Car auction

[sionghua]

I am thinking of going to car auction - manheimfowles in Melbourne. Anyone has any tips for going for car auction?

Edited September 23, 2007 by sionghua

[dannywss]

"cunning and nasty"? i think tats how ppl earn money, no? lost 6k? accept is as a good experience along yr way of growing up~ auction, yea, but no warranty, and unless u really know wat happen under the hood, if not... another 6k gone~

[JJCRU23R]

go for a car only few years old with the new car warranty on it. how much were you going to spend?

[mattyboy]

I have been to some of these auctions before, I dont like them. You dont get a chance to drive the car, it might not even work! haha

[sionghua]

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Edited September 23, 2007 by sionghua

[joel11]

In SA, most auctions have inspection days where u can test drive the cars, the auction will be then later that week or the next day.

[dannywss]

of course we dont hv the chance to test drive them, coz imagine, u can save up to 6k or more for a car, when comparing to buy from any dealer...

but as joel11 said, any car can be inspected and test run engine the day or few days before auction. and during auction, all cars are driven for a bit of distance to show ppl tat is 'alive'...(at least)

[MR22ZZ]

you can't drive them anyway as they are not aloud to move off the lot, but you can turn the key and hear them running, (if they do)

[BigBum]

Fowles lets you inspect the car the day before the Auction (Tuesday). Yup, you can turn on the engine but that's about as much as you can do.

I don't think you should worry too much. My old man bought a car from the Government auction about 2 years ago. Hasn't had a single problem.

Oh did you know you can also watch the auction from your own home as well as bidding too? :)

[Mello]

i have actually purchased a number of cars from Fowles and as for service they are by far the best in australia.

if you don't know what your doing just ask the front information desks

i purchased my Type R there when it only had 33,000 on the clock. alot cheaper then you can get anywhere else.

what kind of car are you interested in?

too buy good cars you probably need a kitty of atleast $9,000 and then work your way up on what car you like.

you will save only a little from about $2000 to $10,000 dollars at most from cars in between price range of ($10,000 to $40,000) in the clearance and fleet section.

you will save more money on the high priced cars like beemers

you will save Even more money on wrecked cars but thats a whole different ball game, and you need to know your mechanics and body repair.

the cars are tested by fowles. aparently a few years back a group of kids test drove some cars and crashed it and hence they don't let anybody test drive.

however you do get some indication if the steering works or not. They do print out their inspection sheets and place them on the window to tell you what kind the general roadworthyness.

things to check:

-steering wheel and wheels if they are aligned and straightened and steering wheel is dead centre (a must, could be indication to steering damange)

-Camber angles (if they dont have a camber kit) usually either means modified rims will prob get you at most negative 1 degree

-anymore camber without camber kits usually means problems

-get under the car and have a look for rust and chasis straightness (roadworthy purposes).

-look for front intrusion bar and see if its damaged.

-check weld marks see if they are all the same

-open close all doors and see if its the same flush and same sound (different cars have different sounds, your just aiming for all the doors to sound the same)

-check for scratch marks on panels. if you have deep scratches on multiple panels that require a paintshop to fix then you should reconcider your estimated price.

-engine check oil cap if theres alot of guky residue it means a no no

-look at coolant level indicator (green and red is usually good, if you see a murky brown or discolour anywhere your in need of a flush.

-turn on the engine and hear for any ping sounds or any sounds out of the ordinary. if your buying a turbo and it has a huge wastegate let off and takes like 2-3 seconds to go woooooshhhh it means its been modified poorly meaning future problems to your engine and definitely EPA canary in the future.

Tips for auction:

look at the catalog, on the day of inspection go check it out. if you like what you see, if theres any damage investigate repair costs. cars auctions are really fast usually never longer then 3 minutes per car. if the cars still in your budget aim for the last moment. Sometimes they auctioneer will not count to 3 be aware of when he slams the hammer

[joel11]

My sister bought a terrios a few months back, when we drove it home it had over heating problems, they covered the expenses to fix it. Just the other day it started running very rough with oil in the water. Turned out to be a cracked head, but now apparently she needs a whole new motor lol.

[sionghua]

Fowles lets you inspect the car the day before the Auction (Tuesday). Yup, you can turn on the engine but that's about as much as you can do.

I don't think you should worry too much. My old man bought a car from the Government auction about 2 years ago. Hasn't had a single problem.

Oh did you know you can also watch the auction from your own home as well as bidding too? :)

I registered with Manheimfowles but they said the online bidding is online for dealers.

[sionghua]

i have actually purchased a number of cars from Fowles and as for service they are by far the best in australia.

if you don't know what your doing just ask the front information desks

i purchased my Type R there when it only had 33,000 on the clock. alot cheaper then you can get anywhere else.

what kind of car are you interested in?

too buy good cars you probably need a kitty of atleast $9,000 and then work your way up on what car you like.

you will save only a little from about $2000 to $10,000 dollars at most from cars in between price range of ($10,000 to $40,000) in the clearance and fleet section.

you will save more money on the high priced cars like beemers

you will save Even more money on wrecked cars but thats a whole different ball game, and you need to know your mechanics and body repair.

the cars are tested by fowles. aparently a few years back a group of kids test drove some cars and crashed it and hence they don't let anybody test drive.

however you do get some indication if the steering works or not. They do print out their inspection sheets and place them on the window to tell you what kind the general roadworthyness.

things to check:

-steering wheel and wheels if they are aligned and straightened and steering wheel is dead centre (a must, could be indication to steering damange)

-Camber angles (if they dont have a camber kit) usually either means modified rims will prob get you at most negative 1 degree

-anymore camber without camber kits usually means problems

-get under the car and have a look for rust and chasis straightness (roadworthy purposes).

-look for front intrusion bar and see if its damaged.

-check weld marks see if they are all the same

-open close all doors and see if its the same flush and same sound (different cars have different sounds, your just aiming for all the doors to sound the same)

-check for scratch marks on panels. if you have deep scratches on multiple panels that require a paintshop to fix then you should reconcider your estimated price.

-engine check oil cap if theres alot of guky residue it means a no no

-look at coolant level indicator (green and red is usually good, if you see a murky brown or discolour anywhere your in need of a flush.

-turn on the engine and hear for any ping sounds or any sounds out of the ordinary. if your buying a turbo and it has a huge wastegate let off and takes like 2-3 seconds to go woooooshhhh it means its been modified poorly meaning future problems to your engine and definitely EPA canary in the future.

Tips for auction:

look at the catalog, on the day of inspection go check it out. if you like what you see, if theres any damage investigate repair costs. cars auctions are really fast usually never longer then 3 minutes per car. if the cars still in your budget aim for the last moment. Sometimes they auctioneer will not count to 3 be aware of when he slams the hammer

Thanks for your advice they are very helpful, I will bring a friend who knows car with me. I am looking at Government Camry for around 10k, can be slightly more or less. I think nowadays they don't even allow us to start the engine. Do you think their road test can be trusted?

[sionghua]

My sister bought a terrios a few months back, when we drove it home it had over heating problems, they covered the expenses to fix it. Just the other day it started running very rough with oil in the water. Turned out to be a cracked head, but now apparently she needs a whole new motor lol.

Is that from government auction section or private? I don't trust the private section.

[joel11]

private

[dannywss]

go for goverment, cheaper, if the 05 camry, can get easily around 12k, but good luck on inspecting the car, tats the most important part.

[Borg]

A relative of mine buys quite a few cars at Fowles for family and friends. He is a mechanic so he knows what to look for. He avoids the private sales and repo cars like the plague, and only buys ex-government and fleet cars.

[joel11]

whats wrong with repos? the car is not being sold on the terms of the owner, so there is nothing dodgy going on from that aspect... It makes sense

[sionghua]

whats wrong with repos? the car is not being sold on the terms of the owner, so there is nothing dodgy going on from that aspect... It makes sense

.

Edited September 25, 2007 by sionghua

[Borg]

whats wrong with repos? the car is not being sold on the terms of the owner, so there is nothing dodgy going on from that aspect... It makes sense

He told me that many of the repos have been thrashed to death by their previous owners. There are many people out there that buy cars they clearly can't afford, and knowing that the car will eventually be repossessed, do not treat the cars very well.

[CHA54]

sounds like he's trying to scare you out of buying a private car...

Everyone of the guys I know with a government/fleet car flog the absolute crap out of them. They don't own them so dont care about the car at all.

[sionghua]

sounds like he's trying to scare you out of buying a private car...

Everyone of the guys I know with a government/fleet car flog the absolute crap out of them. They don't own them so dont care about the car at all.

Private is worse, they only auction it because they can't sell them privately.

[Nogusta123]

Not necessarily I bought my 98 Camry from a private auction in Belmore Sydney haven't had a single problem with it at all I think it all depends on how well you actually check the cars before they go out on auction and how many people turn out to the auction if there are heaps of people don't bother the prices will be inflated.

[sionghua]

Not necessarily I bought my 98 Camry from a private auction in Belmore Sydney haven't had a single problem with it at all I think it all depends on how well you actually check the cars before they go out on auction and how many people turn out to the auction if there are heaps of people don't bother the prices will be inflated.

Private auction normally the owner will get friends to go inflate the prices during auction. I wouldn't even bother.

[m_luke]

whats wrong with repos? the car is not being sold on the terms of the owner, so there is nothing dodgy going on from that aspect... It makes sense

He told me that many of the repos have been thrashed to death by their previous owners. There are many people out there that buy cars they clearly can't afford, and knowing that the car will eventually be repossessed, do not treat the cars very well.

Well for Victorians, you could do a pre-purchase check of the vehicle in question through VicRoads so you can at least get some idea if there is money owing on the vehicle.

This service is free and completely automated so it is available 24x7x365. Simply give it the license plate number and you'll get all the important info you need including the validity of the rego, the VIN and engine serial number!