Dealer-only auction

[shaman1204]

I was able to attend a dealer-only auction last week. I took note of the P-cars, but remember you can't look at the service history of these cars. It was weird that the auction guy has no idea what the cars should start at, they just pick a number and if no bids then he asks the crowd what it should start at. The Boxster started out at $2,500.

2006 Cayenne Turbo, 47k miles, sold for $44,500.

1999 Boxster, didn't look like a whole lot of options but in good shape, 87k miles, sold for $10,200.

2002 911 C4 Cabriolet, walnut interior and I think navi, 30K miles, sold for $30,100.

2000 911 Carrera Cab w/tip, 45K miles, sold for $22,000.

Not Porsche related but I watched a 2007 Mercedes C350 4matic loaded with 7K miles sell for $23,000.

[RandallNeighbour]

The auction houses that know what they're selling usually only take pristine low mileage examples of our cars to sell. An auction house like this scares me...

[Brucelee]

Auction houses KNOW exactly how much cars go for. That is how they make their living. Most cars at the auction have a reserve (floor) attached to them by the seller and the objective of the AH is to exceed that floor. Anything else is gravy for the seller and the AH gets a % of the total price.

The starting price is irrelevant and usually has no relationship to the SP.

Auction cars run the gamut from pristine (not usual) to absolute story cars (which you DO NOT want).

The auction is NO PLACE for the uninitiated or folks with no sense of risk and reward.

LET THE BUYER BEWARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jaxonalden]

Shaman1204,

Brucelee is right. Remember what Mr. Brady said? Caveat emptor.

[Perfectlap]

wow that Cayenne Turbo was $100,000 2 years ago!

man that's one way to lose a lot of muney...

[shaman1204]

Originally Posted by Jaxonalden

Shaman1204,

Brucelee is right. Remember what Mr. Brady said? Caveat emptor.

Oh I'm not buying, I was merely there as a spectator.

[racer_d]

Dealer Auction = Wholesale auction, no? No speculators or investors. These are the "used car lot dealers" to stereotype. Often off lease cars, others were trade ins that they need to get rid of. They buy low, mark em up a few grand and re-sell them. Yes, a '98 Boxster is about 9-10K in the wholesale world. "he" will detail it, and try to sell it for $16K.

[Brucelee]

Originally Posted by racer_d

Dealer Auction = Wholesale auction, no? No speculators or investors. These are the "used car lot dealers" to stereotype. Often off lease cars, others were trade ins that they need to get rid of. They buy low, mark em up a few grand and re-sell them. Yes, a '98 Boxster is about 9-10K in the wholesale world. "he" will detail it, and try to sell it for $16K.

You are right about the stereotypes. Truth is, like all other occupations, there are dealers and there are dealers.

Some look for the absolule biggest piece of trash they can find, as long as it looks good. Others go the other way and are very picky, esp. when it comes to a Porsche.

Still others are stupid and actually don't know what they are buying.

Fact is, it is not that easy to make money as a used car dealer. The data supports this, as the majority of new dealers fail to succeed.

Risk all over the place.