Anyone done it?

What is the deal with looking around the car before the auction starts or does it greatly depend on the centre? Car I am looking at is at a Manheim centre if it helps.

You can look around the car once it’s lined up (morning of the sale) as the branch will be open for viewing, the car will be unlocked and started up usually 10 minutes before it goes through at which point you can do some quick checks. As a private punter it’s worth checking the indemnity fees prior to bidding at the front reception as they are not insignificant.

What car is it?

Don’t expect any bargains these days – watch out for buyers premiums, VAT etc. Make sure its insured, taxed and MOT’d before you drive it home 🙂

Fees can be much higher for private buyers so its not a level playing field. Getting a bargain will also depend on the model. Popular cars didn’t seem that much cheaper when we looked, especially given the lack of opportunity to check the car properly. Also have you been to one? Its crazy with cars moving through very quickly. Definitely go to one without buying just to get a feel for it.

Bought s few cars from auctions including Mannheim at Wakefield, although it was a while ago.
The cars will lined up in rows for you to look over but they’ll not be unlocked until they’re about to go through the auction due to thefts. The cars aren’t prepared so you will see knocks and scrapes that a dealer would otherwise cover up as cheaply as possible. On the windscreen will be most of the details regard service, ownership and v5, some auctions use a code system so make sure you understand it. The rows don’t always go through in sequence so be alert to where the drivers are going and make sure you’re there when they start them up for starting problems and rough running. Plenty of cars will have flat batteries as they may have been stood for a while.
In the auction it moves fast so watch a few go through and get familiar with the other bidders as you’ll the car supermarket buyers there along with smaller car sellers. If they’re not interested in a car there is a good reason for it so don’t think you’ve got a bargain. However they do tend to avoid cars that will stay on their forecourt for while such as big luxury cars and large engines.
Once you’ve won an auction they’ll give you a slip to take to the buying office expect to pay a buyers premium with indemnity which around £300. If paying by card they’ll charge you for that too.
At Mannheim they allowed you to drive the car in the yard first.
Also watch out for the auctioneers as some are very chummy with the car supermarket buyers and will ignore your bid against theirs.

Cheers Craig, very useful.

It’s an electric car that is cosmetically very poor, covered in scratches, dents and a torn roof liner so I suspect a dealer just cant be bothered.

I missed it earlier this week but it didnt sell and is back up so figure whatever reserve was on it might now be lower and it might be worth a punt.

I am just after a cheap run about I don’t have to worry about so have specifically been looking for a poor cosmetic condition electric car. Manheim do quite a decent online inspection report but I would still want to have a good look and check for obvious impact damage and signs of mechanical abuse.