Buying from auctions - ?

billyb35 · 18-05-2005, 02:30 PM

Hi guys,

I have recently been looking around a few of the ex-govt auction sites like pickles, qfleet etc and noticing quite a number of bargains.

Has anyone bought an exgovt car before? Anything to be wary about? Any tips/bad experiences with auctions/auctioneers?

I've been considering buying an AUII Forte for some time now; any advice about the quality/build of these cars?

cheers

brenx · 18-05-2005, 02:49 PM

I drive them. What you have to look out for is prior accident damage. I've never crashed one myself in 10 years of service with the gov't but I know plenty who have.

One that sticks in my mind is a young lady that pulled out infront of traffic and got t-boned twice within 1 hour. Yes, she still tried to drive it home! Our policy states never drive a severly damaged vehicle as it may be unsafe.

Pilch · 18-05-2005, 04:20 PM

for a start you know they have been regularly serviced and generally, they get a reasonable life. the reality is that if you crash or get fined in a govt. car you could get in the sh!t so from what i've seen these cars get a pretty good life.

Things to be aware of though is that they could have done 100,00+km's in under 2 years...... that is alot of km's so be prepared to spend the typical $'s on a car that's done a lot of mileage... but this can been seen as a +ve, any major problems will have been sorted. And as Brendan said, look out for cars that have been pranged, there's one in our fleet that is a shocker.... and by the way it went through a house

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brenx · 18-05-2005, 04:53 PM

I fyou get an ex DHS (Dept of Human Services) one it'll have between 40,000->120,000k's. Our transport dept forgets sometimes to check our milage. On average we do 60,000pa. We're supposed to book for a new car @ 40,000 and receive it by roughly 60,000k's latest.

Kryton · 18-05-2005, 04:56 PM

ive owned an ex government car. if you didnt look at the 40000km speedo (1 year old), you wouldnt have known. no paint, interior marks, everything was like it had been looked after and it was fully serviced too. did find half melted candy under the back seat though.

XA Coupsta · 18-05-2005, 08:37 PM

I too have bought one from Auction. An ex Energex (QLD power) AUII (are they 2001 model?) - from Pickles auctions. I found it to be a worthwhile experience, a good buy, the car was in good condition (must have been an execs car, back seats look like they had never been sat in).

It is a bit of a different way to buy a car, and you cant test drive it and all that - but you can get in it and start it up, put it through the gears and see if the driveline clunks badly and stuff. You can do a couple of checks without driving it.

Came with road worthy and rego too (I think this is a QLD thing). Had 60,000k's on it, still had balance of new car warranty (about a years worth). I paid just over 14k for it. There are a couple of other expenses (auction fee, stamp duty, rego transfer) - but otherwise I drove it home the day I bought it and *touches wood* its all been fine. I reckon I'd be looking at high teens easily if I bought from a dealer the same vehicle.

Not far away before I look for another car (expanding family) and I'll be doing the auctions again for sure.

**Captain Stubing** · 18-05-2005, 08:45 PM

You've got to look at the year of the car, in Qld, the police vehicles get sold at about 45k, or 2 yrs of age.
Most cars are sold at government auction with 40k+ on the odometer.
We've got an AUII wagon, that has almost got 20k on the speedo, and it will go for sale in a couple of months. It's had an easy life, no floggings... Why? We have a choice of four cars to drive, 3 BA's, 1 AU, and two of the BA's are plain unmarked. One BA, and the AU, have stickers and crap all over them, and are driven as a last resort. In about a year we'll be getting rid of a BA wagon with about 20k on the clock, only 2 year old.

neb · 18-05-2005, 09:24 PM

yeah ex government cars should be fine. i work at the department of human services as well and all of the cars in our fleet are well looked after, all of them that I have driven have been in good condition and drive well.

SunDrifter · 19-05-2005, 03:35 PM

I work for a govt dept and i'm looking at the same auctions too. We have commodes here, but they are always serviced, and cleaned weekly. Most pool vehicles will wont see more then the driver and perhaps 1 passanger. The real problem is that you often get somebody that shouldn't own a drivers licence behind the wheel and they damage the paint/panel work. Have a good look though, rub a few cars over, you'll spot a good find soon enough...

klawsterfobik · 19-05-2005, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brenx

One that sticks in my mind is a young lady that pulled out infront of traffic and got t-boned twice within 1 hour. Yes, she still tried to drive it home! Our policy states never drive a severly damaged vehicle as it may be unsafe.

Maybe that should be changed to "she shouldnt drive"

I think Government cars are good, atleast you know that they're always serviced and being Govt, anything they need will be on them... Genuine parts etc.

bscampbell · 20-05-2005, 05:19 PM

I bought the BA wagon from the auctions...only 5 months old at the time with 33,000kms. A lot of k's, but I'd prefer this because you know it's done 'country miles', not 'city miles'.
The car is immaculate inside and out.
Only paid $21,500 for it, and I still love going into car yards and seeing the same car, but typically older with as many or more kms, going for $27,000+!
It's a nerve-racking experience, but one where you need to leave your emotions at home.
Don't see a car and say that's the one...actually, I did with this one, but it fell right in the middle of my predetermined price range!
I was also lucky enough to come home with a car the first time I went to the auctions, but be prepared for several visits.
Do your research...obtain a vehicle listing from the auctions website, highlight the vehicles you are interested in then go to www.redbook.com.au to get an idea of market value. I used the lowest dealer trade-in value as my highest bidding price (I got the car $2000 below this).

Where are you from? You may already know this, but:
At Fowles in Melbourne you pay a $250 auctioneer fee.
Typically the cars are unregistered (mine wasn't), so you have to take rego into account.
4% of vehicle value for stamp duty.
Also look into insurance costs. I recently changed from AAMI ($440) to RACV ($360 with windscreen cover)!

Feathers · 20-05-2005, 06:12 PM

I bought my BA XR6 at Pickles. It was a Sydney Water car.
Late 2003 build, had 56,000ks on it.
It came with an NRMA inspection, but from what we could see most of the complaints were crud.
Had a few marks on the back bar on the corners, but no major problems, and still smells like new.
I bid for it and it was knocked down to me on the Tuesday, I had to leave a $500 deposit immediately, then go to the office to start the paperwork.
The whole thing had to be paid for in full by 3pm the next day and the car picked up.
I had insurance and rego transferred by the end of the week, and even after a few issues with the RTA not knowing how to swap the numberplates from my old car (custom) - to the BA, and the plates from the BA to my old car. It was all mine and on the road by the following Monday.
Also in NSW when you transfer ownership of a car the transfer fee is 0.03% of the purchase price of the car. In my case that was about $900

Walkinshaw · 20-05-2005, 06:29 PM

My EL fairmont was owned by the DPP department had 60,000km in 18months, but was perfect, mint paint and interior.

Then my mum used it in carparks for 2 yrs - bye bye good paint.

chief · 20-05-2005, 08:09 PM

I bought my AUII Wagon from Pickles. Very good price. A little scratch on the door. They wont at least a $500 deposit before they will start any real discussions with you. Pay in full by bank cheque the next day. it had 60,000 km on it, and was previously from new new by a Laurel (i don't know how to spell cosmetic companies names). So basically a new car.

Would recommend them.