How are we finding buying at the 'block' these days?

[metcars 394]

For me, a mixed bag. I'm really hurting not being able to see, hear, touch and smell the cars before I bid? The prices are a mixed bag, some winners and some losers. The auctions I watch seem to be mostly supported by a regular 'crew' that don't get silly (the odd one goes silly, usually something luxury/high powered). But, I have noticed there's a price difference North and South. I'm guessing delivery costs is an issue for us southerners. I've also noticed that those old 'shitters' that still find there way onto the lists are making strong money. The '04 focus 1.6lx in wine red made 450 at the hammer. Plus fees and delivery and an MOT; that's all of itself isnt it? And the 2003 'Skoda' saloon in silver made $400, again plus fees and delivery, what the hell is left in it. There was a time when I could put it down to 'noobs' or privates but not any more. Traders bought those cars. There can't be any fat left in them whatsoever, even selling it in a layby? It reminds me of the last recession when a few of the big sites round here were buying old shitters for silly money and selling them for equally silly money? I'm finding, with Manheim at least, that faults are declared more often than the old physical auction days. I wouldn't say there's complete disclosure, but an attempt is made at making big faults known at least. More than I remember before. I also much prefer Manheim's auction interface to BCA's, I seem to get lost in BCA software with how they are listing cars not by branches. It is also a huge bummer not being able to get vin numbers on the BCA vehicle descriptions (or at least, I can't bloody find it!)

How are you guys finding it?

Edited October 6, 2020 by metcars

[David Horgan 564]

Online is a new way of buying ,always bought a few online before but not all of them ,  be here a while I'm thinking so better get used to it . 

Bought nine today , my biggest problem is getting them here fast enough though delivery is so slow . 

Takes two weeks sometimes  which caused a massive delay when it first started , so found we had to buy 10 extra and let it feed in so we had a constant supply arriving , if ever they deliver all together I'm stuffed for space LOL

Transport prices have gone up too this week so that's upset me 

I do miss the cheapie bits we used to buy at physical auctions though for a bit of fun , See a Corsa etc and bid for a laugh to see what we could make out of it , was a guy at Notts who will be pleased to see us gone mind , he used to go nuts when he saw me looking at something he wanted as I nicked it on last bid , cant do that online . 

Different world now , fun and atmosphere has gone out of buying , but we've took to buying different stock and moved onwards . 

 

 

[MarkTVS 209]

Actually ok for us, I miss the actually going to the auctions though and getting to socialise slightly, it meant an afternoon out of the workshop but in the same respect it’s much easier for me to buy 5 or 6 through the course of the week from whatever site and then just send the truck out one day a week for collections. 
 

Had my first proper lemon though a nice ML with a blatantly knocking bottom end but thankfully managed to get a refund fairly easily.

[Lakeside 94]

BCA seam to be declaring major faults now, engine noisy/smoking, Clutch fault etc. Doesn’t seam to be putting buyers off though.

Watched a Jag XF last week declared as engine noisy, eml on and gearbox fault. Capping clean without faults at £3700. It sold for £3750, madness.

[NacMan 67]

10 minutes ago, Lakeside said:

BCA seam to be declaring major faults now, engine noisy/smoking, Clutch fault etc. Doesn’t seam to be putting buyers off though.

Watched a Jag XF last week declared as engine noisy, eml on and gearbox fault. Capping clean without faults at £3700. It sold for £3750, madness.

Probably got bid up and went through the next day. Seen a mini go through 4 times every time the auctioneer said sold. Dogs!

[Rory RSC 596]

16 minutes ago, Lakeside said:

BCA seam to be declaring major faults now, engine noisy/smoking, Clutch fault etc. Doesn’t seam to be putting buyers off though.

Watched a Jag XF last week declared as engine noisy, eml on and gearbox fault. Capping clean without faults at £3700. It sold for £3750, madness.

Can’t be a cap warrior in this day and age. 
 

ive been online Only for a few years now, win many more than I lose.

[Lakeside 94]

20 minutes ago, Rory RSC said:

Can’t be a cap warrior in this day and age. 
 

ive been online Only for a few years now, win many more than I lose.

I know but come on... chances are the bottom end was knocking and potentially a gearbox rebuild. Need to factor in the cost of that so who in the right mind would pay over Cap? Looking on eBay I could buy one same spec private without the faults for a couple of hundred quid more. 

Edited October 6, 2020 by Lakeside

[trade vet 697]

The guys who struggle to buy don’t bid on enough.We would regularly target 70-80 cars in a day at various auctions but we might only buy 2 or 3.What a lot of people don’t understand is that if you have something ‘ provisionally sold’ to you it means ‘ provisionally bought ‘by you so just carry on bidding on other stuff as you can refuse the provisional one later if your bid is accepted.

[metcars 394]

12 hours ago, trade vet said:

The guys who struggle to buy don’t bid on enough.We would regularly target 70-80 cars in a day at various auctions but we might only buy 2 or 3.What a lot of people don’t understand is that if you have something ‘ provisionally sold’ to you it means ‘ provisionally bought ‘by you so just carry on bidding on other stuff as you can refuse the provisional one later if your bid is accepted.

I'm full of admiration. I'm a one man band and its hard enough sitting here with multiple windows open watching multiple halls in multiple auction sites. I'd rather sit and watch one auction with 70 cars on my list than watch a dozen different bloody halls. And don't get me started about clicking off to look at a cars details and the bloody thing freezing. Endless refreshing. Tech fail!

[Rory RSC 596]

12 minutes ago, metcars said:

I'm full of admiration. I'm a one man band and its hard enough sitting here with multiple windows open watching multiple halls in multiple auction sites. I'd rather sit and watch one auction with 70 cars on my list than watch a dozen different bloody halls. And don't get me started about clicking off to look at a cars details and the bloody thing freezing. Endless refreshing. Tech fail!

Use proxy bids as back up and use the tech to your advantage.

 

TV is right about buying enough. I just buy as many as I can that fit the stock profile on any given day.  

[MJG50 7]

Totally agree about auction prices being a mixed bag at the moment. Most are making over the odds but a few seem to be pretty good buys on paper. I've noticed that most cars that don't sell the first time are put on a 'Buy it Now' for a few hundred more and they generally get snapped up! I've never been keen on 'Buy it Now' cars myself as it generally means they didn't make the reserve the first time, possibly for a good reason! So I'd rather wait for them to go through the auction again than pay over the odds.

Does anyone know if BCA are still sticking to their policy of 3 purchases minimum to qualify for a transporter delivery? I've been potentially interested in the odd Blackbushe and Bridgwater car but didn't bid too high in case I ended up having to collect the car myself - has anyone bought anything from Blackbushe and Bridgwater and had it transported without needing to buy a minimum of 3? Most of the cars I'm looking at these days don't meet the criteria to be driven.

I'm quite close to my local Manheim but if I was to bid further afield, does anyone know if Manheim also have a 3 car minimum for a transporter delivery? 

 

Edited October 7, 2020 by MJG50

[Huggins 17]

A real pet hate of BCA declaring cars hammer down sold and then they turn up on the buy it now platform. Unbelievably slippery tactics they get away with!

I find it an exhausting headache trying to negotiate all the auction halls, vendors etc at BCA spend hours sat on my ass reading reports gaining weight in a chair and 9/10 everything makes way more than would leave me a profit when accounting for the faults/ paint listed , let alone the inevitable hidden ones! Much preferred seeing the cars, famiiliar faces and stretching the legs at the auctions. 

Then when I finally get something sensiible mileage  bought which a sure fire seller with some wages, it turns up with an umissably  knackered auto gearbox that BCA/Vendor  were obvioulsy completely unware off (see my other post!)    

[metcars 394]

5 minutes ago, Huggins said:

I find it an exhausting headache trying to negotiate all the auction halls, vendors etc at BCA spend hours sat on my ass reading reports gaining weight in a chair and 9/10 everything makes way more than would leave me a profit when accounting for the faults/ paint listed , let alone the inevitable hidden ones! Much preferred seeing the cars, famiiliar faces and stretching the legs at the auctions. 

Then when I finally get something sensiible mileage  bought which a sure fire seller with some wages, it turns up with an umissably  knackered auto gearbox that BCA/Vendor  were obvioulsy completely unware off (see my other post!)    

+1

[metcars 394]

21 hours ago, MJG50 said:

Totally agree about auction prices being a mixed bag at the moment. Most are making over the odds but a few seem to be pretty good buys on paper. I've noticed that most cars that don't sell the first time are put on a 'Buy it Now' for a few hundred more and they generally get snapped up! I've never been keen on 'Buy it Now' cars myself as it generally means they didn't make the reserve the first time, possibly for a good reason! So I'd rather wait for them to go through the auction again than pay over the odds.

Does anyone know if BCA are still sticking to their policy of 3 purchases minimum to qualify for a transporter delivery? I've been potentially interested in the odd Blackbushe and Bridgwater car but didn't bid too high in case I ended up having to collect the car myself - has anyone bought anything from Blackbushe and Bridgwater and had it transported without needing to buy a minimum of 3? Most of the cars I'm looking at these days don't meet the criteria to be driven.

I'm quite close to my local Manheim but if I was to bid further afield, does anyone know if Manheim also have a 3 car minimum for a transporter delivery? 

 

I spoke to Manheim today and they will deliver anything with 4 wheels? I called transport and a nice lady answered the phone, even gave me a price. They'll evaluate and either plate drive or transport. They say, five days from payment to delivery. That's what I was told today? **sigh** I've tried getting info from BCA and they are useless. Sent two messages, one to their logistics and one to customer services (again) and no replies. I rang them about an hour ago and the nice lady couldn't answer my question and didn't know who I should speak to? Customer services doesn't have a number? Jeez it's hard work dealing with BCA, it's almost like they don't want to communicate, hiding behind the COVID firewall of unhelpfulness!

Contacting BCA deliveries should have been one of the twelve labours of hercules?

Edited October 8, 2020 by metcars

[MJG50 7]

I had a similar experience with BCA although they did reply to my emails. It took a while for them to reply so I sent another couple of emails to other departments. In the end, one quoted me £130, the other £280 (which sounded about right), the other £640 (which is far too much for me!) and then someone else got back to me and quoted 'they only transport a minimum of 3 cars!' So while I'm tempted to bid on anything that appears worth buying at BCA I'm factoring in the point that I may have to collect it myself! I certainly won't be bidding on anything at the other end of the country!

I haven't contacted Manheim about delivery but it's great to hear they sound so helpful. 

Generally speaking, outside of the motor trade, I'm finding that companies that were helpful before the current situation are still helpful and companies and public sector organisations that were useless before are even more useless now!

[metcars 394]

1 hour ago, MJG50 said:

I had a similar experience with BCA although they did reply to my emails. It took a while for them to reply so I sent another couple of emails to other departments. In the end, one quoted me £130, the other £280 (which sounded about right), the other £640 (which is far too much for me!) and then someone else got back to me and quoted 'they only transport a minimum of 3 cars!' So while I'm tempted to bid on anything that appears worth buying at BCA I'm factoring in the point that I may have to collect it myself! I certainly won't be bidding on anything at the other end of the country!

I haven't contacted Manheim about delivery but it's great to hear they sound so helpful. 

Generally speaking, outside of the motor trade, I'm finding that companies that were helpful before the current situation are still helpful and companies and public sector organisations that were useless before are even more useless now!

It's probably a subject for another thread. But if only Manheim had BCA''s stock? Personally, Manheim customer services and/or back office staff are always more approachable than BCA. BCA have always been shitty, back in the day I had a big fall out with them over a car. Promised myself I'd never deal with them again. But business is business and sometimes you have to 'dance with the devil'. So a few years back I restarted with them but that same sort of surly unapproachable 'treat the customers with contempt' attitude is still there. Let's be honest, the lady I spoke to  could have easily just buzzed me through to the person I needed, 10 seconds out of her busy life to keep a customer happy?

EDIT: I've just had a message from BCA customer service to say "we are able to deliver most vehicles....". Contact branch for prices? Nothing about 3 car limits? It would be nice if they could go 'definitive' on delivery requirements on the website (if anyone can point me towards any official wording I may have missed I'd be grateful). You'd think that would be a priority.

Edited October 8, 2020 by metcars

[Casper 272]

8 hours ago, metcars said:

It's probably a subject for another thread. But if only Manheim had BCA''s stock? Personally, Manheim customer services and/or back office staff are always more approachable than BCA. BCA have always been shitty, back in the day I had a big fall out with them over a car. Promised myself I'd never deal with them again. But business is business and sometimes you have to 'dance with the devil'. So a few years back I restarted with them but that same sort of surly unapproachable 'treat the customers with contempt' attitude is still there. Let's be honest, the lady I spoke to  could have easily just buzzed me through to the person I needed, 10 seconds out of her busy life to keep a customer happy?

EDIT: I've just had a message from BCA customer service to say "we are able to deliver most vehicles....". Contact branch for prices? Nothing about 3 car limits? It would be nice if they could go 'definitive' on delivery requirements on the website (if anyone can point me towards any official wording I may have missed I'd be grateful). You'd think that would be a priority.

I've been the other way maybe just one of the lucky one always found bca more helpful than Manheim .. 

[metcars 394]

7 hours ago, Casper said:

I've been the other way maybe just one of the lucky one always found bca more helpful than Manheim .. 

Isn’t that the way! At least you get some joy! It would be tough if neither auctions made you happy!

[LSP Vehicles 11]

On 10/6/2020 at 10:04 PM, trade vet said:

The guys who struggle to buy don’t bid on enough.We would regularly target 70-80 cars in a day at various auctions but we might only buy 2 or 3.What a lot of people don’t understand is that if you have something ‘ provisionally sold’ to you it means ‘ provisionally bought ‘by you so just carry on bidding on other stuff as you can refuse the provisional one later if your bid is accepted.

I didn't know about this? I bid on something, won it provisionally, next thing I know I had an invoice. Not an issue as I wanted, but how , or what is the process for refusing a provisional refusal?  Haven't been doing this long so just asking for knowledge. Thanks

[Frank Cannon 812]

Bought one car this week, been bloody hard work again.

.....my spies tell me even fewer new cars being sold, less business being done = fewer pxs about = continuation of high stock prices. 

....if we see another lockdown the prices are going to go double mental. 

[Rory RSC 596]

10 minutes ago, Frank Cannon said:

Bought one car this week, been bloody hard work again.

.....my spies tell me even fewer new cars being sold, less business being done = fewer pxs about = continuation of high stock prices. 

....if we see another lockdown the prices are going to go double mental. 

I have found it harder this week only managed 5 or 6 out of probably 60/70+ i've tried for. 

[Mojo121 229]

1 hour ago, Rory RSC said:

I have found it harder this week only managed 5 or 6 out of probably 60/70+ i've tried for. 

Definitely harder this week, easing slightly yesterday and today but a couple of my buys were maybe a big over eager in  retrospect.

Have also found this week slow for sales for the first time in a while, got a couple of promising viewings lined up tomorrow but have been battling with real flaky types all week on the phone.

[metcars 394]

5 hours ago, LSP Vehicles said:

I didn't know about this? I bid on something, won it provisionally, next thing I know I had an invoice. Not an issue as I wanted, but how , or what is the process for refusing a provisional refusal?  Haven't been doing this long so just asking for knowledge. Thanks

I always thought that once they stuck you on it you were there until the death? When the vendor does the after sale tally-up they might let you have it. Usually, and in my experience, if they come back it’ll be a one price take it or leave it offer that I wont take thanks. 

Other opinions may follow?

Again today, some stuff has some fat in it other stuff makes way over. But what are they doing this overpriced stock? I’m mean, these are all trade purchases, no private’s allowed any more, so we can assume every car is bought to make money! Scarey?

[trade vet 697]

7 hours ago, LSP Vehicles said:

I didn't know about this? I bid on something, won it provisionally, next thing I know I had an invoice. Not an issue as I wanted, but how , or what is the process for refusing a provisional refusal?  Haven't been doing this long so just asking for knowledge. Thanks

Just tell them you no longer want it,provisional means provisional both ways.Its a bit like when an auctioneer mistakingly bangs down the hammer on your bid then says ‘provisional’.In that case it’s not provisional and you have bought it as hammer down is a contract.What usually happens then is you tell the auctioneer that you will let him off and he owes you a favour.

[Casper 272]

13 hours ago, metcars said:

Isn’t that the way! At least you get some joy! It would be tough if neither auctions made you happy!

Both have been fine to be fair in most cases just had the odd time .