Living in London I have to say that the car auctions here are all pretty crap. I've just returned from a BCA auction in Enfield (N.London) were most of the cars were either pretty knackered or else over-eager bidders were paying close to book price (perhaps there are more newbies on a weekend).
What part of the country would be best for car auctions? I wouldn't mind taking a train to Leeds, Bristol etc.. if I have a better chance of getting a good (sub-£5,000) motor.
I used to go to the one in Ashford, Kent and one that specialises in repo's at Sandwich, Kent. I can't remember the websites, but a Google search will reveal them.
Dave
Forget Enfield on a saturday. They are all trader's cars tarted up and put through for the public who generally pay top money.
Enfield is occasionaly pretty good on a Tuesday (I just picked up a couple of BMW's 2 weeks ago from there at 1.5k below Glass's).
All pretty much the same but that will depend on what you are really looking for. Blackbushe is a personal fave of mine. You can't go wrong with a ex lease/finance/company car with average to high mileage. They normally are 3 years old, have one owner and maintained very well with all dealer stamps.
If you want to save lots of money, do you research. Go a few times and see what the prices are like and you will get a feel for the values.
Rothwell, near Leeds, used to be reasonable. It's a bus ride from Leeds station though. Choose the right day though as they auction bangers one day, diesels another day and so on.
If prices seem high it's probably because there are unrealistic reserves. The auctioneer will often pretend people are bidding up to just below the reserve price. You will often see cars coming back week after week when they don't sell.
Living here in Ireland I buy at Brighouse (Near Leeds) or at Bell-Vue in Manchester... Mainly year old stuff with low miles.
enfield has been overpriced the last few times i went there mind you, it's been a while but from the looks of things, nothings changed
blackbushe is great bought many a car from there and none of them have been overpriced compared to what i've been looking to buy lots of cars, lots of halls, lots of people get there early and you'll blag a bargain or wait till the end of the day when everyones gone home
go a few times to get a feel for the price of stuff, but make sure you take a packed lunch with you, it's damn expensive do they still do the £1 sheet for each hall?
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