Having been to a large car auction this week, nearly everytime I tried to get close to or sit in a car, I was told I wasnt allowed to!!
I'd never try to sit in a car if it was about to be driven into the rostrum - everytime I was told off though the car was about 10 cars away from the rostrum and no driver was in sight!!
I have never encountered this problem before in 15 years of attending auctions.
I was more or less being followed around the site and on 4 occasions was ordered outside the car I was looking at! I am a graduate in my late 20s and was reasonably well dressed so have absolutely no idea why I was being targetted!
Auctions are a pretty stressful environment at the best of times. There is very little time to check under the bonnet, in the boot, let alone check the air conditioning works etc.
I was told by this member of staff that it is now company policy not to allow bidders to sit in cars - is this nonsense or some new health and safety regulation? If it is health and safety, surely notices should be put up to this effect at the auction.
Besides, the biggest risk to health and safety at most of the auctions I've attended is the break neck speed some of the auction drivers speed around the site! I once enquired about a Jaguar only to hear it had been written off within the auction site!
Don't want to sound a complete Victor Meldrew but I was getting very pink fluffy diced off with this guy hassling me for no reason and it put me off staying at the auction as long as I planned to. I didn't buy anything that day and will need to go back again soon. I'd greatly appreciate experiences of other auction goers and my best plan of action in order to overcome this in future. I have already contacted the HQ of the auction in question to ascertain their policy on viewing cars.
I often take friends and clients to auctions and do not wish to be treated as a naughty school boy when checking to see if the air con works on a prospective purchase!
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Doesn't happen at BCA Blackbushe. Not to me, anyway. Never seen it happen to anyone else. Could be that jag_driver was under suspicion for some reason. Preventing theft from unlocked cars at auction is a security nightmare.
HJ
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You have got the money so you are the boss. If they get cheeky take your money somewhere else. They don't have a monopoly on car sales or on auctions. They need you more than you need them.
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"If they get cheeky take your money somewhere else. They don't have a monopoly on car sales or on auctions. They need you more than you need them."
Errrrrr Nope. Its not Tesco. Tell us where there is another car auction within 10 miles of Camberley that has the same throughput and mix of cars?
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Within ten miles, RF? You should be so lucky. My local auction is 60 miles away. I am off down there next week where there should be a Holden Commodore coming up that I have my eye on.
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Many thanks for the reply John - I have never experienced it before in 15 years of attending auctions and this happened at BCA Blackbushe!
I have already asked BCA for their official policy upon viewing cars. Once I receive a reply I will carry a copy with me to show to any members of staff who tell me I'm not allowed to sit in the cars!
I do not wish to stop using BCA but as I said in my previous message it's stressful enough buying cars at auction without being pestered by members of staff for no good reason!
I fully appreciate the security aspect (I also would expect to be told off if I revved the cars as excessively as some bidders seem to - surely this is damaging from cold and surely unnecessary) but as I say I'm a graduate in my late 20s and frankly there is absolutely no reason to be suspicious of me! All I did when I was told off was sit in the car and turn the air conditioning on!
I have bought many cars from BCA over the years and have always treated drivers with the utmost respect.
Indeed last week I held my tongue until this member of staff told me on a 4th occasion I am not allowed to sit in any cars. I then asked how is it possible to inspect cars properly if you can't sit inside them! His reply was I dont make the rules!! So this suggests that BCA's ruling is that bidders arent allowed to sit in cars anymore.
I clearly need official clarification from BCA in connection with their policy upon sitting in cars - what also annoys me is that other bidders were quite clearly sitting in cars and as far as I could tell not getting any hassle.
The bizarre thing was the same member of staff also told a colleague of mine who is twice my age to get out of a car as its driver was approaching - but again the car was about 10 cars away from the rostrum and no driver was in sight!
Not too happy with this treatment at all (to put it mildly!) but I'll take it up with BCA. I've been very happy with BCA for over 15 years and this National Trust House attendant 'Do Not Touch' style attitude seems highly inappropriate towards someone who has great respect for the cars and the other bidders and staff at the auction.
It seems to me this guy (who reminded me of a retired traffic warden!) was simply asserting his authority to me as he thought he could get away with it, given my mild mannered behaviour. However as a former motoring journalist myself I have to say he picked on the wrong guy! I will single handedly ensure this matter is resolved and if other auction goers suffer the same treatment please feel free to email me at edgcumbeconsultants@hotmail.com
Thanks again John - so I am right in assuming that cars approximately 10 cars away from the rostrum are available to sit in/open bonnets and boots?
I know I should change my name here to Victor Meldrew but given the gentlemanly manner in which I have always conducted myself I find it extremely annoying to be treated as a naughty schoolboy!
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So you've been using BCA since you were 13/14?
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He said he'd been "attending auctions" for 15 years, not been buying cars from them for 15 years!
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Mike Farrow
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but as I say I'm a graduate in my late 20s and frankly there is absolutely no reason to be suspicious of me!
Do you wear a big badge saying your a graduate because maybe the staff don't realise you are one?
Sorry but what relevance does this make? Do my colleagues in the trade who have been buying and selling cars for probably longer than you have alive but don't have degrees deserve worse treatment than yourself?
Did you not take the matter up with a member of the onsite management? they would be able to deal with your enquiry more promptly and in a better way than complaining to BCA Head Office.
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I'm a graduate as well - mad eno difference in a Little Chef in 1982, got kicked out all the same....
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I am a graduate as well, didn't stop me being asked to leave Halfords in Slough about 15 years ago as I was doing my Christmas shopping....... never got over that one...
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Christmas Shopping ? Halfords ? Kicked out?
Tell us more..
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in my late 20s and frankly there is absolutely no reason to be suspicious of me! All I did when I was told off was sit in the car and turn the air conditioning on!
Having re-read the post i think your age may have something to do with it - the majority of jag buyers are not in their 20's so it may have looked out of place for you to be sniffing round them.
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Graduates? Yeah tell me abaht it. Tell you wot, Philby, Burgess, Maclean, and that Blunt bloke wot done the Queens pictures, they all went to Cambridge, yeah? Probably how they got found out. Mind you, that Lord wossisname, you know- wrote some books then paid off a tart, he said he was a graduate and he wasn't! Left here is it Guv? Now give me an honest GCSE failure anyday. Salt of the earth.
Wot I really can't stand is them City & Guilds types. A few days at night school and they suddenly get all la-di-da-I-no-longer-drink-in-the-public-bar. Ideas above their station if you ask me. Number 47?
You been on holiday yet?
I'll tell you where you wonna go.................
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I'm a graduate in my 20s.... and I've nearly wrecked my car three times and got points on my licence. Not the best indicator!
I hate to break it to you jag-driver but most people in their 20s are graduates these days - probably not the best thing to go around braying about as if it makes you something out of the ordinary and somehow more trustworthy. :)
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Oh dear! I really have started something here, haven't I!! How I regret saying I'm a graduate! What I was trying to convey is that frankly I don't look or behave like someone who is likely to be doing something they shouldnt at an auction!
I dont think my age had anything to do with it though as a colleague twice my age was treated in the same manner.
Besides, I've been buying cars at Blackbushe since I was 19 and first went there when I was 12! If I was told off when I was 12 I'd have accepted it!
Anyway to be honest, I was looking for replies in connection with other auction goers who have suffered the same treatment.
I personally think its the old cliche of the policeman who sees a fight on his beat and turns his heel to cross the road to avoid it, i.e. it's easy to have a go at me because I'm pretty mild mannered looking whereas someone who is, how can I put this, somewhat rougher in demeanour (no offence to anyone, please don't write 10 messages debating this point!) would no doubt not get picked on in the same manner!
Next time I go to Blackbushe I won't shave for a week and use the F word every other time I speak! Maybe then I wont get hassled!
I've probably made this situation worse now! Apologies to John, I know this forum is supposed to be about cars, not human nature! Cars are very simple to understand in comparison!!
All I really want to know is are you allowed to sit in cars at a BCA auction because I have been told otherwise!
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::arrives with fire extinguisher::
Ok, enough of the flaming. Jag-Driver has asked some serious questions and didn't need the lecture (pardon the pun) re. being a graduate.
No Dosh.
5 O-levels, one A-level, over-paid consultant and Backroom Moderator
mailto:moderators@honestjohn.co.uk
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Tell you what the staff at BCA Nottingham are very helpful. You hear alot about staff at auctions being awkward but at nottingham they are very helpful. Was looking at a polo that had been in the sale the day before but didnt meet the reserve so went down to have a look. It was just like being at a dealership, i know thats hard to believe but one of the guys there located the car (bearing in mind theres 100's of cars) gave us the keys aid have a look, start it up do want u want and then make us an offer (before it was shipped off to BCA Birmingham)... Got a quality polo sport at a quality price and a quality sevice... Sved them transporting it to birmingham and saved me a couple of grand...
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Yes, I totally agree, staff at the auctions are always very friendly and helpful normally - I guess that's why this one exception to the rule in 15 years really jangled last week.
I am hoping if in future I lean in, rather than sit in the cars, I'll avoid any future hassle. As I say car auctions are stressful enough without having to worry about being told off!
I'm hoping not physically sitting in the car will ensure I dont get hassled again - although I will definately find out BCA's official line on viewing cars.
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There was a similar tale of woe on here some months back, I seem to recall.
Someone had been accused of scratching cars at an auction. The most plausible explanation suggested (I think by HJ) was that they might have shown an interest in a specific car, so another buyer, who had wanted that car, may have told the auction staff that he was vandalising the goods in order to get him removed from the competition.
Maybe write to the management requesting an explanation and a statement of their policy; enclose copies of some past receipts.
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Many thanks for the reply - as I say I wasn't accused of doing anything wrong though, the issue purely comes down to whether you are allowed to sit in the cars at auction or not.
I was categorically informed no one is allowed to sit in the cars! I am sure this is incorrect but I'm still awaiting a reply from BCA.
I think my best plan of action at the moment is to avoid sitting in the cars in the future but if I get hassled again I will definately write in with copies of the past invoices. As I say though, I must stress that I've always been very happy at all the BCA branches up until now and this does appear to be a one off.
I appreciate a lot of traders at least appear to buy cars without looking inside/under the bonnet or boot but I have never taken this risk before. Indeed after being told off at Blackbushe I almost missed a 'Check Engine' warning light that was flashing on a BMW I was considering!
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Had a word with the head of security at Blackbushe today. Health and Safety rules preclude potential buyers from starting the cars, checking the clutch, turning the steering, etc for the obvious reason that they could lose control and kill someone. But you are allowed to inspect the interiors of the cars and sit in them just as long as you don't try to drive them or remove anything from them. As I wrote earlier, theft is a big problem, even it it's just stupid things like gearknobs and cigarette lighters.
HJ
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Many thanks for your help John, much appreciated. I think from now on I'll lean into the cars to check items such as the air con and the stereo rather than sit inside them.
That way, there can be no misunderstandings. Thanks again as this clarifies the matter completely. I was indeed misinformed at the auction that no one is allowed to sit in the cars, but I guess it's a little pedantic of me to go on about that!
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