Has anybody here used EPMA..
I'm looking at going up on Sunday with a budget of £500.
I understand that there is a buyers fee of £80 so £420 max on a car.

What is the likelyhood of me buying a decent sized car, (nothing too small and runs quite well) for £420.

And what should I look out for

Thanks

Shaunthesheep

the best cars to go for there are the ones that come from M53ford,they are the part exchanges that come from there.my dad was a trader and he used to go to auctions alot but he always said that ellsmere port car auction was not the best!!!!but if you do go there just be carefull because the auctioneer bumps the price up like mad when nobody is actually bidding!!

Is this the one off junction 8 on the rossmore estate, if so i bought a nissan which was a trade in with 42k on the clock with nearly a full mot in immaculate condition for £175 never let me down.

I'm just very nervous, as I have a 2.0 Ford Galaxy which eats the fuel, so it's been sold and collected sunday morning. I'm just hoping to get something from the auctions that day or am buggered! Thanks Kyle, put a bit of confidence in my sails now

yes a lot of ghost biding goes on at Epa,and not all cars stated as direct from main dealer are. you can still get a cheap car there if you keep a watchful eye on the auctioneer. try Queensferry auction,I have always found it to be a much fairer auction. goodluck

Where's the one in Queensferry and what time are their auctions.

there on at 1pm on fridays or 6pm on tuesdays.

I know a guy who buys a car from there almost every week and sells it again in the Manchester auctions for a decent profit.

i gave up on epma years ago when the fat bingo caller with the ellesmere port muzzy had it.

place was a complete joke, the amount of ghost bids was a joke.

queensferry is ok, not as good as it used to be though. majority of the cars that go through there are decent, just be wary of older private entries and watch out for joe public bidding the prices up and up.

yes Captain you can still pick up a bargain, but as we know, the higher the price the auctioneer gets the more comission he makes,hence the need to keep an eye out for him taking ghost bids to trot up the price.

Just also be aware that the EPMA has moved site

New address:

Merseyton road, Portside North Docks, Ellesmere Port, CH65 2HQ

Oh thanks! Good job you told me about that! haha

Here's their website

http://www.epmaltd.co.uk/

Has the auction timetables on it

HeHeHe

The "fat bingo caller" still owns the place, he does the odd auction but its his son who does most of them now.

The "ghost" bids are usually to try and get a car up to somewhere near the reserve.

For example, a car goes in with a reserve of £2000, there is a bid of £1000, which he knows the seller wouldn't accept, so he ghost bids (or takes bids "off the wall") for the car up to around £1700, still below the reserve, but if a real bidder (maybe the only person who wants it) now comes in with a bid of £1800 he can put that to them and it might be accepted.

This usually only happens with vehicles that have a reserve, no reserve, VERY low bids and cheap cars get people talking and coming back.

The auction will usually start with a cheap one, something with no reserve to get people bidding, and it'll sell for next to nothing and after a few slow bids it'll go fairly quickly as well. Now it's implanted in your head that it was a cheap car and that "one more bid" and it could have been yours, now you'll bid higher on the next ones (today's free psychology lesson).

The trade-ins go through later on, and they're usually the straight ones, but think about why it's there. Sometimes it's because the company doesn't have the room to keep them, so they'll put it through the auctions with a high reserve, so it usually doesn't sell, and it's free storage (main dealers don't pay each time a car goes through as everyone else does, it how the auctions entice them to let them sell their cars, if they don't have any to sell, no one will come), sometimes it's because it's not their "thing" (M53 Ford selling s/h Vauxhalls or a oldie they took as a p/x).

The ones to be aware of are the private entries. Some are legit, and you can get the odd bargain, but you have to wonder why people would pay to offer their car for sale, at a place where they would get the least for it, of which they have to pay a percentage, and you don't get your money for a week or so.

Best advice I would offer you, talk to the drivers, the ones taking the cars through. They are on a sh!te wage for doing it, they get treated like cr@p half the time, but in general they're a good bunch and will tell you if they know anything.

Goto Queensferry, they have a seized vehicle auction every week.

Cheap as chips and some proper bargains, you will need a new ignition and V5 but the price you pay for the car will leave you some pocket change.

Beware of high buyers premiums.

Shaunthesheep . . . unless you are comfortable and confident I would give the auctions a miss, unless you know someone who can go along with you, have a look around 1st and make a note of max you pay for said car.

Have you tried online places, I looked at auto-trader and there is quite a few cars for under £500 locally, be carefull and trust your instincts.

Yes, also there are loads of cheap cars on gum tree.

The also have a pinpoint location map do you can see what's nearer to you.

Would anyone on here go to the auctions on their own to buy a car without either being experienced or having someone who knows whats happening with you?

That's a good point Daz.

I'm used to it so never gave it a thought but first started going with my uncle who was a car dealer at the time so I had someone to show me the ropes.
Best not to go on your own no.

If its a one off I'd go on eBay, auto trader or gum tree, at least then you can get a good look over the car.
Still, take someone with experience with you to look over the car you're thinking of buying and maybe post what car you are thinking of buying on here so people with experience of that model can guide you on common faults.

I'd do a local Ebay search for a Peugeot 306 diesel. You'll get something decent for £500.

If you want advice on one (I specialise in Pugs) send me a message.