Cars sold through Auction

I found an 02 Cab that I am interested in purchasing from a dealer. I checked CARFax, it has had one owner, not leased but was sold though an auction. Should I have any concern about cars sold through auction? What condition would cause a private sellor to get his car into an acution sale?

It could be anything from a bank repossession to the DEA seizing the car in a drug bust to the car not selling at the dealer lot so it went to auction. You can't really tell. But if the car is Porsche Certified and has a warranty then you should consider it especially if the price is right.

many reasons why it may have been run through the auction, some good, some bad, as always it's up to you to verify the condition and history. CARFAX does not always have up to date info, I would not rely just on it (I look at CARFAX and other reports to show something bad, if they don't then I still assume there might be problems, but when it does it is nice to rule it out quickly). Is it a Porsche Dealer or independent? does the car have all the books and records? Do a PPI!

It is an independent dealer....the car looks exceptionally clean and is fairly priced. Also has 5 months of warranty left. The auction thing scares me though!

I purchased mine through an auction.Before I bid, I inquired and found out it had been repossesed.There was nothing of any great concern with the car (it had a flat battery) and I saved money buying this way,but of course, as others have said ,you have to be careful here.

Do you know what auction it sold at? An individual cannot sell at dealer only auctions, I would bet he traded it or its a lease turn in, it could still show one owner on the CARFAX then "sold at auction" even though it was not the original owner that sold it... I would not be scared just because it was sent through an auction, many dealers take their trades there no matter what, some bring their cars there because they bring more than retail (sometimes). If the car sold under green light (if you can find out) then it was prob not a frame damage or other bad thing. The most important thing for you to do is have it checked out at a shop you choose (PPI) then take it from there based on how that turns out. Does it have any books/records? these do get lost at auctions sometimes. Will the dealer tell you who they bought it from? If it was a bank it could have been a lease turn-in or a repo (even though CARFAX did not show the lease), which might be a problem if the previos owner neglected it, PPI will show that though. Is there any paintwork/body repair? Do they have all the original keys? If it all checks out and is a good price there is no reason not to buy it!

Madhatter, I wouldn't assume it's either a negative or a positive that the car was sold at auction. As was said earlier, cars find their way to auction sales through all sorts of channels. For example, it's common for the leasing companies to sell cars at auction that have just come off lease. Another common channel is the Chevrolet dealer, for example, that takes a car in trade (like a Porsche), trys to sell it on his lot, and after a few weeks just gives up and sends it to auction. That doesn't necessarily mean it not a good car. It's done all the time. Not a lot of Porsche buyers go Chevy dealers looking for cars. Or the Chevy salesman may know very little about the Porsche he's trying his best to sell, etc. etc. etc. On the other hand, there are times when a dealer will send a car to auction ... just to get rid of it. Maybe a high mileage car ... a car with some type of questionable history ... or a car that for whatever reason he just doesn't want on his lot anymore. I'd agree that you should have a reputable/knowledgeable shop perform a PPI for you. Good luck. Oh yeah, and be sure to join Rennlist.

many dealers have a floor plan on their inventory, if it gets near the end (usually 30 to 45 days) they will take it to the auction to get rid of it before they have to pay for it...

I would hesitate to rely on Carfax for anything, one of the factors in the recent lawsuit against them was their failure to include accident data in their database from 23 states.

Many high end cars are sold through auction. Dealers either keep it in their inventory and sell it retail or at an auction (dealer auction) and sell it wholesale. It's just business. In order to sell retail you need a retail/leasing staff/operation which is quite expensive and they can only sell so much.

Wouldn't touch an auction car (especially a late model Porsche) with a 10 foot pole. Ask me how I know

How do you know Don?

Carfax said the car I was interested in had at one point been sold at an auction. (Same type of car too - high mileage '02.) The car was bought at that auction by a Porsche dealer (Walters), and then sold off their lot. The car was now being sold by a non-porsche dealer who obtained it from the owner who bought it from Walters. Not conditions to give you the warm fuzzies! However, the car still had 9K miles on its original factory warranty. After test driving it and having another Porsche dealer say it looked in good condition, I pulled the trigger. 10 months and 8K miles later, the car has driven like a dream. My "gamble" has saved me almost 10K in purchase/ownership costs to date. Just another data point for you...

I think you should be very cautious about the purchase, but it shouldn't stop you from buying if you have a PPI and it turns out fine. My local Porsche dealer sends all of the used Porsches that he doesn't sell within two months to an auction. So there are some great buys at auctions if you know what you are doing.

Don and all, I was the same way about auction cars until I went to the auctions. The largest "highline" auction is in Framingham Mass, at the Adesa facility. I was absolutely blown away. These guys are not just glorified used car salesman, most factories have reps to handle the sale of their cars and to buy any good ones. They actually have specific days when they sell the high-end cars. While I was there, they auctioned off a MB G55 AMG with 15 miles on the odometer. Apparently the car had been titled before the dealer finished the financing... Anyway, I don't remember too many P-cars, but you can go to adesa's web site and download the auction list. The point being that this is not a dumping ground for dealers dirty and unwanted junk. Like Curt911 said, most dealers have roughly 30 days of "interest free" financing for used cars before they have to pay for holding the car on a lot. Depending on the model, they may hold or send it to an auction. Many times, the cars are sold by dealers that don't have a use for a specific car like a 911 that was traded in at a Honda dealer. I would have no problem buying an auction car. I would be nervous buying a car AT an auction that I couldn't do the "background" work on or at the very least, have a Porsche mechanic take a look at first. This however is a non issue if you dont have someone who can get into the auction for you.

after all this talk about no problem buying an auction car, i'm a bit confused as to why everyone criticized me and blamed the $47,000 spent on repairs in the first thousand miles on my car, simply because it was an auction car... and that it wouldn't have happened if it wouldn't have been an auction car.. hrmm... but now, all is well... 3000 miles and counting... no problems yet, now that everything is replaced.. go figure i have the warranty now though <g>

Munro, I was close friends with a guy who went to auctions for dealers and I go with him to the auctions for kicks and to occasionally drive a car back. Many times you just don't know what you are getting. I wasn't referring to the high end auctions that Yetis mentions. These were the GM, Ford, etc. used cars with an occasional Porsche. I got it in my head that these were lease cars that looked good on the outside but were beat to sh*t by someone who did not care as long as the car looked good. There are too many private sales where I can talk with the owner, yada yada. It's a symptom of being **** I guess....

I'd be very leary of an auction car. Like Yetis said, if you can check it out first, great. However, usually you don't see the car well enough ahead of time to make an informed decision, you end up shooting from the hip. The majority of these cars are off-lease, hi-milage and off warranty, but you will sometmes find a diamond in the rough.

Run, don't walk frtom an auction car unless you know the car. As C4S said most times you do not have the opportunity to research the car before it comes onto the auction block. We once bought a truck at auction to save a few bucks, ended up it had been cobbled together and needed a new engine etc... never again.

Pardon me, but madhatter is buying the car from an independent dealer. At least that's what I think he said. The dealer, I gather, purchased the car at auction. So, madhatter can look the car over on the dealer's lot ... arrange to have a PPI done ... etc., etc., and then decide whether or not to buy. The discussion about buying the car AT THE AUCTION is off point.

thats what I was thinking

The way I see it, it's no different than buying any other Porsche from an indie dealer. Get a PPI and let that speak for it. Tell us more about the dealer. Do they specialize in Porsches, or at least high end cars? Is the 996 you're considering sitting between a used Hyundai and a used Kia on the lot? Little things like this can add or detract from the comfort level. If the car checks out on PPI, and the dealer checks out as far as their reputation, I'd say pull the trigger.

For late model cars (Dealer only) Auctions are they way to go. Where do you think those off lease cars still under warranty go? Where do you think The dealers get their used inventory from and then they mark them up around 30% ! including Porsche dealers. Check out these guys they allow you to buy at wholesale for a small fee, And you decide how much you want to pay before hand.Very reliable. http://www.selectcarsdirect.com/ I bought several cars this way and saved thousands . Say Elliot refer you. Elliot

You can end up with a good or bad car either way. As I understand it, when your go to a hiline auction, cars run through bascially green, yellow and red lanes. If it is a green car, it has a clear title, no paint work, not totaled, etc. But that doesnt mean that there are no maintenance issues, etc. Either way, its buyerbeware.