unless someone else is willing to drive you around while th car is being fixed and will pay for the repairs. What a headache. You could get an accord off a 3 year lease with low miles very reasonably. You would also get a year warranty and the lemon law will apply. If you buy it from someone just selling their car, you have no re-course because it's usually an as is deal.
Stacey04
Posted:
Member since
Re: Has anyone ever bought a car at auction?
DH bought his Infiniti Q45 from an auction about 5 or 6 years ago.
Its in really great condition and a beautiful car.
The problem was that after purchasing it, then receiving the title, he found out it has a salvage title b/c it was a flood car. He almost had a problem getting the loan for it b/c they do not give loans for salvage titles, but b/c he didn't know, they did it.
Anyway, it must have been rebuilt, b/c its still in good shape, but it has a salvage title, harder to now sell.
ETA: A friend of ours bought a Jeep Grand Cherokee from an auction about 1-2 years ago, he had no problems, and I believe got a good price.
dpli
Posted:
Member since
Re: Has anyone ever bought a car at auction?
Be careful! There are a lot of people out there who will try to screw you. I almost got stuck with a car that had been salvaged and my mechanic told me to take the VIN # to DMV to find out if there were outstanding tickets or anything on it b/c he was suspicious of the seller.
Low and behold, I find out from the guy at DMV that the car had been totalled out by the insurance company and would need a full inspection before I could register it. If not, I was stuck with the car. Go through a dealer if you are uncomfotable buying used cars. I will still buy a used car, but not from the newspaper and I doubt from an auction.
fleeflee
Posted:
Member since
Re: Has anyone ever bought a car at auction?
My DH is a fleet lease coordinator at the auction in Yaphank - its wholesale, you'd have to be a registered dealer to buy from them. MOST of their cars are directly off lease, and inspected and certified. They're required to disclose and announce frame and flood damage, engine failure, etc. The prices are tryly excellent, but again its wholesale. I agree that if your connection has experience buying at auction, its the way to go. FM me with questions. Good Luck!
marymoon
Posted:
Member since
Re: Has anyone ever bought a car at auction?
I am really scared of the auction thing. you don't know WHAT crimes were commited in these cars, what kind of people drove them, it kind of grosses me out, to be honest. but FH's dad has a friend who owns a car service and gets all of his cars at auction. I just hate that this man is insisting we do things his way. We don't know what we're going to do yet. I'm thinking of just postponing the wedding so we don't have to feel all of this pressure. it was a precarious situation BEFORE we needed to buy a car
Diane
Posted:
Member since
Re: Has anyone ever bought a car at auction?
Be VERY CAREFUL!!!! My dad bought one real cheap and didnt have a problem with it, but the place closed down, because the guy who ran it turned mack the mileage on most of the cars, including his.
cocoa
Posted:
Member since
Re: Has anyone ever bought a car at auction?
il's got their jeep at an auction. no problems but fil went with someone whose job it is to buy cars at auctions.
