[The Jester of Wibbly]

Anyone took the gamble and bought their van at Auction rather than paying through the nose at a garage.

I know most garages buy their stock at auction for them to sell retail.

If you did, how much do you think you saved ?  I know you would need to set aside cash to fully service and fix any issues.

Was it worth it?

[martin hulstone]

Was for me, bought a 57 vivaro last year for 3000 plus vat, ex RNLI from auction. Why pay a middle man if you have cash. Most vans at auction come from big companies ie BT, British gas so they have been well looked after and reguarly serviced with proven service history.

[DaveG]

My father in law worked at the Rnli hq in Poole and those vans were serviced with no expense spared!

[Susan Dean (1stclean)]

we brought over 50 van from the block and never had a bad one but heres our rules

1. buyers fees remember them !
2. buy the best you can with the lowest miles on the clock
3. stay away from road workers vans , doc war, morrisons ect ect there mostly white and have orange lights in each corn of the roof and big tow bars fitted
4, stay away from city link ,tnt, royal mail  ect ect these multi drop vans have had a hard life

5. bt , gas vans . electric borad vans , ex council are good buys 

get there early find out which vans you like then hang around them until there started , this way you will see if it starts of the key

[martin hulstone]

Thats where mine came from, SWV auctions in poole. 12 months mot and full service history

[DaveG]

It's not often Swva get anything decent go through!

 I see you are from Poole too Martin,  what areaa do you cover?

[robbo333]

Thanks Martin. I'm in Bournemouth and I'm on the lookout for something bigger. Might pop down and take a look.
Robbo

[DaveG]

I think commercial vehicle auctions are 1st and 3rd Tuesdays Robbo..

[Spruce]

we brought over 50 van from the block and never had a bad one but heres our rules

1. buyers fees remember them !
2. buy the best you can with the lowest miles on the clock
3. stay away from road workers vans , doc war, morrisons ect ect there mostly white and have orange lights in each corn of the roof and big tow bars fitted
4, stay away from city link ,tnt, royal mail  ect ect these multi drop vans have had a hard life

5. bt , gas vans . electric borad vans , ex council are good buys 

get there early find out which vans you like then hang around them until there started , this way you will see if it starts of the key

This is really good advise with regard to auction buying.

[Rogue Trader]

i have never done it but someone who has done it says the thing to do is bid on the same vans that all the traders are interested in they have done the work to single out the good ones and due to the fact that you are buying to use and not to sell you can outbid them by a few quid and still get yourself a bargain.

[martin hulstone]

Hi Dave G,
Cover a wide area of poole and bournemouth(you have to down here) but i would say most of my work is lower parkstone. You might have seen my van MHWindowcleaning

[DaveG]

Ah yes I have, around Whitecliff, I've seen your van parked just off Sandbanks Rd.... Someone down that way bought a 250 litre tank off of me, it wasn't you was it?

[Plankton]

we brought over 50 van from the block and never had a bad one but heres our rules

1. buyers fees remember them !
2. buy the best you can with the lowest miles on the clock
3. stay away from road workers vans , doc war, morrisons ect ect there mostly white and have orange lights in each corn of the roof and big tow bars fitted
4, stay away from city link ,tnt, royal mail  ect ect these multi drop vans have had a hard life

5. bt , gas vans . electric borad vans , ex council are good buys 

get there early find out which vans you like then hang around them until there started , this way you will see if it starts of the key

Spot on. I bought an ex highland police van last year, good mileage, serviced twice a year although needed new exhaust plus the cat and then decided to replace the clutch as it was slipping. Garage said leave it but I didn't want to be held up when it did go. Wasn't a cheap van although there were plenty of the same type on the day there was also plenty of buyers. The cheap ones were stinking inside. Be wise and don't get carried away, remember the fees.

[martin hulstone]

That was me yes

[DaveG]

Nice one Martin! You don't know anyone that has 350 tank for sale do you?

[martin hulstone]

Sorry no i dont, you can buy back the 250 though if u want . dont need it anymore

[johnny bravo]

manheim fees shocking, pay £3000,     ends up around £4000.   set a limit , give or take a few hundred., get all fees before you start bidding.    a cup of tea and a buttie., and a mask.   fumes .
sometimes lucky private @ one owner.
if you can wait.

[Elfyn]

I was in the motor trade for over 20 years, so if you really fancy taking a gamble here are a few tips.
Take someone with you that has a good understanding of vans ( a mechanic or similar)
Give yourself plenty of time to look the vans over and select about 3 or 4 that fit the bill
Decide the very maximum you want to pay on each van and stick to it - never be tempted to go over that figure. I've seen very experienced people who have been in the trade for decades get competitive and won't let a vehicle go at auction - they are a liability. You need a cool head.
Good luck and happy bidding (as they say on ebay) 

[DaveG]

Sorry no i dont, you can buy back the 250 though if u want . dont need it anymore

Cheers mate, but need a 350