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We need to retire our 13 year old Honda Pilot and we'd like to consider used cars. In looking thru TruCar.com, there are dealers selling repossessed/auctioned cars from Virginia. The prices are below market and have low mileage.
What are your experiences with buying auctioned cars?
Besides the Carfax report included in the advertised cars, what should we watch out for?
Why would dealers advertised these cars at lower price than trade-ins?
Thinking off the top of my head, someone who can't afford to even pay for a car loan most likely can't even afford to pay for the maintenance on said car...
I don't know if the market has changed in the last couple years but when we were looking it actually made more sense to purchase new unless purchasing a luxury car. The depreciation curve just did not make sense when looking at used cars.
You might want to post in the automotive section, this forum is specific to Raleigh Durham things...you'll probably get more relevant responses.
biggest thing off the top of my head would be electrical issues. Make sure everything works--repeatedly....cars are very well built today, but electrical issues can be tricky to fix and expensive....... Lots of cars are sold at auction--look at Leith used cars and check the carfax,many are from auction. Just because it was sold at auction doesn't mean the car lacks maintenance, but sometimes impossible to know. Just because a car lacks maintenance doesn't mean it's going to blow up either. My neighbor has a 2005 chevy with 300k miles, and all he has done to it is oil changes, brakes, a couple of batteries, and head lights. 100k is nothing on a late model car.
on the other hand not all used car dealers are reputable and honest. Some hide/mask problems. Once you buy it it's yours, there is no 3 day return in NC. Buy from a well known dealer who will at least give you some type of free warranty (30 to 90 days). If they are not willing to stand behind a car for that period of time then I would be suspect.
If you find a car you like get a carfax, and get an "autocheck"- also if you are not knowledgeable get a mechanic to look it over.
Last edited by fvncresident04; 04-29-2016 at 11:24 AM..
I wouldn't buy an auctioned car. I think the "better" used cars get kept by the dealer where they are traded-in. When I was used car shopping I wound up buying a local trade - 10 year old Toyota Highlander in excellent condition. Once I decided what I wanted I scoured the local dealer web pages ads until one popped up that had the features I wanted at a good price. Very pleasant buying experience with Autopark Honda. Paid cash for it though - not sure I'd buy used if I had to finance.
In any event, start with Car Max to get an idea what newer used cars are going for then expand your search to local dealers to see what they are offering. It took me nearly 2 months but I'm 100% happy with my purchase nearly 3 years later.
We need to retire our 13 year old Honda Pilot and we'd like to consider used cars. In looking thru TruCar.com, there are dealers selling repossessed/auctioned cars from Virginia. The prices are below market and have low mileage.
What are your experiences with buying auctioned cars?
Besides the Carfax report included in the advertised cars, what should we watch out for?
Why would dealers advertised these cars at lower price than trade-ins?
Any advice or insights would be appreciated!
Can you give examples? When I worked at a car dealership, at least half the used cars we had on the lot came from auctions. I would have no reservations about buying a car that came from an auto auction, but rarely saw steep discounts simply because the store bought it from Manheim instead of taking it on lease return.
For some reason that never made much sense to me, customers seem to like "local trade in," which never made sense to me. How do you know that Mr. and Mrs. McGillicutty from down the road treated their car better than someone elsewhere?
Cars go to auction all the time for a lot of reasons. A Mercedes dealer often isn't going to keep a Camry LE on his lot. I might be a little bit leery of a repo'd car, but I wouldn't necessarily rule it out.
Any used car you buy you should have inspected by your mechanic.
Auctions are the last stop before the junkyard. New car dealers recondition and resell every trade in that they can-if they let a car go to auction they found a reason not to sell it to an end user. It could be a specific thing wrong with it, it could be that it has been neglected so long that it doesn;t make sense to recondition it, or it could be a car that has a history of trouble and high repair costs.
You may pay less, but you will absolutely get a car with a higher risk of problems and a higher likelihood of a checkered past.
We need to retire our 13 year old Honda Pilot and we'd like to consider used cars. In looking thru TruCar.com, there are dealers selling repossessed/auctioned cars from Virginia. The prices are below market and have low mileage.
What are your experiences with buying auctioned cars?
Besides the Carfax report included in the advertised cars, what should we watch out for?
Why would dealers advertised these cars at lower price than trade-ins?
Any advice or insights would be appreciated!
I have a theory about cars that has been true with every used car I have ever purchased.
If the price sounds too good to be true, it is.
I'd take the average price you see dealers floating around for cars of similar age and mileage then ask yourself "how far off are these cars?"
If it's way off, they're probably salvage of some sort or had hail damage, water damage, etc.
I would not buy a used car like that unless I was a mechanic.
Depending on how much you want to spend, you really can come out better sometimes leasing cars. Just figure the amount you want to spend, then figure that amount divided over 3 years (average lease time) and see if that comes out about right. You'll never have maintenance issues or have to try to sell a used car again.
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When in doubt, check it out: FAQ
I've worked at a dealers' auto auction one summer. With very few exceptions, unless it's an auction specifically known for high-end low-mileage lease trade-ins, stay far, far away.
Why would dealers advertised these cars at lower price than trade-ins?
CarFax isn't omniscient. Possible pain points are, among many others:
- Past taxi/livery service (RUN away)
- Unreported "minor" fender-benders (may not be bad but may affect resale value if your next buyer is savvy)
- Water/hail damage, if unreported to insurance and "fixed"
- Mechanical gremlins the previous owner grew tired of (virtually undetectable via CarFax)
Bottom line, no matter how cliche it sounds: there's no such thing as getting something for half of what it's worth. Don't bother.
We need to retire our 13 year old Honda Pilot and we'd like to consider used cars. In looking thru TruCar.com, there are dealers selling repossessed/auctioned cars from Virginia. The prices are below market and have low mileage.
What are your experiences with buying auctioned cars?
Besides the Carfax report included in the advertised cars, what should we watch out for?
Why would dealers advertised these cars at lower price than trade-ins?
Any advice or insights would be appreciated!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Funky Chicken
Auctions are the last stop before the junkyard. New car dealers recondition and resell every trade in that they can-if they let a car go to auction they found a reason not to sell it to an end user. It could be a specific thing wrong with it, it could be that it has been neglected so long that it doesn;t make sense to recondition it, or it could be a car that has a history of trouble and high repair costs.
You may pay less, but you will absolutely get a car with a higher risk of problems and a higher likelihood of a checkered past.
1. Not everyone can get into all auctions. Some auctions are for dealers only. So someone has to be a middle man.
2. Not all car dealers have used car lots. Some send all there cars from the trade-in straight to the auction.
3. Some small sales lots will only deal with auction cars. The profit is enough, the point is to flip them as fast as you possibly can so that you can keep buying more. The longer it sits the less money they have to buy more cars to flip. These lots are usually marketing towards the lower end of the spectrum. They know they aren't going to make as much as new car sales, and usually have a couple mechanics that do nothing but check the cars and fix what is needed. These lots are all about quantity over quality. If you know it to be one, find out their reputation, it is usually pretty consistent.
4. It depends on the auction there are several different reasons cars get auctioned; repossessions, impounds, trade ins. rentals.....
The only real problem with the auction is (unless its a high end where the owner is present) You have NO CLUE about its past or current condition, (usually other than does it run and drive at low speed). As long as you are buying from a dealer, a car lot, mechanic, or someone with a auto sales license, they are still required to make sure they are selling you a safe vehicle. If it is from one of these, they will have checked out the vehicle, and fixed any problems that NEEDED to be fixed. If you are flexible with what kind of vehicle you want and your priority is to get a good deal, then finding one of these middle men can be a great way to go.
If you have access to the Carfax, I personally stay away from rentals and vehicles that have had multiple owners early on, (usually means they didn't care to maintain or treat it well).
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