What does it say to us ordinary members of the general public, that HJ has been spending all this time at the auctions recently and is still to find a bargain for himself?
Is it not the case that most of us would be better off to visit a dealership with lots of choice, pay a bit more, but get on with putting our efforts into earning a living, surely we'd end up better off.
(Please ignor this HJ as I'm enjoying reading your reports)
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The number of times I've seen business people,quite often in pairs,trying to buy themselves a van at auction & obviously not having much luck.They sometimes go to sales week after week, ending up buying the wrong thing or paying more than they should.
Makes you wonder how they value their time!
Mark
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Horses for courses.
When I bought my father in law a car recently, I'd gone to the auction with a view to getting a car for him. Not a specific model, not the best car there, just a car, probably a Mondeo or Vectra. I ended up with a super Mazda 626.
When I went previously WITH my father in law, he ended up rejecting everything but the one perfect low-mileage Vectra on sale that rapidly went way above book price in a bidding war between two private buyers.
You're right; if you're looking for something in particular you ought to buy elsewhere, as it's difficult to walk away at the right price if you've got your eye (and heart) set on one vehicle.
I read HJs reports differently from you, I think. When he gives a high price example, I just sigh at the buyers' stupidity and move on. It's the bargain stuff that I like. Also, bear in mind that literally hundreds of other vehicles go through that HJ doesn't mention because they go for standard book trade price, i.e. hundreds/thousands of pounds less than they will be on the forecourt the next morning.
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Many thanks, Vin, for putting it all in perspective. It would be truely wonderful to get up, get a car fixed, go to an auction, buy the best bargain of all the 750 lots that came up, get it home, write an auction report, answer 100 e-mails, pop into The Back-Room, do my accounts, pay my VAT, watch 5th Gear, then spend a bit of quality time with my family and finally get some sleep. But, sadly, there are not 48 hours in a day. £6,750 (or £6,775 to outbid the guy who got it) would still have been sensible private money for a 56,000 mile 2001Y Mondeo 2.0LX, but it just wasn't low enough for me because I'm gambling on prices falling a bit more.
HJ
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I enjoy reading the auction reports too, even when I have been there myself that day.
I've bought cars from 6 different BCA auction sites in the last couple of years and Blackbushe does seem to be the most expensive (least cheap?) with the biggest public attendance.
If a couple of private buyers are after the same car, you can forget it. Also on the mainstream stuff (e.g a new-ish Golf in silver) you are not likely to see a sale at much less than the 'correct' trade price.
But on the other hand it's convenient with a massive choice of cars.
PB.
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HJ, I sincerely hope that you get those simple tasks done before breakfast!
Simon T.
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H.J., The answer for any sceptics is to go to auction when you don't need to buy a car.The best deals always float past when you have no money.
Foul weather today and nothing else to do I paid one of my regular visits to ADT Measham.
Best buy of the day had to be a lovely new shape 99T Astra 1.8 CD estate, fully loaded and very clean which struggled to,and sold for £2995 ...bargain.
Daewoo 'administration' sale showed value with V & X plate Matiz SE+'s all selling at sub £2500 prices and 51 registered cars around the £4k mark.
Not a favouite of mine but an S plate Mitsubushi Carisma 1.8 GLX was a steal for someone at £2450.
I was taken by a very clean R plate C class estate showing 67K which was knocked down to a luckier man than I, for £7600....
There wil be nothing like it when I go with cash in my hand!!!
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Re Auctions
Does anyone know if there is a real difference in prices between cars bought at Blackbushe and other BCA (like Belle Vue).
Also, does anyone know what a honda accord 2.0 vtec se would go for at auction? (like this one for example) www.auctionview.co.uk/StockDetail.asp?Registration...p
When I view the bca auction view part of their website to see what is coming up for auction, some of the cars say marginal, any ideas what that means?
Many Thanks
Jonathan
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A Margin car is one on which a VAT registered trader cannot recover the VAT. A Qualifying car is one on which he can recover the VAT, but must then charge VAT when he sells the car and pay that to HM Customs and Excise. The link to Auctionview doesn't work because you have to register to use it.
HJ
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Can log onto auctionview site as Guest if anyone feels the need.
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>>does anyone know what a honda accord 2.0 vtec se would go for at auction<<
Exactly the same car and mileage but an Exec went for £6,300 at Blackbushe 2 weeks ago. A silver 60k V plate 1.8 SE Exec went for £6,150. Both to the same dealer. A 98S 65k silver 2.0 ES auto with leather and Satnav sold at £5,500.
PB.
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PB and HJ
Many Thanks
If a car goes for £6,300 at Blackbushe, would it be any cheaper in Manchester, or Preston?
I was thinking about getting an exec, but the retail prices I have seen for these are quite a lot more than the se. Are the additional toys of an exec going to keep the residual up the same margin over a couple of years?
Jonathan
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I drove up to Preston (from within 10 miles of Blackbushe) to buy my MV6 cos I'd heard it was generally cheaper up there. Certainly many less people around during the sale.
The story goes that dealers buy a transporter-load up north, then bring them straight to sell at Blackbushe within days, netting hadsome money. Is this true?
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Yes it's true we get cars sent down from Sunderland at our local auction (Frating). When I was trade plate driving the local dealer I worked for kept sending us further and further north to bring stock back to Suffolk because he could buy below book price at northern auctions. Very rare for us to go to our local auction as London dealers kept prices up. Crazy I know but it made a heck of a difference.
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If you buy traders cars then yes, obviously they are dearer at Blackbushe, especially at Top Car. Same can be true of fleet cars, especially on Fridays. But if it was generally true all the time then no one would sell their cars anywhere else. Fact is, all the big car supermarkets have buyers at Blackbushe.
HJ
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>>would it be any cheaper in Manchester, or Preston<<
I haven't been to either of these, but experience of other BCA sites says probably. The problem as a private buyer with a particular car in mind, is that you can take a day out with associated travel expense and come back with nothing. I have twice gone North and returned with a different car to those I was really interested in (and got great value both times), but then I'm not very fussy about our second car.
>>Are the additional toys of an exec going to keep the residual up <<
I think that as a rule, extras don't return the money but affect the saleability. So a Jag should have leather, or if you are selling a car with a/c against ones without, yours will sell more easily.
PB.
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