Another Dealer Auction tale of woe

[Jack Regan 116]

Ive had a couple I've turned up to collect and not bought cause of bad descriptions , but must admit on the whole the cars are ok.

[Frankieola 22]

I normally just browse on here and don't post, Well here's one for you about good old Dealer Auction. I should point out now that this isn't about the money, It's more the principle of things!

I was browsing on there the other day and seen a cheapie I fancied, kept an eye on it and made a maximum bid at the closing stages. I watched the auction end and as the countdown finished was the highest bidder, clicked onto the dashboard part of the system to get the dealer details and my winning bid was £61 higher.

Now admittedly the higher figure was still below my maximum bid but I'd watched things end and hadn't been outbid. I called DA and they said there was another bid but I'd won as my best bid was higher, I said well why didn't I see it and the system update before the auction ended? We then went round and round in circles for a bit before I was advised to email in, I didn't but then called up and spoke to someone more senior who said that all online auctions can end at different times for people due to internet connections and even ebay have that problem. Well I'm not a great authority on the internet but I've never been outbid on any online auction after the auction has ended!

Like I said, It's £61 so not a drama as such, but if I was cynical (and lets face it, After 19 years in the trade I might just be a little bit cynical) who's to say that someone somewhere thought "well his bid was higher than it ended, he was obviously happy to pay a bit more so lets increase the winning bid so the garage we are selling it for think we are great?"

I did say this to the chap but he insisted that would never happen, Oh and he gave me a dig as well at the time about not getting in touch with the selling dealer! 

I've been a member on there since pretty much the start, I've mainly bought cheap stuff and the cars have been okay, I've only had one where I was a bit fed up but still bought it and took it away, The description told me it had a 2" scratch on the bumper but forgot to mention it didn't have a radio or most of the exhaust! Never bought another car from that garage again! 

[Phil H 124]

17 hours ago, Frankieola said:

I was browsing on there the other day and seen a cheapie I fancied, kept an eye on it and made a maximum bid at the closing stages. I watched the auction end and as the countdown finished was the highest bidder, clicked onto the dashboard part of the system to get the dealer details and my winning bid was £61 higher.

 

I've often wondered if they have an internet bidders button which is in fact used solely to trot us up, after all when these auctions go to online only they've got to have some way of trotting us us up.

[andymc1973 199]

pretty sure its easy for the vendors to run them up

[Phil H 124]

I collerred the auctioneer one day as to why they thought it necessary to trot dealers up was it a game to which he replied it was the royal mail rep who would take pleasure out of waving his hand up behind the rostrum  to gesture make him pay more. All this because I spoke my mind one day and told him what I thought of him. He was such a pleb that I made a point of not attending any sale that he was in charge of. He was a stark contrast to his oppo who would welcome me with open arms as he knew nobody else was so daft to buy that crap. It was bloody cheap though back in 2008 I bought 12 combo's including a couple of crew vans for 8000 including vat and fees, all 05 and 55 plate with less than 50k on. Those where the good old days.

[andymc1973 199]

just been barred by a local main dealer as I wouldn't take a car with a bottom end knock, David Gott we both know the garage

[andymc1973 199]

what really gets my goat is that DA think its us being the clowns

[sparky 274]

The fact is DA are never going to listen to peasants like us, they might however start listening to their vendors. There are many on there who do the job properly and  are missing out buyers on who have just had enough with the platform because of their rogue colleagues. I don't think any buyer is expecting an AA report, but a little bit of honesty wouldn't go amiss. I also think those rogue dealers should be named and shamed, on the other hand I think those that do the job properly should also be highlighted.

[andymc1973 199]

I appreciate I'm a peasant but I buy 4 a week from DA, it's the way I was spoken to by the DA manager who implied I was being picky, whilst the cars aren't mechanically checked a knock from the engine should be pointed out, would I have bid if it had? No way, the car's back on today with no mention again, obviously hoping a transporter collects it

I can recall a car i picked up from the above mentioned place, it had a recon bill from their service dept for £2500 as cams were shagged, I managed to get my money back and the car appeared back on there with no mention of the bill which I assume vanished from the book pack, did I ring and moan to DA, no as no point

sorry yes the sales manager banned me, I don't mind taking the odd one for the team but it has to be both ways

[david gott 58]

Andymc your better off without them types of dealerships! Numptys!!! It's a shame some dealerships will ban you, I've only ever rejected 3 cars, one of them was a 107 that wouldn't start, then when it did it sounded like a bag of spanners (the week before I got a panda from a different dealer and the engine blew up 20 mins after driving so I wasn't feeling too confident anyway) there was a young lad in the office I explained why I didn't want it and left. 30 minutes later the boss rings up, effing and blinding that there was nothing wrong with that car etc etc, next thing I'm barred from bidding on their cars. Not that I'm that bothered but did I kick up fuss over the panda that had a dodgy engine, no, it's part of the game, I'm pretty sure the chap in the office had never been in a traders shoes, putting his own cash up to buy stock and just thought I was another one of those moaning traders lol 

[andymc1973 199]

mine was a certain garage in hartlepool....

[BHM 994]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but is it me or are main dealers getting worse?

I've been on it now for about 3 years & up to a few months ago had only rejected 2 cars, although I have had a few choice words with a couple of dealers. I should add that I'm generally up to a maximum of £3K, and usually much less, so I'm not overly fussy & expect to do a bit of work - work that has been declared!

The last 3 from Stoke-On-Trent have shown the cloven hoof (I.e. been half-knackered) within 3 miles of leaving, a month ago a Honda dealer took about 15 minutes to dig out a car, I found out why the next day when I went to start it - it took 15 minutes to get it to start 

From elsewhere the other week I rejected a Zafira with a few (ahem!) electrical problems & only yesterday went to inspect a Focus, upon opened the bonnet I immediately rejected the car after seeing the turbo has shit itself & spewed oil all over the engine bay. I didn't even bother getting in the car or start it up & the salesman was surprised I didn't want it! 

HOWEVER, which two cars are currently on there with their original unmodified adverts? Yes you've guessed it. I know it's a trade environment but if I purposely tried to have over a local trader by not declaring faults I've been made aware of then I'd expect to be falling out over the deal.

Rant over.

 

Edited July 4, 2017 by BHM

[Cornish Guy 45]

In any other environment it would be called fraud.

[metcars 397]

Reading through this thread reminds me of how in the old days we used to hang around large dealerships in the hope of picking up PXs. There was always a picking order, and all dealerships had their "favourites". But eventually some nasty old thing was offered to you and you couldn't really turn it down no matter how bad it was. If you refused it, it would just go to the next guy (who'd be more accommodating) and you'd not be welcome back!

Of course that was in the '80s, but some things never change!

[Max Branning 149]

It really does vary from site to site, i know of a few main dealers that offer all there trades on DA and are very genuine, will describe the cars accurately and i will not be afraid to buy from. Other dealers on the other hand go out of their way to avoid giving an accurate description and hide behind the trade sale sold as seen rubbish, once taken away you've bought it "tough luck" basically.

[It's me 615]

1 hour ago, tradex said:

 

Buying present at an auction is safer in my view.

 

i still cant get my head round the fact you have to go up to peterborough

your head must be spinning as you get out of your vehicle never mind trying to do an assessment of likely purchases and not even an evil bacon sarnie is offered by the hosts ex gratyyy

[sparky 274]

8 hours ago, BHM said:

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but is it me or are main dealers getting worse?

I've been on it now for about 3 years & up to a few months ago had only rejected 2 cars, although I have had a few choice words with a couple of dealers. I should add that I'm generally up to a maximum of £3K, and usually much less, so I'm not overly fussy & expect to do a bit of work - work that has been declared!

The last 3 from Stoke-On-Trent have shown the cloven hoof (I.e. been half-knackered) within 3 miles of leaving, a month ago a Honda dealer took about 15 minutes to dig out a car, I found out why the next day when I went to start it - it took 15 minutes to get it to start 

From elsewhere the other week I rejected a Zafira with a few (ahem!) electrical problems & only yesterday went to inspect a Focus, upon opened the bonnet I immediately rejected the car after seeing the turbo has shit itself & spewed oil all over the engine bay. I didn't even bother getting in the car or start it up & the salesman was surprised I didn't want it! 

HOWEVER, which two cars are currently on there with their original unmodified adverts? Yes you've guessed it. I know it's a trade environment but if I purposely tried to have over a local trader by not declaring faults I've been made aware of then I'd expect to be falling out over the deal.

Rant over.

 

Rant away.

 

I was the winning bidder on a car last week. HPI was all clear, sadly there turned out to be a major discrepancy with VOSA. Quite a big one at that and not the sort of thing you could put down to a fat fingered mechanic. Within two minutes at the most of me ringing in and explaining why I'm backing out it was back on DA with the exact same description, not a mention of any possible mileage discrepancy.

[BHM 994]

1 hour ago, sparky said:

Rant away.

 

I was the winning bidder on a car last week. HPI was all clear, sadly there turned out to be a major discrepancy with VOSA. Quite a big one at that and not the sort of thing you could put down to a fat fingered mechanic. Within two minutes at the most of me ringing in and explaining why I'm backing out it was back on DA with the exact same description, not a mention of any possible mileage discrepancy.

I'm aware of a garage in Co. Durham reported for the same on a HEAVILY clocked Mondeo estate during its first auction - the auction was allowed to run its course but I guess most buyers must be checking VOSA as it made no money.

However it reappeared twice more with exactly the same description.

Another cockle-picking "gentleman of the motor trade", a regular, isn't averse to missing out a few negative points. Once reported he seems to now list those with mileage discrepancies as "MILEAGE NOT WARRANTED" - why not just say there's a mileage discrepancy & stop making himself look like a shyster? However as he also seems to miss a few mechanical problems I suspect the reason is because he actually is a shyster.

Edited July 4, 2017 by BHM

[andymc1973 199]

DA seems very quiet of late, a few dealers seem to have left

[metcars 397]

41 minutes ago, andymc1973 said:

DA seems very quiet of late, a few dealers seem to have left

They've been lured away by Manheim/BCA. Especially with deals on free collection and storage before sales

[andymc1973 199]

manheim own DA

[BHM 994]

22 minutes ago, andymc1973 said:

manheim own DA

Not quite. The parent company, Cox Automotive, own both. 

 

1 hour ago, metcars said:

They've been lured away by Manheim/BCA. Especially with deals on free collection and storage before sales

I was talking to a DP at a small family run dealership & asked him why their couple of branches stopped sending them to the block. The answer was the fees (much to my surprise) - I think the big auction houses are chasing their big vendors but his view was that smaller dealers are getting shafted almost as much as the buyers.

[metcars 397]

38 minutes ago, BHM said:

Not quite. The parent company, Cox Automotive, own both. 

 

I was talking to a DP at a small family run dealership & asked him why their couple of branches stopped sending them to the block. The answer was the fees (much to my surprise) - I think the big auction houses are chasing their big vendors but his view was that smaller dealers are getting shafted almost as much as the buyers.

Sadly, it appears that "everyone's" getting shafted?

[andymc1973 199]

i was under the impression the fees are tiny for the big players

[metcars 397]

Just now, andymc1973 said:

i was under the impression the fees are tiny for the big players

Plus the big auction houses offer cheap logistics/storage facilities which is probably even more relevant.

I don't mean to sound unsympathetic, but reading through this thread and hearing about you guys having bad experiences, it doesn't sound to me any better than the old crap I have to sieve through at Manheim? Plus I can at least hear it start up and have a play with it. Or is DA hinting at everyone being honest gentleman traders?