I have the oppertunity to go to a dealer car auction to pick up a truck if I want. I'm told '05-'06 F350 lariet CC diesels with about 40k miles are going for about 15k and chevys are a little more. I was told by my local dealer that they just bought a rough '04 for 19k about a week ago when I was looking at it but I'm betting he isn't quite giving me the real price since he wants to make a profit.
I then spoke to another dealer in my town who said that auction prices went way up and they can't be had for less than 23k or so.
Who's blowing smoke??? I know the guy that's taking me to the auction but not real well, he's a friend of a friend and is not charging me anything for helping me out. BTW, I know I can't go in, he will find what I want and inspect it and point it out to me to see if I want it.
I've noticed Edmunds prices are in the dirt for used but dealers here seem to be willing to have trucks grow mold on them while waiting for a sale.
Example: A 2004 Chevy 2500 LT CC Diesel for 25k. It's clean but has 120k miles and when they went to start it the starter sounded like a cofffee grinder. They've had it for 6 months and tell me they're in it 24k so they won't come down.... Yeah ok.....

 

They'd rather sell you a new one and get the incentives and holdback from Ford. Maybe the used ones don't cost the dealer as much to sit on the lot.

 

While it's true that auction prices have climbed somewhat...they haven't climbed that much. Be careful...you buy at auction...you own it...problems and all...unless they are covered under warranty.

 

"BTW, I know I can't go in, he will find what I want and inspect it and point it out to me to see if I want it. "

If you are friends with a dealer who attends them, you can indeed go in to dealer auctions but must arrange to bid through your dealer-licensed buddy. No way I'd bid on anything expensive without crawling all over it first in person. While non-registered people cannot usually enter on their own, they can normally get in on the pretext they are helping the dealer.

Do remember that MANY vehicles at dealer auctions are fixed up and dumped there. never buy anything that isn't dirt cheap, and then look it over THOROUGHLY for crash damage. I dress to be able to crawl under anything, and bring a flashlight. Hear it run, check all fluids, etc.

I suggest buying lunch and snacks (make it worth their while to take you!) and going to a few auctions before buying a vehicle. You will learn a lot.

 

Evidently they tightened up the auctions some. I'm told by a couple dealers that I know they won't even let in the people shuttling the cars back anymore. Now any helpers have to wait outside the fence for the cars to be brought out to them. They said "no dealer license no entry". I guess they got tired of people doing just what you're suggesting maybe?

 

"I guess they got tired of people doing just what you're suggesting maybe?"

Must be a very local thing. No one loses money on the sale, and some dealer auctions simply charge an additional buyers fee for non-dealer buyers.

One way around such hassles would be to preview by shuttling cars for a dealer, and view the vehicles in the lot. Set a max bid with the friendly dealer and have him bid on it. Factor in a fair profit for him and towing costs from the lot if required.There is (almost) always a way to end-run the system.

An exception would be like Copart, where bidding is done via internet. For that situation, never bid over "parts" value.

 

You all do realize that buying at an auction is the riskiest way to purchase a used vehicle? Dealers may be able to buy them there cheap, and a few guys out there may be willing to buy one for you for a small fee, but for the most part, dealers are looking to make MONEY, and darn few are willing to give away something at X dollars if they think they can make X-plus. As for it costing less to keep a used truck on the lot and have you buy a new one, it's just the opposite: the first 30-60-90 days it may cost the dealer nothing for the new truck to sit on the lot, but it's the dealer's own money tied up in that used truck. They'll play the game and try to get you to THINK that they're not desperate to sell anything that gets less than 30 MPG, but it's all a rouse. If they smell a serious buyer sniffing at something they're anxious to get rid of, make an offer and watch the numbers come down. Bottom line: I'd shop all the local dealers and private sellers before I risked buying at an auction under the terms you've described.

 

Thanks for all the advice so far everyone! Long time no talk Mark, I spoke with you about 3 years ago when I was living in NC and I got my last truck. Good to see you're still around! Still doing the ford sales thing????
The dealer difference here compared to NC/GA is astounding, here they won't move off sticker much unless it's a ford/chevy/dodge program like rebates and PEOPLE PAY IT! When I got my last truck the dealer gave it to me for $1500 behind invoice explaining to me that he'd rather make a little off each one and sell a ton of vehicles because the manufacturer payed him for volume and he got more customers and more service dept action than to make a killing off a few. Most all the dealers here have what I call a "screw you" sticker with added markup pasted next to the Maroni window sticker (hope I spelled that right) and they negociate off of that. They look at me like I'm a martian when I start trying to work off of invoice. Unfortunately it's 2 hours or more to another dealer and people know it, they also let you know if you buy it elsewhere when it comes to warranty service you're at the back of the longest line.
I had a sales guy that I came to know tell me to my face "you're wasting your time here, they don't deal here like they do where you've lived before".
Anyhow, I have become friends with a real small time dealer who only sells a couple of cars a week in the below $10k range and is not looking to make money off of the people he is friends with so he's willing to let me go and buy one unit.