Auction good, bad or neither?
#1
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Not sure if I'm posting this in the right place, but it still concerns my hoping to purchase an XJL. I think I've narrowed it down, however, I just noticed on the CarFax report, that the dealer who is selling the vehicle bought it at auction. I don't know if that's a good thing, a bad thing, or just a thing.
It looks like the car was originally a lease (not sure if it was a private or fleet lease) but now it's for sale at 35k with 20k miles. It's much lower than other cars I've seen on the market with the same mileage and features. The dealer sells only by appointment, they've been in business for sometime and their yelp reviews all seem to be good. They do have a store front and advertise as a family business that sells wholesale prices to the general public. They welcome third party vehicle inspectors etc.
I'm leaning toward this vehicle, but when my credit union suggested I also try their free car buying service, the guy thought the price was too low. he said a check doesn't find anything wrong with it in the records but he sounded dubious. Also, he hasn't gotten back to me on a comparable vehicle even at higher price for over a week. So i'm not sure how much weight to put into his concern.
I guess my overall question is, is buying a vehicle that was sold at auction a red flag? The CarFax report seems to be clean other than the auction sale.
Thank you all for the help you've given me. I hope asking one more question isn't one more question too many (smile)
Dave
It looks like the car was originally a lease (not sure if it was a private or fleet lease) but now it's for sale at 35k with 20k miles. It's much lower than other cars I've seen on the market with the same mileage and features. The dealer sells only by appointment, they've been in business for sometime and their yelp reviews all seem to be good. They do have a store front and advertise as a family business that sells wholesale prices to the general public. They welcome third party vehicle inspectors etc.
I'm leaning toward this vehicle, but when my credit union suggested I also try their free car buying service, the guy thought the price was too low. he said a check doesn't find anything wrong with it in the records but he sounded dubious. Also, he hasn't gotten back to me on a comparable vehicle even at higher price for over a week. So i'm not sure how much weight to put into his concern.
I guess my overall question is, is buying a vehicle that was sold at auction a red flag? The CarFax report seems to be clean other than the auction sale.
Thank you all for the help you've given me. I hope asking one more question isn't one more question too many (smile)
Dave
#2
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Many thousands of used cars are sold or traded at wholesale dealer only auctions, and that is not a problem. My "Red Flag" with this dealer is that they "Only sell by appointment". If I really liked the car, I would make a small down payment, and hire a third party inspector. I would also arrange the payment to be COD, that is that the balance is paid when you receive the car. As far as the price being too low, maybe their low overhead, not having an open place of business, allows them to offer a lower price. If it were me I'd approach this dealer with extreme caution, and remember that If a deal is too good to be true, it probably isn't.
#3
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Many thousands of used cars are sold or traded at wholesale dealer only auctions, and that is not a problem. My "Red Flag" with this dealer is that they "Only sell by appointment". If I really liked the car, I would make a small down payment, and hire a third party inspector. I would also arrange the payment to be COD, that is that the balance is paid when you receive the car. As far as the price being too low, maybe their low overhead, not having an open place of business, allows them to offer a lower price. If it were me I'd approach this dealer with extreme caution, and remember that If a deal is too good to be true, it probably isn't.
But very good points. And the low price (about 7k less than the closest competitor) is making me wonder.
Again, thank you for the info! Food for thought.
#4
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I searched for my XJ in a particular color for the better part of a year and found that XJs sold at auction to none Jaguar dealers are usually the cars that Jag dealers turn down for some reason. If a Jag dealer keeps a vehicle off trade or lease for resale or buys it wholesale at auction, it usually gets a CPO certification and that is your best bet. I looked at many XJs in the color I wanted at several used car dealerships including large ones like CarMax. They were not perfect and I wanted one that was pristine. Many small outfits take a car off auction, detail it and turn it around just to make a quick thousand. I looked at some that were beat up with cosmetic issues that were cheap. If the outside was neglected, what's under the hood.
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DaveUSA (05-22-2018)
#5
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All cars can be an auction car it just depends on where it was traded in and if the dealer felt they could make money off it. Here in Dallas they have the black tie auctions at the alliance wholesale auction and only luxury cars are sold on that day. As for the price being so cheap you see a lot of dealers doing this because they list their cars on CarGuru which list cars by "best deals first" so the cheapest cars are at the top. Good luck with the car!
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DaveUSA (05-22-2018)
#6
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The buying risk is:
1. Jaguar CPO (Certified Pre-Owned) - the best
2. Jaguar franchised Dealer - warranted but not CPO
3. Independent Specialist Dealer
4. Private sale
5. Auction
Price usually goes in the same descending 1 to 5 order. The necessary diligence required to check a potential purchase is the reverse 5 to 1 order.
I've had a lot of Jaguars over the last forty five years and have used all of the above. A car that has passed through an auction would not unduly concern me - it's a regular trade practice.
You aren't considering buying the vehicle from auction - the dealer has done that. The next consideration (after a satisafactory inspection) has to be warranty coverage and period. Unless you are an experienced owner capable of doing your own repairs, the worst case scenario of a major powertrain or electronic failure will be expensive to rectify.
Graham
#7
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Selling by appointment I wouldn't worry too much about other than just doing your research to check out their reputation. I've seen some places that store cars, particularly high end cars, indoors, tightly packed inside a warehouse and have to move several other cars to get one out for a test drive. If you just show up unannounced and they start rearranging for you, it kind of messes up the next customer who did have an appointment.
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DaveUSA (05-22-2018)
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#9
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I searched for my XJ in a particular color for the better part of a year and found that XJs sold at auction to none Jaguar dealers are usually the cars that Jag dealers turn down for some reason. If a Jag dealer keeps a vehicle off trade or lease for resale or buys it wholesale at auction, it usually gets a CPO certification and that is your best bet. I looked at many XJs in the color I wanted at several used car dealerships including large ones like CarMax. They were not perfect and I wanted one that was pristine. Many small outfits take a car off auction, detail it and turn it around just to make a quick thousand. I looked at some that were beat up with cosmetic issues that were cheap. If the outside was neglected, what's under the hood.
#10
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Selling by appointment I wouldn't worry too much about other than just doing your research to check out their reputation. I've seen some places that store cars, particularly high end cars, indoors, tightly packed inside a warehouse and have to move several other cars to get one out for a test drive. If you just show up unannounced and they start rearranging for you, it kind of messes up the next customer who did have an appointment.
#11
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Dave,
The buying risk is:
1. Jaguar CPO (Certified Pre-Owned) - the best
2. Jaguar franchised Dealer - warranted but not CPO
3. Independent Specialist Dealer
4. Private sale
5. Auction
Price usually goes in the same descending 1 to 5 order. The necessary diligence required to check a potential purchase is the reverse 5 to 1 order.
I've had a lot of Jaguars over the last forty five years and have used all of the above. A car that has passed through an auction would not unduly concern me - it's a regular trade practice.
You aren't considering buying the vehicle from auction - the dealer has done that. The next consideration (after a satisafactory inspection) has to be warranty coverage and period. Unless you are an experienced owner capable of doing your own repairs, the worst case scenario of a major powertrain or electronic failure will be expensive to rectify.
Graham
The buying risk is:
1. Jaguar CPO (Certified Pre-Owned) - the best
2. Jaguar franchised Dealer - warranted but not CPO
3. Independent Specialist Dealer
4. Private sale
5. Auction
Price usually goes in the same descending 1 to 5 order. The necessary diligence required to check a potential purchase is the reverse 5 to 1 order.
I've had a lot of Jaguars over the last forty five years and have used all of the above. A car that has passed through an auction would not unduly concern me - it's a regular trade practice.
You aren't considering buying the vehicle from auction - the dealer has done that. The next consideration (after a satisafactory inspection) has to be warranty coverage and period. Unless you are an experienced owner capable of doing your own repairs, the worst case scenario of a major powertrain or electronic failure will be expensive to rectify.
Graham
I would say the vehicle is from an independent specialist dealer which puts it in the 3 category. it does have an existing warranty and I plan to take it to a AAA certified mechanic. I've done that in the past and they seemed pretty good.
With the price of the vehicle and the year and a half still left on the original warranty, I'll be able to put some money aside in case things go sideways at some point while still looking at possible extended warranty as well.
Thank you again. Great information.
Good info. The car is from
#13
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I think that's they key here. One reviewer noted that while the receptionist let him look at the car the owner of the dealership was late and took issue with that. I have a feeling that he isn't there all the time. So you may be right there.
#14
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Thank you Graham,
I would say the vehicle is from an independent specialist dealer which puts it in the 3 category. it does have an existing warranty and I plan to take it to a AAA certified mechanic. I've done that in the past and they seemed pretty good.
With the price of the vehicle and the year and a half still left on the original warranty, I'll be able to put some money aside in case things go sideways at some point while still looking at possible extended warranty as well.
Thank you again. Great information.
Good info. The car is from
I would say the vehicle is from an independent specialist dealer which puts it in the 3 category. it does have an existing warranty and I plan to take it to a AAA certified mechanic. I've done that in the past and they seemed pretty good.
With the price of the vehicle and the year and a half still left on the original warranty, I'll be able to put some money aside in case things go sideways at some point while still looking at possible extended warranty as well.
Thank you again. Great information.
Good info. The car is from
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