Great insight, rld thank you.

 

Very good point. This is just like Manheim Direct. Technology has really changed how we are doing things these days. We can sell and trade stuff virtually without the hassle of moving the goods around.

 

I'm not a dealer. But I used a car-buying brokerage called Carlypso. They have access to 100% of the inventory on Manheim, which is pretty much what 90% of the dealers use to get the cars. In other words, you're getting the same cars that the Lexus Dealers buy and then slap CPO stickers.
You will have all access to the vehicle inspection records which will identify every little blemish on the vehicle.

Carlypso will essentially fix everything and put the car in tip top shape. They will get you the car at wholesale cost + $1,500. The $1,500 is their profit.

They found me a beautiful red UL at $28k + tax. All the ULs with similiar mileage at that time and were going anywhere from $31-34k. Initially I wasn't sold on it and it didn't sell at the auction the 1st time around. They told me to put in $26k and I thought they were crazy. I signed an agreement to purchase if they won the auction -- I really didn't think they could do it.
The next day, I got the email that they won the car.

The rest is history.

I would use them again in a heartbeat. You can also check out their reviews on Yelp to see how well they are doing. Let me know if you have any specific questions regarding their brokerage service.

 

How did you get the car from Manheim, Pennsylvania and was there a shipping charge?

 

The cars can be ANYWHERE in the U.S. The car that is on the "online auction" could very well be at a local dealership next to where you live.

But to answer your question, my car was from Boston. And no, you don't have to pay for shipping. All you have to pay for is YOUR bid amount, sales tax, and vehicle registration.

Noticed I said "your" bid amount. In my case, I bid $26k. Carlypso's bid would have been lower and they would have built in a margin for their profit and expense. So $26k + tax/license is what I paid.
Who knows what the broker actually paid for the car, probably several thousands less.

The process is simple. Your advisor will help you locate the car and recommend a bid amount. If you win, they will make arrangements to get the car to where you are. They will then restore the vehicle to "CPO" standards. In my case, they detailed the car in/out, took care of the minor door dings, put on 2 new tires, and performed a full maintenance. When your car is ready, they will send you a UBER car to bring you to their office so you can come drive your car away. Can't be easier. I don't know why I would ever step inside a dealership ever again.

So check out CARLYPSO.COM ... Also check out BEEPI.COM , I have no experience with them but they have some awesome deals that will knock the socks off any dealership.

 

I second this. My prior two MB's (one SLK280 and the other SLK55AMG ) were both from auctions. I bought both from NON-MB dealers and therefore NON CERTIFIED MB cars. Although I made sure the remaining FACTORY MB warranty were intact which at the time each had substancially more than half left in terms of both time and mileage so I can sort out issues if came up. The SLK280 I bought from a SoCal Mitsubishi dealer who happened to be two dealers or so down the road from an MB dealer. The Mitsubishi dealer picked up the car at such a low price (later on I found out it was a repo, but all service records were at MB) that they just wanted to turn over quick. The SLK55AMG I bought up north during the massive winter snow storm season from a high end independent dealer selling mostly Ferrari, Lamborghini, Rovers, Jags, and etc. Things were not moving well so they wanted to move some inventory. The original owner decided to trade in at the end of fall at an MB dealer. Then the MB dealer "Certified it" and tried to sell it. Then winter rolled around. It sat there for a while and that was when I first saw it online. Then it disappeared and reappeared at the high end independent dealer (the owners were all cousins and related as I found out later). Although the way it passed from one dealer to another, on the carfax it said was sold at an auction. So not all auction cars are bad. Also who wants to buy a rear wheel drive hardtop convertible in the middle of the winter? Both cars turned out great and no major issues.

While my RC-F is getting serviced, the Lexus dealer gave me a 2016 fully loaded ES350 with all the options you described except ML. This ES350 is way better than the ones I remembered from the previous ES350 generation. It is very smooth to the point it is almost too boring for me.

Just make sure the original Lexus warranty is intact. Sounds like it is since it is sold by a Lexus dealer as CERTIFIED.

 

Well...

Not exactly. In my market (NYC Metro) as much as 80% of our new sales are leased. This means oodles and oodles of lease returns for us. Once I ground a lease return I have first crack at it.

If I don't buy it then other Lexus dealers have the opportunity to buy it.

If none of them buy it then Toyota dealers also have a shot to buy it.

If none of them buy it within, say, 2 days then it goes to auction.

Not too many nice cars slip through the cracks. Other dealership's cars are posted at midnight on dealer direct. I check dealer direct at midnight. Daily. I bought a FLAWLESS black/black 2014 IS250 F-Sport this morning at just after midnight and noticed 3 super low mile and nice 2013 GS350s (I didn't need them). All 3 GSs were gone by 8:45 when I got to work.

There is nice Lexus product that makes it to the auction, but in the LFS lane? Most stuff is what no Lexus or Toyota store would touch.

 

Here are 3 CPOs currently being sold through a LEXUS DEALERSHIP which were from an auction. Took me less than 5 minutes to find all 3. Hard to say Lexus/Toyota wouldn't touch them.

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/666907966/overview/

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/665079474/overview/

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/663701428/overview/

 

Those were all purchased on Lexus Dealer Direct and not from a physical auction. I talked about this a few posts up, even though those cars were returned off lease to those dealers we still buy them through a TFS/LFS website which is actually administered by Adesa Auctions so while it will show as sold at auction on the Carfax the car was never ran across the block.

You need a login but... www.lexusdealerdirect.com

All of these cars that I bought this week will show "Sold at auction" on the Carfax reports, none of them were ever ran across the block either:

 

Interesting thread! If it wasn't a Toyota product I would be a little more hesitant. If you like the car and have it checked and comes CPO, seems doable if you are happy with the deal.

 

@Everybody: I really can't thank everyone enough.

I've begun looking at Carlypso and Beepi and am hopeful that I might find something.

That being said, there are some negative reviews on Calypso which leave me a little worried:

1. Owner received damaged car which Carlypso refused to fix:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/carlypso-sou...source=(direct)

2. Owner received car late and standard equipment was missing:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/carlypso-sou...source=(direct)

3. Carlypso did not take care of car title:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/carlypso-sou...source=(direct)

Nothing's ever perfect and to be honest, issues 2 and 3 aren't that big of a deal. Either way, it's good to know about another avenue when purchasing a used car.

Thank you,
Nelson

 

For me, the fact that one cannot see the car you're buying beforehand, is a big negative. One of those reviews on the Carlypso web site included a car that was received with a burn hole in the seat. Another negative is that you don't know the actual price until Carlypso finishes any refurbishing or repair work. Then, when you get the car if you're not satisfied, it costs $1500.00 to return it. I would much prefer to go and see a car on a lot or elsewhere and then make a deal. With Carlypso you're buying sight unseen and taking pot luck.

 

No different than buying over eBay, etc. You're paying substantially less than you'd be paying from a dealer, and that's the trade off.

 

Not correct.. You can inspect before purchasing on eBay, if you choose.

 

The difference is you're trusting the company buying it at auction and the auction report to tell you what you're getting. The auction reports are pretty thorough.

It all comes down to what is more important to you as a buyer, security or price. This is likely the cheapest way to buy a used car (dealer auction plus $1,500 is pretty cheap), but the risk is you can't see it beforehand yourself and you don't have a lot of time to decide. eBay or from a private seller is cheaper than a dealer, but you either have to rely on a third party inspection or roll the dice. If you want the highest perceived security you can buy it CPO from a dealer locally, but you're going to pay a lot more for that.