My mom is ready for a 2010 RX350. She rather buy than lease, but a lease is about all she wants to pay as far as monthly and down payments go. Then she asked me what I thought about finding a lightly used one at auction, since she has a friend who goes to these things for dealers. I know nothing about how they work and I am nervous not being able to research it. I'm finding most of the auction stuff is pretty hidden from the public. Her friend offered to go with her and help make a transaction, but I'm clueless as to how pricing works, how bidding works, what condition these cars are presented in, and what the odds would be to find a 2010 RX. Also nervous about how well the auction vehicles are inspected. I'm used to a dealer's clean presentation with a warranty. What happens when a near-new vehicles goes to auction? Does it get looked over? By who? To what standards? Also, if someone purchased one a few months ago and couldn't make the payments, wouldn't a dealer want to reclaim it for his/her lot and keep it from going to auction? I've done some Autotrader searches, and there's only one or two used ones listed at dealers for the greater LA area.
Anyone with some insite on auctions, the potential savings vs new (lease), how the bidding works, etc, I'd love to hear. She wants to get the ball rolling and I want to help.

 

These are the type of cars you will usually find in an auction:
Rental Cars from car rental agencies.
Used cars that a dealer received as a trade in, but does not want to sell in their showroom.
Used cars over 4 years old that most major dealers don't want on their lots.

I doubt you will find a 2010 RX in an auction. These auctions are as is, you see what you will get, you have to do the rest of the leg work yourself afterward, no dealer support.

 

There will be 2010 vehicles at dealer auctions G. Toyota Financial Services & other lenders hold dealer auctions. Remember, if one defualts on payments the lending institution will repo & sell it at auction.. Dealers already recieved payment for the car in full from the lending institution so they have no ties to the car. One can find a clean low mileage 2010 @ auction.

 

True, I forgot about repo. Buying a used car at a dealer is taking a chance already, but buying a car from an auction is even taking a bigger chance. Personally, I would never do, but I have known people that have done and had good luck.

 

Also, buy backs/lemons go to auction after the manufacturer is finished with them. Lexus tries to repair a buy back to the best of their ability before sending it to auction. BMW, Mercedes, Chrysler, and others do not.

Still, sometimes a car is just a lemon and will never be right.

I wouldn't do it personally.

 

There is nothing wrong with buying a used vehicle at the auction. Vehicles that are lemons are labeled as such. Each vehicle is inspected by the auction and the dealers are notified of their condition prior to bidding.

These are the same vehicles that ALL the dealers purchase for the used car inventory. Finding a 2010 RX maybe a little harder as they were release not too long ago, but it is possible.

Good luck!

 

I agree. I have been to auctions, and the average, local ones are not very impressive. Of course, you have some very high-class auctions, like at Pebble Beach, but those are not the norm.

Many of the local auctions have bank-repos and police-impounded cars that are risky at best. Cars that have been formerly used in drug deals or drug-running, for example, often are not throughly cleaned out and sometimes still have drug residue powder in them....that's something you DON'T want to be driving around with.

 

You are describing a public auction here. Dealer auctions are not open to the general public & tend to consist of off lease & repos from manufacturer based lending institutions like Toyota Financial Services.

 

Agreed, I know the owner (for 25+ years) of a local independent high-end dealership that attends only dealer auctions, mostly in southern California.

 

Most of what you'll find at a dealer auction are 3, 4, and 5 year old lease returns, some repos, and maybe even a lemon. If you see a 2010 car at an auction, I'd seriously ask myself why it's there. It's possible that it was declared a total loss by an insurance company and repaired by a wholesaler. Believe me, these turds have ways around the "salvage title" laws, therefore, no salvage title will show up. (sometimes they do) Just be careful.

 

from what i know, anything more than 500 seller is responsible to fix the problem or u could return the car...i would love to buy benz amg is where there are more than half off at the auction...personally i would buy cars with full warranty from the dealer...

 

I should have specified, the friend of my mom is the manager of a GMC dealer. The auction would be a dealer auction, not a public auction. But then, that makes me wonder how she would be able to make a purchase without officially being a dealer herself. I believe he stated he would help her when she was ready. Maybe he meant he'd buy it for her and then sh'e buy it from him. Sounds kind of weird. How feasable is that?
(Overall, I don't like the entire idea, but she wants to explore it.)

 

Dealer buys car...mom buys it from the dealer. Case closed!

 

in california there are a good amount of repos. we got a great deal on a bmw because it was repo'd

 

I think it makes sense if the price is right, and at these auctions, the prices are usually pretty cheap.