Every week for nearly 15 years now, I have seen thousands of vehicles go through the auctioneer’s hammer at the wholesale auto auctions here in metropolitan Atlanta.
Some are ready for another good owner. While others are as wore out as an old mop and worth more dead than alive.
They all have one thing in common. Within a four hour period, they will all be offered for sale by hundreds of sellers to thousands of buyers that range from a mile away to a different continent.
Over 100 vehicles an hour. 150 decibels of auctioneer gibberish. Often times 2000+ opportunities to buy yourself a steal of a deal or a rolling money pit in a matter of a few hours. Chances are If your vehicle gets traded-in, repossessed, leased, or is company owned, it will make at least one trip to a wholesale auction.
2009 Jeep Wrangler X – Only 1,045 Miles (6-speed, 4WD, 15 seconds and sold!)
Finance companies, manufacturers and car dealers of all sizes have one solitary thing in common when they bring these vehicles to the sales. They want to make money, and they also want buyers who are confident enough to bid on high cost items that they have barely touched or test driven.
To help with this, most large auto auctions will now let you view vehicles online, thousands of miles away, and hopefully find that one wholesale buyer who is willing to pay the most money for that ride.
So what’s out there? More than you can ever imagine. From repossessed Ford Taurus wagons with weeks old diapers and bullet holes. To equally stomach churning Fisker Karmas that have everything but replacement parts and a warranty.
Stare at the top left, take a breath, it’ll all be OK.
The Monday Mileage Champion series will focus on the best and worst that come through the auction block. We’ll focus a bit on the mileage quotient of course along with age. But the real answers, those that focus on a brand or model’s inherent qualities, will be tabulated in a database that now lists over 120,000 trade-ins; from Connecticut to California.
7387 trade-ins this week. This 1992 Honda Accord EX is the mileage champion with 363,213 miles.
By the time the year ends, there will be over 300,000 data points with a massive breadth of evaluation tools to make any Sabremetric enthusiast proud.
1973 AMC Jeep Wrangler – Oldest trade-in this week that wasn’t a rebuilt muscle car.
We’re not at that point yet. However with enough volunteers, including a statistical analyst that we will call Nick for now since that happens to be his real name, all that data should begin to construct a clearer picture (click here for the database.)
So feel free to venture forth in the uncharted waters of auto auctions. Where AS/IS really means you buy it right where it sits. Along with whatever falls off that vehicle as it goes through the auction block.
I like that room with all the monitors, its like an OTB for car auctions.
I remember going to Oddessa auction down here a few times with the used car manager, thats where I saw the $7000 Ferrari Mondial once, its was an experience, the auctioneers voice rings in your head for about an hour or so after you leave.
I think you mean Adesa. I have never done online car auction like this, but have recently gotten into online auctions run by small private auction houses.
Like this: http://www.proxibid.com/asp/AuctionsByCompany.asp?ahid=3352
Of course that is a whole different ball game than these every day driver auctions.
Adesa, duh…it was a while back.
That room with all the monitors looks a lot like a setup I saw at a Japanese car auction. The vehicles on the screen look a lot like Japanese domestic market cars and trucks as well.
Could be, I imagine that Japanese car wholesaling is somewhat different due to spatial considerations. Any populated area would not be able to support the kind of large scale operations that are prevalent in US.
Yes, that IS the Japanese auto auction. All bidding is done electronically, very fast-paced, really a few seconds per vehicle usually.
Through my friends in Japan I bought about 20 cars there to bring them into Canada (LHD BMW & Alpina, Mercedes and one RX-7).
The major auctions’ description list (can be seen on the screens too) with inspection comments is very detailed – they point out everything, from worn or dirty seats to “mileage unknown” to major troubles that one can detect without driving a car.
If you read Japanese, which I do it is a treasure.
Tsk tsk tsk… A Wrangler… that sir is a CJ5, Wranger was but a trim level on CJ’s back then.
Probably the closest thing on the auction’s computer program’s pulldown menu.
Yea I see stuff like that on eBay old models or sub models sometimes get put under other models in the confusion. I do laugh when I see VW Caddy trucks under Cadillac…
I miss the CJ5. It was the last Jeep that really looked like a Jeep.
No love for the CJ-7?
The 7 was certainly fine, but from an appearance standpoint, I always loved the CJ5. The CJ7 would certainly be preferable to a YJ Wrangler. I have never owned any of them, so I cannot speak to a driving or ownership experience.
I’m more of a CJ-7 or Scrambler fan, I like the slightly longer wheelbase.
CJ-7 was developed so an automatic transmission, with it’s longer tailshaft, could be fitted into a Jeep CJ.
Ooh-I think I get it- a window into the large scale, market-based system for determining the interest and value of an entire market of used vehicles. Rather like the stock-market based system for determining the outcome of an election, except this is real people, betting with their own real money, on real product. No arguments about whether that magazine likes Japanese cars better than American ones, etc. I like it!
By the way, Steve, I have no moral qualms about your business model. I read somewhere today that some people are so hard up they are renting the tires for their cars and trucks from high-interest storefront businesses, just so they can get to work or take their kids to school. I think you are providing a real service to people in need.
The auction guarantees nothing, except a title.
Last auction I went to was to buy better fuel economy to the Subaru I drove in with, I left $300 poorer in a very beat Toyota Corona Diesel wagon, fixed it drove it and sold for $600. One success story Steve I know you do this a dozen times a month.
Interesting stuff — I’m a bottom feeder & find the impound & wrecker service auctions are much more my style….the stuff you occasionally find in THOSE cars…wow…
With a house, wife, and colony of cars of my own to take care of, auto-auction attendance has been zero for the last few years. I would say about half of my collection came from auctions though — most of the time I made out like a bandit. Most of the time…
You should see some of the stuff I’ve seen inside a car at the Upick Upull(Usweat) yard down here, its almost like a game to see whats inside sometimes.
I’d rather deal with a hundred auction cars than one Craigslist car.
Used to go to the auction with my stepson. Found it to be very entertaining as he was pretty good at what he did. I was out of my element.
Looks like quality data of some sort in the links. Is that from auction industry professionals rating auction cars? If so it should be very interesting.
You have to be careful using quality data when it comes from customers.
The things-gone-wrong type is often skewed by the owners themselves. Older, more loyal buyers tend to be easy graders. They just aren’t as picky as the young guy who shops five different models before buying.
Older people tend to treat their cars better too which would give an advantage to certain makes at auction, for wear and tear items. It is what it is.
It comes from independent auditors hired by the same dealer network to appraise the value of the car.
In otherwords, car guys who do this for a living.
Nice article Steven. Thanks
I love these series of articles. Makes me feel like an insider.