Auctions for the first time

[AutoJacob 34]

Hello

We have bought all our stock privately, have previously bought a few from Copart so know what to expect in terms of lemons.

We've recently opened a BCA account and have been placed on the silver tier, I had my eye on a 2008 Citroen C1 Grade 5  with 90K on the clock at BCA Preston today but never attended (currently house bound as suffering from a severe case of man flu), I called BCA to try and get the hammer price but they have a policy that they cannot give the prices out unless you've won that vehicle.

Cap clean was something like £1020 but with it being marked as Grade 5, how much would you expect it to sell for at auction?

Any help or advice is greatly appreciated as I'm totally uneducated when it comes to trade auctions.

Edited February 21, 2018 by AutoJacob

[A & S 20]

I was where you are today 20 years ago. I never used to buy from auction as i was too scared that i would buy a lemon I used to go there to have a look, back in the day there was no assured reports or grades on vehicles and nor was there online bidding. I always used to buy cars from private sellers usually out of newspapers, tried to get in with some main dealers but did not get much from them. Now times have moved on, our main source for stock is auction, i have travelled to a lot of BCA auction houses but now i just stick to our local one as it can be very time consuming going all over the place and i was finding i was not any better off. Nowadays i don't bother chasing private ads as i find quite a few of them advertising as private sellers and they are not and that really p!sses me off. I will go through the auction catalogue before attending the auction and pick out all the bits that are appealing to me, then when i attend a sale what ever stacks up and comes off at the right price i will buy, i usually end up buying from 2 to 5 cars a week. The profit margins are a lot better if you can buy off private sellers. We will buy off private sellers if they come to me and they have had their vehicle for a reasonable time and it is registered to them.   

Auctions can vary from day to day depends who wants what on the day and how nice it is and what section it is in, give you an idea in October i bought a C1, 57 Reg, done 68k, fsh, grade 3 for £1400 hammer price after the fees total invoice was £1606. I have a gold card. And we still have the car today only 1 person looked at it. Retail price originally £2495, then reduced to £2295 (good price on AT) going to reduce it to £1995 as now overage stock and no interest. 

[justlooking 48]

43 minutes ago, AutoJacob said:

Hello

We have bought all our stock privately, have previously bought a few from Copart so know what to expect in terms of lemons.

We've recently opened a BCA account and have been placed on the silver tier, I had my eye on a 2008 Citroen C1 Grade 5  with 90K on the clock at BCA Preston today but never attended (currently house bound as suffering from a severe case of man flu), I called BCA to try and get the hammer price but they have a policy that they cannot give the prices out unless you've won that vehicle.

Cap clean was something like £1020 but with it being marked as Grade 5, how much would you expect it to sell for at auction?

Any help or advice is greatly appreciated as I'm totally uneducated when it comes to trade auctions.

how long is a piece of string Jacob, depends on who is logged on online who is in the hall, is there bad weather in the area? i.e have many traders bothered going to the auction house, are many small car traders in attendance, i.e auction might be packed out, but they might be waiting for the clapped out E55 AMG in 53 lots time.

If Cap clean is a grand i'd expect it to sell for about a grand, prices have been silly recently, and even with damage, it's an ideal starter car that someone would have a customer for/might even find a private customer bidding it up

[EPV 631]

12 hours ago, AutoJacob said:

Hello

We have bought all our stock privately, have previously bought a few from Copart so know what to expect in terms of lemons.

We've recently opened a BCA account and have been placed on the silver tier, I had my eye on a 2008 Citroen C1 Grade 5  with 90K on the clock at BCA Preston today but never attended (currently house bound as suffering from a severe case of man flu), I called BCA to try and get the hammer price but they have a policy that they cannot give the prices out unless you've won that vehicle.

Cap clean was something like £1020 but with it being marked as Grade 5, how much would you expect it to sell for at auction?

Any help or advice is greatly appreciated as I'm totally uneducated when it comes to trade auctions.

I’d expect it to go around cap average, or between cap average and cap below. In truth it ought to go for below cap below as grade 5 is a right old mess usually (unless it’s full of bad previous paint which the untrained eye might not see) 

i find auctions a mystery at times. Cars you are going through cap average that you think “what’s wrong with that then?” And others you think “i’ve got a chance on this and can pay cap clean prices” and if flies through the cap clean price and sells a grand above. 

I think auctions are a numbers game. If you shortlist 3 cars chances are you will end up with fuck all. If you shortlist 30 you will probably buy 2. 

[It's me 612]

why would you want to buy a

Citroen C1 Grade 5  with 90K on the clock  ?

they usually require

rear brake pipes

tyres

clutch

paintwork

oil and filter minimu,m

usually pads and or discs too

and at that mileage even though its a good car its still a lot for an unseen wizz 3 pot

[Tom 164]

+1 waste of time just buying old shite

[EPV 631]

I would say auctions aren’t the place to be buying ten year old cars with 90k on. You can do that privately and get it cheaper and do a decent appraisal on it. There’s usually one reason why a car like that is going through an auction and it’s because it’s a shed and people know that when it goes through auction, the buyer won’t know it’s a shed until they are safely away from the vendor with no recourse. 

[justina3 518]

Unless its been done i would bet my last cream egg it will be needing a clutch soon. 

[SC Derby 259]

I can’t imagine there are any c1s/107s that made it past 60k without a clutch change 

[justina3 518]

I had a few that have got to 80 but nothing past that, last one the customer was advised by her "expert" in the family that the cat was smelling funny no dear thats the clutch.

 

[grant8064 219]

1 hour ago, tradex said:

The loud mouthed minority...

They should try a Wispa.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm here all week

[justina3 518]

There should be a bounty on people telling jokes like those 

[AutoJacob 34]

My market is £800 - £3000 cars so it's what I would usually buy but I would pay about £800 privately and they usually need little bits doing.

Citroen C1s / 107s / Aygo's are all shit cars I know but they sell good so it's what I like stocking as they usually fly out if priced right.

This particular one was being sold by Arnold Clark, which vendors would you avoid?

Apologies if I'm asking too many questions, I'm not asking to be spoon fed just looking for some honest advice ☺

[EPV 631]

1 hour ago, AutoJacob said:

My market is £800 - £3000 cars so it's what I would usually buy but I would pay about £800 privately and they usually need little bits doing.

Citroen C1s / 107s / Aygo's are all shit cars I know but they sell good so it's what I like stocking as they usually fly out if priced right.

This particular one was being sold by Arnold Clark, which vendors would you avoid?

Apologies if I'm asking too many questions, I'm not asking to be spoon fed just looking for some honest advice ☺

I'd avoid multi vendor sales and perhaps controversially, BCA Car Group sales.

[BHM 994]

As with any small car the only way to sell it is sell it f***ing cheap. There’s no way I’d want a forecourt full of 10year old C1/107/Aygos priced at £1999 and dealing with young punters & parents messing about & sweating over a bumper graze. What I do not understand is WHY ON EARTH DO ALL OF THESE SMALL CAR LOONS EXPECT A DISCOUNT BECAUSE THEY CAN’T AFFORD THEIR INSURANCE!?!!!! Why don’t they ask the insurers for a discount instead???? 

6 months ago ‘my’ mechanic had a relatives battered Aygo for sale, 86K, drove lovely but a mark/ripple/dimple on every panel. He sells the odd 1 or 2 by word of mouth but was sick of the sight of it!!! “Give me £450 for it, that gets me a drink & covers my relatives bill that he can’t afford”.

Anyhow two hours later it was back at my place, photoed as it was, advertised at £999 “Plenty of marks - all for free”. My phone nearly melted but even at £999 the first punter was umming & ahhhing and wanted to come back with his daughter - I refused his test drive on the grounds he wasn’t buying now (this nutter thought I’d hold it until his daughter meandered along “sometime today or tomorrow”). 20 minutes later it sold but that’s the only way with them small car/small pocket punters - sell cheap, sell fast & get the greedy bastards off the premises! I have no idea how you lads who sell small cars retain your sanity.

[AutoJacob 34]

11 minutes ago, BHM said:

As with any small car the only way to sell it is sell it f***ing cheap. There’s no way I’d want a forecourt full of 10year old C1/107/Aygos priced at £1999 and dealing with young punters & parents messing about & sweating over a bumper graze. What I do not understand is WHY ON EARTH DO ALL OF THESE SMALL CAR LOONS EXPECT A DISCOUNT BECAUSE THEY CAN’T AFFORD THEIR INSURANCE!?!!!! Why don’t they ask the insurers for a discount instead???? 

6 months ago ‘my’ mechanic had a relatives battered Aygo for sale, 86K, drove lovely but a mark/ripple/dimple on every panel. He sells the odd 1 or 2 by word of mouth but was sick of the sight of it!!! “Give me £450 for it, that gets me a drink & covers my relatives bill that he can’t afford”.

Anyhow two hours later it was back at my place, photoed as it was, advertised at £999 “Plenty of marks - all for free”. My phone nearly melted but even at £999 the first punter was umming & ahhhing and wanted to come back with his daughter - I refused his test drive on the grounds he wasn’t buying now (this nutter thought I’d hold it until his daughter meandered along “sometime today or tomorrow”). 20 minutes later it sold but that’s the only way with them small car/small pocket punters - sell cheap, sell fast & get the greedy bastards off the premises! I have no idea how you lads who sell small cars retain your sanity.

This is true, however I find the local punters pleasant to deal with, there's a few bad eggs that occasionally come in.

Reminds me of a recent Peugeot 107 in Met. Red on an 06 with 96K on the clock listed for £1495 no offers, this lad turned up on a train and handed over £1100 and that was apparently all the money he had. I said nicely, we need the full price or you'll have to get the train back home.. 20 minutes later after a trip around the corner to the bank he stumps up the full amount.

[justina3 518]

11 hours ago, BHM said:

 I have no idea how you lads who sell small cars retain your sanity.

thats all i sell, even aim my advertising towards first time buyers, its a great market if you get it right.

[Arfur Dealy 823]

12 hours ago, BHM said:

As with any small car the only way to sell it is sell it f***ing cheap. There’s no way I’d want a forecourt full of 10year old C1/107/Aygos priced at £1999 and dealing with young punters & parents messing about & sweating over a bumper graze. What I do not understand is WHY ON EARTH DO ALL OF THESE SMALL CAR LOONS EXPECT A DISCOUNT BECAUSE THEY CAN’T AFFORD THEIR INSURANCE!?!!!! Why don’t they ask the insurers for a discount instead???? 

6 months ago ‘my’ mechanic had a relatives battered Aygo for sale, 86K, drove lovely but a mark/ripple/dimple on every panel. He sells the odd 1 or 2 by word of mouth but was sick of the sight of it!!! “Give me £450 for it, that gets me a drink & covers my relatives bill that he can’t afford”.

Anyhow two hours later it was back at my place, photoed as it was, advertised at £999 “Plenty of marks - all for free”. My phone nearly melted but even at £999 the first punter was umming & ahhhing and wanted to come back with his daughter - I refused his test drive on the grounds he wasn’t buying now (this nutter thought I’d hold it until his daughter meandered along “sometime today or tomorrow”). 20 minutes later it sold but that’s the only way with them small car/small pocket punters - sell cheap, sell fast & get the greedy bastards off the premises! I have no idea how you lads who sell small cars retain your sanity.

I took a 59 mondeo 1.8 estate as PX, owned by one vet from new, lots of battle scars, EML light on blah, new Mot etc. Drives lovely, plethora of history. 190k.£1200 no offers....

Ive now added “please watch the full video presentation “ in all of my first pictures so even the cant be bothered to read the description crowd might actually watch the video. 

Out of six calls on this Mondeo not one of them watched the video.... I cannot believe how certain cars attract the worse kind of cretinous morons. 

Anyway, it’s sold today for “Parts” within a week to the first person who wasn’t lobotomised...

[BHM 994]

1 hour ago, justina3 said:

thats all i sell, even aim my advertising towards first time buyers, its a great market if you get it right.

You must have the patience of a saint. I mentally cannot tolerate greedy fussy buyers with over ambitious expectations so as they say on Dragon’s Den, I’m out!

1 hour ago, Arfur Dealy said:

Ive now added “please watch the full video presentation “ in all of my first pictures so even the cant be bothered to read the description crowd might actually watch the video. 

Don’t waste your time - the greedy thicko punters see only one thing (the price). I’ve just sold a 4x4 double cab Ranger that came in for pennies, I clearly advertised it as battered & bruised but I MOTed & serviced it then priced it at the bottom end of the market at 2.5K. The phone was red hot for over a week with absolute f***ing morons thinking I was selling a new truck. The fact my adverts all clearly state “No texts” is no deterrent to idiots who can’t afford a phone call. Honestly Arfur, if you saw some of the emails with offers & ridiculous questions you’d be embarrassed by how stupid & greedy our fellow man is!! 

[Arfur Dealy 823]

1 minute ago, BHM said:

You must have the patience of a saint. I mentally cannot tolerate greedy fussy buyers with over ambitious expectations so as they say on Dragon’s Den, I’m out!

Don’t waste your time - the greedy thicko punters see only one thing (the price). I’ve just sold a 4x4 double cab Ranger that came in for pennies, I clearly advertised it as battered & bruised but I MOTed & serviced it then priced it at the bottom end of the market at 2.5K. The phone was red hot for over a week with absolute f***ing morons thinking I was selling a new truck. The fact my adverts all clearly state “No texts” is no deterrent to idiots who can’t afford a phone call. Honestly Arfur, if you saw some of the emails with offers & ridiculous questions you’d be embarrassed by how stupid & greedy our fellow man is!! 

BHM, the above is precisely why I manage my business to stop timewasters. I have no tolerance at all  I hate them with a vengeance. To the point of complete bluntness I say, can you actually read and what do you think "please watch the full video presentation" actually means ?

Mr Customer.... Does it mean..... A. watch the video And made and educated buying decision..... or B, does it mean call immediately without knowing anything about what you are calling about....

Pond life....

[Rory RSC 596]

11 hours ago, Arfur Dealy said:

 

Mr Customer.... Does it mean..... A. watch the video And made and educated buying decision..... or B, does it mean call immediately without knowing anything about what you are calling about....

 

When I get a phone call asking for a bit more info about a car I generally tend to open the advert, read it word for word and they then say thanks as if the info I am giving them is completely new and unobtainable