Attending my first car auction, tips and strategy advise appreciated!
Hello Scotty,
With the price of used cars still rebounding from the pandemic, I am started visiting a local car auction to find a good car before the re-sellers get them and throw them on Facebook marketplace for 3x as much! However, I am a complete novice when it comes to bidding and the strategy involved. I have been watching your channel since the start of pandemic, so I am using what I have learned so far to prepare as best I can. It would appear that other folks are trying to buy more than one vehicle at these sorts of auctions, while I only need one good Honda or Toyota. Here is what I have been doing so far.
1. I prepare a list of potential candidates so I know what I am looking for (typically Hondas and Toyotas), their type of title, and the Kelley blue book value so I have an expected range of what to expect the car to sell for.
2. I start with a visual inspection, check for rust, missing panels, patch jobs, and I check the oil before I start it up. What would be your top priorities when first looking under the hood?
3. I show up on preview day with a scan tool to read codes and check fuel trims, but that is all I know to check. If some codes appear, I look up if that year, make, and model commonly experienced similar issues using your videos among others. What other values should I be looking into when I connect?
4. I put the cars into gear and gently let them roll forward and backwards in drive and in reverse. How would I be able to check the health of the transmission without being able to drive it more?
5. I attended an live auction last week to get a feel for the auctioneer and the whole process. How do I manage the feeling that I am missing out on a good deal? How do I best protect myself from over paying because someone else is overbidding based on emotions? How should I manage myself when bidding against another person?
It would appear that other folks are trying to buy more than one vehicle at these sorts of auctions
because they're professional salesmen. They're experts at spit&shining and selling jalopies to unsuspecting buyers.
And they probably buy large quantities to mitigate their risk. If one car ends up being a loss, they can cover the loss by marking up another good car. Law of averages.
while I only need one good Honda or Toyota
If you're only buying one car, there is a significant chance of ending up with a dud
I start with a visual inspection, check for rust, missing panels, patch jobs, and I check the oil before I start it up. What would be your top priorities when first looking under the hood?
Read our car buying guide in the FAQ. Watch the videos there.
https://carkiller.com/scottykilmer/howto/used/
What other values should I be looking into when I connect?
readiness monitors, misfire counts, pretty much all the engine sensor values. That's just the basic stuff.
How would I be able to check the health of the transmission without being able to drive it more?
you can't
How do I best protect myself from over paying
set a limit before when you're thinking clearly.
Don't cross it. Period.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akdJ7huFcK4
Thank you a lot for your advise, I appreciate it a ton. I will be more wary now on.
tips and strategy advise appreciated!
The best advice we can give you is DON'T DO IT.
There are a lot of horridly poor quality cars at auctions - loads of bad vehicles are dumped there. For an individual with no experience it's like playing Russian Roulette. Even the pros can get burned. (How lucky do you feel?)
I don’t recommend doing auctions unless you know what you are doing.
With that said. Go, observe, and learn. There are gems to be found. But they are probably few and far between.
Auctions aren’t fir the faint of heart.
I only need one good Honda or Toyota.
Anyone selling a car at an auction is typically selling a 'less than desirable car', otherwise it would be sold on the retail level. Buyers at auctions are normally highly experienced in the purchasing and marketing of cars. I am not saying you can't find a good car at an auction. Rather my point is this; the chance of any inexperienced buyer acquiring a good, reliable vehicle at an auction are minuscule.
