Pretoria vehicle auction events are no different to those auctions held around the country at a number of auction houses such as Birchmores and Aucor. If you are however looking specifically in that area, then why not visit www.autostart.co.za where you will be able to view a list of all the vehicles going up to the hammer. The list on this site is updated every Monday and therefore should you not find what you are looking for one week, you can keep looking and hopefully find something suitable.
So before visiting any one of the Pretoria vehicle auction events, what do you need to know about car auctions. Well firstly, there are a number of different vehicles and models that go on auction weekly. These vehicles can either be bank repossessed vehicles or privately owned vehicles. Although bank repossessed vehicles come at reduced prices, they are offer in poor condition to their privately owned counterparts. This however is not always the case and you may find yourself getting an absolute gem for very little money.
For those of you who are interested in attending and purchasing from a car auction, there are a number of things that you should consider before you attend. Firstly, you cannot test drive the vehicles, which means that should there be something seriously wrong with the vehicle that you would normally notice during the test drive, you will never know. Secondly, there is only one opportunity to check out the vehicle and that is on the show day. It is therefore imperative that you view any vehicle before you purchase and it is generally a good idea to take a qualified auto-electrician and mechanic with you to inspect the vehicle.
Thirdly, make sure that you walk in to the room with a fixed budget and do not go over that budget. If you do, you may end up having the car repossessed and then it will be right back on auction for the next person to get at a bargain.
Another important thing that many people do not realise is that the majority of the banks have mobile offices at these auctions and therefore you can apply for vehicle finance at the auctions. It is however a good idea that you secure finance before you attend the auction. The reason I suggest this is because every auction house requires a deposit before you even attend the auction. This deposit will be retuned once you have sorted out payment on the vehicle. However, should you not secure finance and not have the capital to pay for the vehicle, then the auctions house will retain this deposit as a fee for basically waiting their time.
Lastly, ensure that the car that you are purchasing comes with some sort of servicing history. If not you will end up with a car like mine where I have no idea what has gone on under the hood of my car. All I know is that it was in an accident, the lights are stuck together with Prestik, the wiring in the engine is probably a fire hazard, and there is no record of when it was last serviced or had it’s oil changed, and had spark plugs changed. As a result of the poor purchase choice made by my father at one of the auctions, I have now had to spend over R25 000 in the last three years trying to fix all of its faults, only to discover another one. This is important to note as the banks are not responsible for any faults found once you have bought the vehicle and the Consumer Protection Act will not safeguard you in this regard if you purchase a car on auction.