If you’re in the market for a motor car and you live in or near Brisbane, car auctions should be your first port of call!
There are many available in and near Brisbane and all bring you marvelous value that a car dealership or buying privately simply cannot (except in very rare circumstances).
The most popular car auctions in and around Brisbane include:
- Fowles Car Auctions (Manhiem Fowles)
- QFleet
- Pickles Car Auctions
The type of cars you can expect to find at most auctions include:
- Cars from government departments (ex government cars)
- Cars from rental & lease companies
- Cars from finance companies
- Cars from private consignors
- Cars from liquidators & administrators (of companies / businesses that have suffered financially)
Profit motivation
The source of the cars is the main driver of their fabulous value – liquidators, governments and rental companies want to “move metal” as the industry saying goes, and if that means missing out on an exorbitant profit margin – so be it. You simply don’t get this kind of value at a private sales yard or dealership, as the seller is inevitably looking to achieve the highest profit margin imaginable and if you are trading in your current vehicle, they will give you the lowest amount of money possible.
Guaranteed Title in Cars Sold at Auction
The biggest advantage of car auctions, aside from lower prices of course, is that title of the cars is guaranteed. That’s to say, a car isn’t offered for sale at an auction unless the owner can prove ownership. When you are buying privately, this is difficult and sometimes expensive to prove – and the last thing you need when looking to buy a car is the police knocking on your door for purchasing stolen goods!
Who pays for the auction service?
In most cases the seller pays a percentage of the sale price of the car to the auctioneer as a commission, meaning that you – the buyer – get a great bargain without having to pay for the privilege.
Just be wary that the auctioneer wants the highest possible price to make the seller happy and also to increase his or her commission, so don’t be fooled by the ‘going once, going twice <insert charming comment in here>’ routine. Have a budget and stick to it.
Before you go to your first auction, make sure you watch this video to see where on the car you should be looking for damage:
Car Auction Tips
- Avoid late night or weekend auctions, as this is when the majority of people attend… and the more people you have at an auction, the higher the prices go!
- You can’t test drive the car you want to buy, so make sure you have access to an affordable mechanic or that you yourself are handy with tools before you raise your hand and place your bid.
- You are bidding against professionals, so remember who you’re dealing with!
- When the auction hammer comes down, you own the car. When you buy privately, there is usually a statutory cooling off period to let you change your mind. Sometimes the reduction in purchase price comes at a price – remember that.
The most important tip of all…
When you go to a car auction in Brisbane, make sure you have a budget. It is very easy to be swept up in the hysteria of multiple hands going in the air to jack up the sale price and a suave auctioneer encouraging everybody to compete.
If you don’t have a clear line drawn in the sand it is very easy to pay top dollar for a car that you simply can’t afford. There is no use approaching the auctioneer later and saying that you’ve changed your mind either – the auction result is final and the Supreme Court of Queensland is there to enforce your earlier decision to buy the car.
Car auctions are held on the South Side of Brisbane here:
Car auctions are held on the North side of Brisbane here:
