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hi guys had a terrible experience with this car auction in birmingham they are a bunch of old fraudsters who prey on innocent people like myself i would advise not to go there and buy any car and if u r desperate do not buy a car more than £300 so incase it doesnt drive you wont feel like u lost a lot, the auction have an insider setup that makes bidding for a car look legitimate they sell the good cars to thier cronies and the bad one to innocent buyers to be honest its a bad idea to buy cars from auctions since you cant test drive them stick to ebay auctions atleast you will inspect what you want to buy and the sellers are bound to reveal whatever is wrong with car. BEWARE OF BIRMINGHAM CAR AUCTION IN MOSELEY

Years ago we had the same trouble with a van bought in a south London auction it was basically a cut and shut job but the seller had a brother with a garage who had "done " the MOT.

They didn't intend to give us the money back but hubby went down there with a couple of mates and asked nicely. Pointing out that any mot tester issuing a ticket on this obviously unroadworthy vehicle was risking his testers licence . They had a sudden change of heart and gave us back cash in full !!

Not that it made any difference...

We had taken photos and contacted the authorities and the auction who quickly put a stop to their game.

Im always wary of car auctions as iv seen alot of dodgy cars go threw, they sold my boyfriends old car at an auction for 750 and the steering rack had gone, had major gearbox leak, and a dangerous petrol leak!

Thats the one in cannock so aviod there aswell!

xx

I am the MD of Birmingham Car Auctions and it is very unfair for a post to be written without the right to reply so if the person who wrote the post in Jan would like to contact me!

Also we do not prey on anyone and we do not have an insider network. Any vehicle can be bought by anyone if they sare the highest bid.

Please refrain from trying to blacken our name otherwise we will look to take legal action. We are a very reputable,long establised company, and have been in business for some 36 years and pride ourselves on our level of service to the trade and private individual alike.

Someone obviously had a bad time. There are, as I'm sure you're aware, people who don't understand how to get a bargain but still turn up and burn a hole in their pocket. Maybe the world needs Auctioners Anonymous to help people like that.

The poster turned up one day a year ago, got it off his chest and never came back, I don't think you're going to succeed in getting a message to him and you'd have a hell of a job finding out who he is.

On the other hand, you seem to have found a "right to reply" with no trouble.

Seriously, nobody's going to read that initial post and think anything except what a wally. You make a perfectly legitimate business without insider trading, it would be illegal so why even think of it. Auctions are wonderful places.

I Could not agree with you more thank you for your reply.

72gb;1167881 wrote: I Could not agree with you more thank you for your reply.Can i just ask? Do buyers have the option of inspecting all cars before bidding?

The vehicles are all on display to be looked at prior to an Auction, we advise all new customers to stand by any vehicle and follow it in as all cars are started from cold and they will be able to hear any bad noises or see any smoke that shouldn't be there!

There are obviousley a few old bangers that go through the Auction but in fairness the price reflects that.

Anyone is welcome to come in the day after an Auction and inspect any vehicle that did not sell the night before and then place a bid if they so wish.

I hope this answers your question.

What a jobs worth this place is. Brought an Audi A3, 2004 plate with 109k on the clock, paid £1250 for bid and £150 charge to the Auction. When checked the car before buying it seemed ok except the battery was flat. Took the car out of the Auction and within 5 mins the engine management… light came on and the car was mis- firing. Took the car to my mechanic and he said they had switched the engine management light off so that they could sell the car (cheap move). I ended up forking out for a new engine and for fixtures costing me an additional £700, as the spark plugs and coil looked newly replaced, so they new this car was scrap. Wanted to make some money but in actual fact lost out on money and a lot of time wasted!!



Please don't go and make the same mistake I did, a lot of friends and told me to steer away from this place but I took no notice of them...I wish I did now.

Mate, your so right. Go to Ebay if you want a used car. These guy's are con men!!

Dtruth wrote: it seemed ok except the battery was flat


Oh my. I think we have our Quote of the Month.

And "they had switched the engine management light off so that they could sell the car", had they?

Having a flat battery doesn't switch the engine management light off?

Go on, think about it.

It's an auction, not a car dealership! The warranty on what you buy is exactly what it says in the terms and conditions. Of course they can sell a car in that state, you're buying exactly what you see, no more and no less. It's a car auction. Good lord.

In what way do you claim the car was misrepresented?

If people needed a competency certificate to step outside their own doorstep, you'd be housebound.

I'm sorry to hear that you have had a bad experience with the car that you have bought from our auctions. However we did give you ample opportunity to check the car over, both during the auction and when you came back later and were given the keys. Unfortunately we are not mechanics here and do not have the capabilities to check each car over, which is why we sell the cars without a warranty and offer the opportunity for the buyer to check they are happy with the car.

All cars that are sold here, are sold on behalf of other sellers, and we do not make any adjustments to them, but simply sell them in the state they arrive to us.

As pointed out below, when buying from an auction you are getting a cheaper deal than retail but all cars are without warranty.

I'm sorry if this thread's causing you any bother, given that it keeps popping back into life every couple of years with these comments.

If you'd like my opinion, as an observer who sees a lot of posts, I don't think these are separate independent dissatisfied customers. I think you have someone raising accounts here and pushing on with a grudge against your firm. The posts are too much alike in tone and grammar. It would suggest you had at least one annoyed customer in the beginning but every trader has some, I expect. The one I deleted in 2012 isn't visible to the public but it has exactly the same tone as the two that are.

I have been in and around the car business all my life.

I have bought a number of cars through various auto auctions in the States.

If you know what you are doing, you can find a great bargain, sometimes. If you don't, you should stay away from the auctions.

As the guy states, the auction company is basically a broker.

And, Auctions have become far worse these days, due to the number of ignorant bargain hunters who are convinced that they can find the car of their dreams at the auction. They have no real idea of the value of a car, and they will lock in on a car and run the price up far beyond what it is really worth. Then when they get it home and it fails their expectations, they want to blame everyone else for their stupidity.

I have found & bought some real Gem's from birmingham car auctions in moseley over the last 10 or so years, good cars at bargain prices.. but this was only after gaining vital experiance from buying some not so nice examples from varies different auctions around, including BCA, SMA & Manheim (much larger national auction brands). All cars at any auction are sold as seen, you buy them as you see them, simple as that. Having a lack of motor knowledge proved to cost me in my early days, but you live & you learn quickly especially in auctions! There are some great cars to be bought, and my advice to any first timer is take someone who knows: (A) How the auction game works (B) Has a generally good knowledge of cars OR (C) Go pay the reatail price and get a warranty.

I am faced with the need to "put down" a car that I purchased at an auction.

The Transmission failed on it, and it is not really worth the $3000+ cost of the repair.

I bought this car at a auction, in 2000. It was 4 years old and had 56k miles on it. I paid 10k.

It now reads 259k on the odometer. I spent about 4k on repairs over the last 14 years.

I think I got my money's worth.

LarsMac;1484507 wrote: I am faced with the need to "put down" a car that I purchased at an auction.

The Transmission failed on it, and it is not really worth the $3000+ cost of the repair.

I bought this car at a auction, in 2000. It was 4 years old and had 56k miles on it. I paid 10k.

It now reads 259k on the odometer. I spent about 4k on repairs over the last 14 years.

I think I got my money's worth.


I would have said you got good value there, overall. I would agree with not buying a car at auction unless you, or someone with you knows what faults to look out for, and those that can be ignored safely.