What's it like? Worth it?
>>28909826as a trash college kid i got a day-labor gig at an auto auction in portland OR, driving cars through the paddock for the absolute SHITTIEST, SCUMMIEST FUCKING SALESCUNTS ON EARTH to place bids.Holy fuck, if you think used car salesmen are bad when they're trying to scam you on a shitbox, they're infinitely worse trying to get a leg-up in evaluating a car to bid on at auction.
>>28909826boomers love it, they care more about bidding and winning than the thing they are bidding on so they can brag to their buddies and say shit like "i know what I got" when they try to flip it
>>28909826Now days it's a lot of browns looking for poverty sedans
>>28909826Yes I bought a 250 GTO for $50,000,000 and then rich hoes sucked my balls in it.
>>28909827This.last one I went to was a bunch of jeets with fake chains and rolexes shreiking at eachother over clapped out shitheaps.
>>28909826>>28909826I went to a public auction and shills bid early to roughly $2,000 on every car, meaning no $500 deals to be had.
>>28909826Pretty much like all the others have said it was just a bunch of jeets and niggs overpaying for Toyotas and Hondas. Everything else seems like it's going for way too much. I don't know why the fuck people are paying $3k for a roached out truck with 500k+ miles.
>>28910212But what if the shill gets stuck with the car?
>>28910246Then he pays himself the $2,000 and waits a couple weeks before putting it back on auction.
>>28909826I've bought three cars at different Auctions, two online and one in person - the two online purchases were quite literally the best and worst case scenarios, and the in-person purchase is a bit of a mixed bag, though generally positive.My first was the best, as I nabbed a basically concours 1936 Morris 8 van for less than half of what it was worth, and sold it at a huge profit before I even got it off the trailer. It came with a massive history file dating back to the 40's, a hand book detailing every single item that it took to restore it (including silly little things things like cutting wheels and sandpaper), and it also had the original owner's hand book and workshop manual. Hands down the best sales experience of my life, and I doubt I will ever get so lucky again.
The second was a colossal disappointment that will forever serve as a reminder for me to always go see the car in person. I was actually getting ready to bid on a race trailer, but I got distracted by a Reliant Scimitar that came up for bidding. Didn't think much of it a first, but the more I read of the listing, the more I realised that this may in fact be a similar story to the Morris - owned by the previous owner for 20-odd years, body off restoration, recently painted, new parts everywhere, etc., etc., and at the time there were only two other Scimitars for sale to serve as a value estimate, both of which were in pretty nice condition, and priced at £5,500 and £6,500 respectively. "Great!", I thought, "if I can nab this at less than £4,500, then I can probably just flip it for around £5,500 and end up with a reasonable profit at the end!". I put my bid in, and while some other guy *almost* nabbed it at the end, I managed to get it for around £4,600 including fees, which I thought was acceptable... right up until I actually saw the car in person. (cont.)
>>28910301(cont.)The description was not incorrect, but it failed to mention that while it was "restored", it was done to such a poor standard that it basically needed a complete body-off restoration just to un-fuck the previous "restoration" that has been performed over the years, and the real cherry on the cake was that it didn't even run - at the very bottom of the web page was a section separate from the lengthy item description, titled "additional information - condition report", which stated "Has been heard running at our saleroom however currently not starting". Fucking wonderful. Long story short, it was a fuel leak, I got it sorted and running, and a quick 5 minute drive up the road to test it out ended with a blown head gasket. Considering that engine supposedly had all new gaskets and seals, I was quite surprised to say the least. Anyway, there were many many things I have sorted out on it, and I've documented my struggles with this car in /ccg/, but it is now road worthy and ready to be sold at auction again for what will no doubt be a significant loss. Lesson duly learned.
My third experience is still up in the air, but I don't think I did too bad, particularly because they're appreciating quite rapidly for some reason. It's a 1998 Land Rover Discovery V8, and prices seem to vary wildly with very little reason to suggest why. At time of bidding, the cheapest I could find one in a similar condition was £6,500, and the most expensive example was listed at £9,950 but having travelled 40,000 miles less. I got a *tad* carried away and didn't want to let it go, with even the guy beside me asking me if there was any gold in the back, but it has been very well looked after, seemingly garage kept, and I ended up paying £5,500 including fess. Had a bit of a hiccup driving it home, as the immobiliser system seemed to be causing the car to just shut off at random, and after getting it home and letting it sit outside, I noticed that the passenger footwell would get damp - apparently both of these problems are extremely common, and are well documented, so the immobiliser has already been sorted and the damp will be investigated once the Scimitar has been sold. I also noticed that the head gasket is just barely weeping coolant from the front of the head to block joint, and the exhaust manifold has a slight blow that causes a ticking noise, so I have plans to buy a top-end gasket kit and just freshen the whole thing up. Initially bought it to sell, and I have confidence that I *could* make a profit with this things, but I've really come to like it, so much so that I've decided to keep it.So overall, is it worth it? Yeah, if you're smart about it and don't get carried away, unlike me, but it ultimately depends on the types of cars you're buying, and the way by which they got to auction. Private seller cars are usually okay-ish, but job lots from bigger companies are obviously a mixed bag. Some cars are fine, some have been ragged to death. 's all part of the game~
>>28910318>>28910301>>28910300cool stories mate. best of luck to you with the land rover. as an american ive never seen or heard of a scimitar before. they’re near looking vehicles and reminds me of something AMC would’ve made in the 70s
>>28910302at that point I would just hang on to it because its fuckin sweet
>>28910726>cool stories mate. best of luck to you with the land rover.Thanks, I appreciate it :)>as an american ive never seen or heard of a scimitar before.They're often touted by journalists as "the thinking man's Capri", which is kinda true I guess...? Underneath they're a mix of Triumph and Ford, and the bodies are made of fibreglass, making them very lightweight at around 2500 pounds. Interiors are quite plush and very well equipped for a 60's and 70's car, the drivetrains are pretty much bulletproof and the V6 pulls pretty well, and the suspension is well tuned and very capable. I'm very impressed with them, to be quite honest, and I can't really find much fault besides maybe fuel economy.>they’re near looking vehicles and reminds me of something AMC would’ve made in the 70sDamn, you got a good point there. Following the AMC train of thought, one of these with a V8 would be incredible.>>28910741I do quite like it and it'd probably make for a great daily driver, but I both want and need the cash more than the car, unfortunately. I also don't really have the space for it, but hey ho.
