Forums Forums Enthusiast Forums A - Z Autowirral Dont buy a car from an auctions

I used to go to the Ellesmere Port auction around Xmas, I was looking for a cheap Peugeot 306. To be honest I thought the whole place and the cars were shabby.

The second hand car market is terrible at the moment. You can get a great bargain if you look around and you shouldn't have to resort to an auction. You can't test drive the cars which always sets alarm bells ringing for me. A car needs to be started from cold, examined, driven for 20 minutes at all speeds, and checked again.

Auctions are only good for traders who want cheap cars they can quickly tart up and sell on. I saw one "S" reg Pug 306 estate go through for £300. A month later it was on Autotrader for £650 and had nothing done to it!

My personal advice is check Ebay first, localise your search to within 25 miles . Listing a car on there is far cheaper than in Autotrader so most people will do that.

If you are buying from auctions you got to expect these things to happen I've bought plenty of cars from ellesmere port and most of them have been great everyone buys a lemon now and again,you've just got to be a man and get on with it!!!

Don't agree with you,you can get stung just bad on eBay as you can in an auction,I'd advise anyone to go to auctions the atmospheres are great especially at ellesmere port the auctioneer is fab??

How much did you pay for it sounds like this auctioneer stitched you good and proper????

You couldn't of been very good at it then or you would still be doing it?I'm in the trade and most of the cars I see at ellesmere port are garages or main agents! I know the lads down there aswell and they have always been polite to me you 25 years they've been there they must be doin something right???

All the cars I've had from there have been absolute gems apart from 1 which needed a clutch, £80 for a clutch kit and fitted it myself, what a gem.
Like I said earlier sod off private buyers and leave the auctions to the traders!!!

Either that or stop wining about broken turbos or bald tyres or your keyfobs requiring batteries, traders hAve the contacts and the dollar to repair any faults, private buyers should stick to the globe/auto trader

ROFLMAO at Magic999

Just joined and only four posts, all saying how brilliant EPMA is and how bad everyone else must be, I wonder where you might be from ?

I quite like EPMA, but lets not make it out to be something it's not, it may have been running for 25 years, but the owners were declared bankrupt last year and passed on the trading to their son, who is now the main auctioneer.

Some of the cars they get through there are their own cars, even their own personal cars (their names are on the log books) so lets not pretend.

The lads who work their are great, and if you know them they'll very often give you the heads up on what to avoid, but they're paid a pittance to put the cars through and if anyone spoke to me even approaching the way the owners speak to them I'd put the next car through the rostrum.

The place has been "moving to a new site" for more years than I care to remember, it just doesn't happen, it's meant to be a new unit on the Rossmore, I'm sure one day it'll come through.

They took over Chester Auctions, then let it go as they couldn't make it pay, pity really as the building was better, the facillities were better and the whole place brighter and cleaner.

In the months leading up to the bankruptcy the owners were stopped at the traffic lights leaving the place and robbed of some of the proceeds of the sale, one of the drivers caused a smash in the yard (with one of their own cars that they hadn't been able to sell), and there was a theft (or damage/fire I forget which) of a car at their home. Some people are very unlucky.

EPMA (NW) Ltd is a new business, it trades exactly the same as before, same place, same people, same everything, tonight they had some interesting cars through (and quite a lot of them for a change), but as usual they had a lot of junk, some stuff that went through with a "sold price" that no-one would ever pay and The Invisible Man was in attendance with his Shy brother, who bid on everything.

Auctions are good places, know what your getting and accept it, if you want a debate on it no problem, but don't try and make it out to be something it's not, because there is always someone out there who knows just a little bit more than you think they do.

Gibbo you sound like one of them really annoying time-wasters that would get cracked accross the back of the skull with a tire-iron. 20 minute test drives at all speeds? Are you for real pal? On an old piece of shite?
I mean I could understand if you were spending a few grand like!



Don't listen to gibbos advice, it will more than likely land you in hospital.
Gibbo are you one of those that buy 1st and look after on eBay? You know the type that buy a car then start lookin over it and slating it.

Its a case of "you pays your money and takes your chance".

I would try to avoid buying a car without a test drive first and one where I can use ALL the gears including reverse.

Even on ebay most sellers state viewing recommended.

A reputable car auction can be a place for a bargain but you must do your homework first or take someone in the know.

What's with the attitude?

Sounds to me like you WANT people to get ripped off.

Lol, sorry mate didn't mean it to sound nasty, just I wouldn't have the cheek to test drive anything under a grand the way you have described unless it was a rare and expensive to fix car

No offence

I agree. A £300 shed, you get what you pay for and I wouldn't quibble with anything not right on something for that price. If you want quality and reliability and FSH and 12 months test you have to pay for the privilege!

I was talking more about more expensive cars with parts that can be expensive to repair.