CAR AUCTIONS ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW

Auctions are really the stock market of the used car industry. The bigger companies handle over 1 million vehicles a year and offer a huge choice of vehicles in one place on one day from a wide range of sellers.

Where else could you find low mileage nearly new cars, prestige cars, company cars at two or three years old, high mileage, older well used cars and even light commercials - all being sold on the same day at one location? What it should mean is something for everybody in every price range.

The major attraction though is saving money. Auction house BCA's annual Used Car Market Report shows that getting the 'right car at the right price' is important to 59% of motorists, while 37% say they are looking for 'a good deal' (hardly shocking statistics). Still, it is certainly true that auctions offer wide choice and impressive value for money. The question is how to get initiated in what for some is the 'black art' of buying from them.



Well, the first step is to visit three or four auctions before you actually buy, just to get used to the pace and the environment, something which can seem intimidating at first. Once you feel comfortable in the auction surroundings, you are less likely to make a hasty buying decision. To really lift the bonnet on vehicle auctions, however, you should understand how they work. Perhaps the most obvious fact is that auctioneers don't own the vehicles they sell. Vehicles are consigned for sale by the owners (who could be a private individual, a dealer, a company, financial institution or government department for example), who complete a legally binding form (the Entry Form) which declares the vehicles age, mileage and co...